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What you'll do if Ransomware infects you? Should you pay or not to recover your files? Believe me, the FBI advises - Pay off the criminals to get your files back if you don't have a backup. But paying off a ransom to cyber criminals is definitely not a wise option because there is no guarantee that you'll get the decryption key in return. In the latest incident, the new variant of KillDisk ransomware has been found encrypting Linux machines, making them unbootable with data permanently lost. What is KillDisk? KillDisk is a destructive data wiping malware that has previously been used to sabotage companies by randomly deleting files from the computers. KillDisk is the same component associated with the Black Energy malware that was used to hit several Ukrainian power stations in 2015, cutting power for thousands of people. But according to ESET security researchers, the nasty KillDisk disk wiper malware is back with new variants that target Windows and Lin...

Update: A hacker yesterday claimed to have hacked the FBI's website running on Plone CMS, but it seems it wasn't hacked using any zero-day vulnerability in Plone. We contacted Plone security team and updated this story (see below) with official statements. A hacker, using Twitter handle CyberZeist , has claimed to have hacked the FBI's website (fbi.gov) and leaked personal account information of several FBI agents publically. CyberZeist had initially exposed the flaw on 22 December, giving the FBI time to patch the vulnerability in its website's code before making the data public. The hacker exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the Plone CMS , an Open Source Content Management software used by FBI to host its website, and leaked personal data of 155 FBI officials to Pastebin , including their names, passwords, and email accounts. CyberZeist tweeted multiple screenshots as proof of his claims, showing his unauthorized access to server and database files usi...

Ransomware has been around for a few years, but in last two years, it has become one of the fastest growing threats to businesses and users across the world, so will be in 2017. Ransomware is a piece of malware that encrypts files on your computer with strong encryption algorithms and then demands a ransom money in Bitcoin to decrypt the data so you can regain access to your encrypted files. We have seen some nastier ransomware infections over the past couple of years. The most interesting one was Popcorn Time that decrypts victims files for free if they pass the infection on to other people. Now, a new strain of ransomware takes the infection to a whole new level of craziness. Dubbed Koolova , the ransomware will restore your encrypted files for free, just like Popcorn Time. The only difference between both the infections is that you don't have to infect others to get free decryption key. Instead, all you have to do is educate yourself about ransomware by reading two...

What a good start of the New Year for those holding Bitcoins! Web-based digital currency Bitcoin has passed $1,110 for the first time on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI) since early November 2013. Bitcoin broke the barrier on 1 January and now is trading above $1,150 mark at the time of writing, marking a bright beginning to 2017 for the digital currency. At the time of writing, 1 Bitcoin = $1158.99. Bitcoin is a revolutionary virtual currency that has no central authority; instead, it relies on thousands of computers worldwide that validate transactions and add new Bitcoins to the system. The world's first and most famous cryptocurrency is developed around Blockchain, which is a complex cryptographic protocol and a global computer's network that oversees and verifies which Bitcoins have been spent by whom. The identity of the people spending Bitcoins is extremely difficult to trace because of its anonymous nature. Therefore, the currency is very popular among criminal...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced a "prize competition" for creating a software or hardware-based solution with the ability to auto-patch vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Today we are surrounded by a number of Internet-connected devices. Our homes are filled with tiny computers embedded in everything from security cameras, TVs and refrigerators to thermostat and door locks. While IoT is going to improve life for many, the number of security risks due to lack of stringent security measures and encryption mechanisms in the devices have increased exponentially, giving attackers a large number of entry points to affect you in some or the other way. Remember Mirai Botnet ? A botnet of just 100,000 hijacked IoT devices was used to flood the Dyn DNS service with unwanted requests and close down the Internet for Millions of Users a few months ago. At that time, Chinese firm Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology admitted its smart products – DVRs and ...