The Hacker News | #1 Trusted Source for Cybersecurity News — Index Page

While the US military continues to build more advanced unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ), popularly known as Drones , the US company Battelle has developed a shoulder-mounted rifle to deal with unwanted drones flying around. Dubbed DroneDefender , the revolutionary weapon specifically designed to target and knock drones out of the sky at a range of just 400 meters, without totally destroying them. The Battelle DroneDefender utilizes radio waves to neutralize in-flight Drones and force them to land or hover or return to its point of origin. Video Demonstration You can watch the video given below to know how the DroneDefender works. It shows how the weapon is able to stop a drone in its tracks and cause it to land. The DroneDefender weighs less than 5 kilograms and can disable a hostile drone within a 400-meter radius. How does DroneDefender Work? As soon as the trigger is pulled, DroneDefender emits radio pulses that interrupt the communications system...

The Chinese Pangu jailbreak team has once again surprised everyone by releasing the first untethered jailbreak tool for iOS 9 – iOS 9.0, iOS 9.0.1, and iOS 9.0.2. The untethered jailbreak is a jailbreak where your device don't require any reboot every time it connects to an external device capable of executing commands on the device. The Pangu team released their iOS 9 jailbreak into the wild instead of submitting it to Zerodium, a company which promised a $1 Million reward for iOS 9 jailbreaks . How to Jailbreak iOS 9.0, 9.0.1 and 9.0.2? Jailbreaking is a process of removing limitations on Apple's iOS devices so you can install third party software not certified by Apple. Before proceeding to Jailbreak your device, back up all personal data of your device using iCloud or iTunes. Also, Disable any Anti-virus programs or firewalls that could prevent Pangu from connecting to the Internet. Now, let's start. Follow these steps to jailbreak your iPhone,...

What if your phone starts making calls, sending text messages and browsing Internet itself without even asking you? No imaginations, because hackers can make this possible using your phone's personal assistant Siri or Google Now. Security researchers have discovered a new hack that could allow hackers to make calls, send texts, browser a malware site, and do many more activities using your iOS or Android devices' personal assistant Siri or Google Now — without even speaking a single word. A Group of researchers from French government agency ANSSI have discovered that a hacker can control Apple's Siri and Android's Google Now by remotely and silently transmitting radio commands from as far as 16 feet away... ...only if it also has a pair of headphones plugged into its jack. How does the Hack Work? It is very interesting and a mind-blowing technique. The Hack utilizes: An iPhone or Android handset with headphones plugged in A radio tra...

Does Adobe Flash , the standard that animated the early Web, needs to Die? Unfortunately, Yes. Despite Adobe's best efforts, Flash is not safe anymore for Internet security, as a recent zero-day Flash exploit has been identified. Just Yesterday Adobe released its monthly patch update that addressed a total of 69 critical vulnerabilities in Reader, Acrobat, including 13 critical patches for Flash Player. Now today, Security researchers have disclosed a new zero-day vulnerability in fully patched versions of Adobe Flash, which is currently being exploited in the wild by a Russian state-sponsored hacking groups, named " Pawn Storm ". NO Patch For Latest Flash Exploit That means, even users with an entirely up-to-date installation ( versions 19.0.0.185 and 19.0.0.207 ) of the Flash software are also vulnerable to the latest zero-day exploit. Luckily, for the time being, this exploit is only being used against Government agencies and several foreign affairs...

If you have watched the most recent Avengers movie, then you would be aware of a scene where all the superheroes Iron Man, War Machine, Hawkeye, and Captain America take turns to lift Thor's hammer but fail. Someone has an explanation, Why? Inspired by Thor's legendary hammer Mjolnir that is not liftable by anyone except Thor, an electrical engineer has built a real-life Mjolnir that only he can pick up. Electrical engineer Allen Pan , who also runs the Sufficiently Advanced YouTube channel, created a giant hammer that only he can lift, so long as the hammer is on a metal surface. To make his hammer immovable, Pan made use of: A capacitive touch sensor ( fingerprint sensor ) attached to the handle An Arduino Pro Mini and a solid state relay, which serves as a switching device. A microwave oven transformer electromagnet that uses electricity to produce a very strong magnetic field. The electromagnet creates a very strong magnetic field, strong enough ...

OK, Google is Listening… and Recording too. Google is not just listening to your searches, but the search engine is also recording and storing every single voice search you make. Google is incredibly accurate at understanding your voice. The company secretly stores its users' searches from its voice-activated assistant Google's Voice Search and search feature Google Now to turn up relevant advertisements as well as improve the feature. But what many of you do not realize is that after every voice searches you made, Google makes a recording of it and stores it in a remote part of your account. Listen to Your Own Voice Recorded by Google However, it's no surprise to know that Google is recording our voice because it's nothing new, but it made me really scary when I heard myself so cleared. Don't believe me? Listen to your own voice recording by visiting your " Voice & Audio Activity " page in the Google Dashboard and you...

Microsoft has rolled out six security updates this Patch Tuesday , out of which three are considered to be " critical, " while the rest are marked as " important. " Bulletin MS15-106 is considered to be critical for Internet Explorer (IE) and affects absolutely all versions of Windows operating system. The update addresses a flaw in the way IE handles objects in memory. The flaw could be exploited to gain access to an affected system, allowing hackers to gain the same access rights as the logged-in user. A hacker could " take advantage of compromised websites, and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements ," the advisory states. " These websites could contain specially crafted content that could exploit the vulnerabilities. " Therefore, the dependency here is that an IE user must knowingly click on the malicious link, which then be leveraged by an attacker to get the full control over a computer t...

From today, every phone call you make, every text message you send and every email you write will compulsorily be tracked by the government agencies under a new metadata retention scheme. Yes, you heard right. If you are a citizen of Australia with a mobile phone and an Internet connection, your digital activity will be recorded. As the government's new data retention law comes into effect, the Australian telecommunications companies will now keep large amounts of your telecommunications metadata for two years. The law has allegedly been implemented to protect the country against organized terrorist and criminals, like every government agencies including the United States' intelligence agency NSA and British intelligence agency GCHQ claim. But… This new scheme vastly expands the retention of personal data, which has triggered a debate among Australians as it is a major invasion of privacy . WHAT IS BEING COLLECTED? Until today, data retention by ...

We know that Hackers hack for a variety of reasons: ...some hack to test their skills, …some hack to gain recognition, ...some hack to make money, ...some hack to support their Nation-State strategy, ...and, some hack alone, and some hack in Groups. And Chinese Hackers are the ones who are infamous for their dedication towards Hacking. Chinese hacking groups are better known for attacking and stealing information, organized cyber crimes, theft of intellectual property and state-sponsored cyber espionage attacks. But it seems that several Chinese hacker groups have now shifted their motive of hacking towards ' making money '. How much Money Hackers Actually Make? It is a known fact that hacking makes money, but how much? Answer: At least $4,500,000/year   from one malware campaign. How? We often observe mobile and desktop applications bundled with Ad-displaying programs, called Adware, to generate revenue. Just last week we repo...

Remember Killer USB ?? In March, a Russian security researcher devised a weird USB stick that is capable of destroying sensitive components of a computer when plugged-in. Now, the same researcher, nicknamed Dark Purple , has launched a new version of his computer-frying USB Killer pendrive – USB Killer version 2.0 . USB Killer 2.0 is much more powerful than the previous version and is able to "kill" more than just a PC it is plugged in. USB Killer 2.0 is More Powerful to Damage any Computer The first version of USB Killer was consist of a DC/DC converter, a few caps and an FET. When plugged into a system, the converter in the USB Killer would charge the caps up to -110V , apply that voltage to signal lines of the USB interface, and repeat the entire process until everything possible in the computer is broken down. However, the second version of USB Killer dump -220V directly onto the signal lines of the USB interface, which is powerful enough to...

Are you intrigued with the idea of disassembling things and making them work your ways? Then you'll find this coverage to be one of its kind! Google OnHub Router runs ChromiumOS ( Chrome OS ), the same Linux-based operating system that powers Google Chromebook laptops and desktops. Yeah, It's True. A Group of researchers has revealed that Google OnHub Router is actually a modified Chromebook in Cylindrical form and without screen. OnHub is a modern dual-band wireless router, designed by Google and TP-Link, operates networks on both the 2.4GHz & 5GHz frequency bands simultaneously and offers the speed of up to 1900 Mbps. Unlike traditional Broadband Routers, Google OnHub is designed to support " The Internet of Things " as well as other Smart devices, including Smartphones, Connected TVs and Computers. A Team of Modders at Exploitee.rs , also famous as GTVHacker , have successfully managed to root Google OnHub device, in the same way, they ...

Yes, Dell is going to acquire data storage company EMC in a deal worth $67 BILLLLLLION – the largest tech deal of all time. It's record-breaking... Computing giant Dell on Monday finally confirmed that the company is indeed going to purchase the company for creating what it calls " the world's largest privately-controlled, integrated technology company. " Most of you might not have heard of EMC corporation, but it is a tech titan that operates many of the services you use nowadays. EMC offers data center storage and data processing for big technology companies, and now it is been acquired by Dell. " The combination of Dell and EMC creates an enterprise solutions powerhouse bringing our customers industry leading innovation across their entire technology environment, " Michael Dell, CEO and chairman of Dell, said in a statement . The acquisition will benefit Dell to create a new company that will sell a broad range of both consumer as well as ...

Here we are with our weekly roundup, showcasing last week's top cyber security threats and challenges. Just in case you missed any of them (ICYMI), THN Weekly Round-Up helps you provide all important stories of last week in one shot. We advise you to read the full story (just click ' Read More ' because there's some valuable advice in it as well). Here's the list: 1. Facebook to Launch Its Own Satellite to Beam Free Internet Facebook has revealed its plans to launch a  $500 Million Satellite  by next year in an effort to provide free or cheap Internet access in the developing countries. The social network giant has teamed up with the French satellite provider  Eutelsat  Communications to  beam free Internet  access to several parts of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. For detailed information on Facebook's Satellite Project –  Read more … 2. Angler Exploit Kit Campaign Generating $30 Million Took Down Researchers...

Apple has removed several apps from its official iOS App Store that have the ability to compromise encrypted connections between the servers and the end-users. Apple has officially said: We have removed a "few" apps from the iOS App Store that could install root certificates and allow monitoring your data. It's like- they have analyzed and admitted that they lacked in the auditing of the App Store hosted Apps. The company is also advising its users to uninstall the malicious apps from their iPhones, iPads and iPods in order to prevent themselves from monitoring, though it has yet to name the offending apps. App Store Apps Spy on Encrypted Traffic The challenge that stood before Apple was, they discovered that "few" of the Apps in the iOS App Store were capable of spying on the users by compromising SSL/TLS security solutions of their online communication. Root certificates are the fundamental part of how encrypted connections like HTT...

Yes, NETGEAR Routers have once again become a victim of DNS Monitoring, potentially affecting 11,000 Devices. This week, we reported about a Vigilante Hacker , who protected users by installing malware on their Wi-Fi routers, forcing them to use a secure password. Now within few days, a security researcher has discovered a serious vulnerability in Netgear routers that has been publicly exploited by hackers. The critical flaw could allow hackers to bypass authentication mechanism and change the Domain Name System (DNS) settings of victims' routers to the malicious IP address. [ Exploit Code ] A security researcher, named Joe Giron, gave the details of his experience to BBC, saying that he noticed some anonymous activities in his machine and on investigating he learned that: The admin settings on his personal router have been modified on 28 September. Specifically, Domain Name System (DNS) settings on his router were changed to a suspicious IP address. ...

For the very first time in history, China has arrested hackers within its borders at the request of the United States government. The helping hands of China made me remind of recent Hollywood movie, The Martian , in which China's CNSA helped the United States' NASA to rescue astronaut Mark Watney who was mistakenly presumed dead and left behind on the planet Mars. Although China did not rescue anyone, rather it did arrest, but the point is – China helped the United States. Just two weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the U.S., the Chinese government took unprecedented step by complying with a United States request and arresting a handful of hackers within its borders, anonymous U.S. officials told the Washington Post. The arrested hackers were suspected of stealing commercial secrets from U.S. firms and then selling or passing on those secrets to Chinese state-run companies. The hackers were part of a wanted list drawn up by the U.S....