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Security researcher Jonathan Brossard created a proof-of-concept hardware backdoor called Rakshasa that replaces a computer's BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and can compromise the operating system at boot time without leaving traces on the hard drive. In short, firmware is software that is stored in non-volatile memory on a computer chip, and is used to initialise a piece of hardware’s functionality. In a PC, the BIOS is the most common example of firmware but in the case of wireless routers, a whole Linux operating system is stored in firmware. Hardware backdoors are lethal for three reasons: They can’t be removed by conventional means (antivirus, formatting). They can circumvent other types of security (passwords, encrypted file systems). They can be injected during manufacturing. Rakshasa, named after a demon from the Hindu mythology, is not the first malware to target the BIOS the low-level motherboard firmware that initializes other hardware components. Rakshasa replac...

Whenever an important event takes place, new opportunities for cyber criminals, especially for those who develop attacks based on social engineering, arise. Currently, the whole world has its eyes glued to TV screens watching the London 2012 Olympic Games. Anti-malware and anti-virus solutions provider Webroot has issued a warning that an app app called " London Olympics Widget ," which is described as an app that displays aggregated Olympic news coverage. In fact, it's really just harvesting the user's contact list and device ID while reading up on SMS messages too. The package name is ‘com.games.London.Olympics.widget’. This app has a digital certificate claiming it was developed in New Delhi, India. For this scam, cybercriminals create websites that are very appealing; some even look very professional that they make it seem that you are close to having access to live programming. Researchers explain that the crooks rely on black hat SEO techniques to make sure t...

Website of the Southern Railways www.southernrailway.gov.in has been defaced apparently by Pakistani hackers. The hacker group that calls itself ' Pak Cyber Pyrates ' replaced the home page of the website with a page with content that denounces India's role in Kashmir. Indian and Pakistani hacking groups are engaged in a cyber war of sorts with websites in both the countries being regularly attacked and defaced.

At DEFCON 20, Raphael Mudge the developer of Armitage released the most significant update to Armitage. Armitage is now fully scriptable and capable of hosting bots in acollaborative hacking engagement. Raphael Mudge is the founder of Strategic Cyber LLC, a Washington, DC based company that creates software for red teams. He created Armitage for Metasploit, the Sleep programming language, and the IRC client jIRCii. Previously, Raphael worked as a security researcher for the US Air Force, a penetration tester, and he even invented a grammar checker that was sold to Automattic.  Raphael talk about Cortana scripting language for Cobalt Strike and Armitage. Cortana allows you to write scripts that automate red team tasks and extend Armitage and Cobalt Strike with new features. This technology was funded byDARPA's Cyber Fast Track program and it's now open source . Armitage a red team collaboration tool built on the Metasploit Framework. Cobalt Strike is Ar...

Business networking site LinkedIn has announced it took a hit of up to $1 million due to one of the year's largest reported data breaches . LinkedIn spent between $500,000 and $1 million on forensic work after a large number of passwords were breached, LinkedIn CFO Steve Sordello said on the company's earnings call today. He said the 175-million-member company continued to strengthen its website's security and is expected to add $2 million to $3 million in costs in the current quarter toward those efforts. “ Part of adding value to our members every day means ensuring that their experience on LinkedIn is safe and secure ,” he said. “ Since the breach, we have redoubled our efforts to ensure the safety of member account on LinkedIn by further improving password strengthening measures and enhancing the security of our infrastructure and data. The health of our network as measured by number of growth and engagement remains as strong as it was prior to the incident .” After...