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A programmer who was arrested in March this year—not because he hacked someone, but because he created and distributed a remote access software that helped cyber criminals—has finally pleaded guilty. Taylor Huddleston , 26, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusions for intentionally selling a remote access tool (RAT), called NanoCore, to hackers. NanoCore RAT happens to be popular among hackers and has been linked to instructions in at least 10 countries, among them was a high-profile assault on Middle Eastern energy firms in 2015. NanoCore RAT, a $25 piece of remote access software, allows attackers to steal sensitive information from victim computers, such as passwords, emails, and instant messages. The RAT could even secretly activate the webcam on the victims' computers in order to spy on them. Huddleston began developing NanoCore in late 2012, not with any malicious purpose, but with a motive to o...

Microsoft has finally launched a new dedicated bug bounty program to encourage security researchers and bug hunters for finding and responsibly reporting vulnerabilities in its latest Windows versions of operating systems and software. Being the favourite target of hackers and cyber criminals, every single zero-day vulnerability in Windows OS—from critical remote code execution, mitigation bypass and elevation of privilege to design flaws—could cause a crisis like recent WannaCry and Petya Ransomware attacks. In past five years the tech giant has launched multiple time-limited bug bounty programs focused on various Windows features, and after seeing quite a bit of success, Microsoft has decided to continue. "Security is always changing, and we prioritise different types of vulnerabilities at different points in time. Microsoft strongly believes in the value of the bug bounties, and we trust that it serves to enhance our security capabilities." With its latest bu...

What if I say that your cute, smart robotic vacuum cleaner is collecting data than just dirt? During an interview with Reuters, the CEO of iRobot, the company which manufactured Roomba device, has revealed that the robotic vacuum cleaner also builds a map of your home while cleaning — and is now planning to sell this data to third-party companies. I know it sounds really creepy, but this is what the iRobot company has planned with the home mapping data its Roomba robots collect on its users. What is Roomba? Manufactured by Massachusetts-based firm iRobot, Roomba is a cute little robotic vacuum cleaner — which ranges in price from $375 to $899 — that has been vacuuming up household dirt since 2002. Early versions of Roomba used IR or laser sensors to avoid obstacles in their way, but the company began distributing high-end Wi-Fi-connected Roomba models from 2015, such as the Roomba 980, which includes a camera and Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) technology tha...

Earlier this year, China announced a crackdown on VPNs and proxy services in the country and made it mandatory for all VPN providers and leased cable lines operators to have a license from the government in order to use such services. Now, Russia is also considering to follow a similar path. The Russian Federation Council has just approved a bill that would outlaw the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), the Tor anonymity network, anonymous mobile messaging services and internet proxy services, citing concerns about the spread of extremist materials. VPNs are third-party services that help users access block banned websites by encrypting users' Internet traffic and routeing it through a distant connection, hiding their location data and access sites that are usually restricted or censored by a certain country. The bill to ban VPNs and proxy services has been passed by the lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, on Friday, and only needs to be approved by the u...

Chinese authorities have recently initiated a crackdown on the operators of a massive adware campaign that infected around 250 Million computers , including Windows and Mac OS, across the world earlier this year. The adware campaign was uncovered by security researchers at Check Point last month after it already infected over 25 million computers in India, 24 million in Brazil, 16 million in Mexico, 13 million in Indonesia and 5.5 million in the United States. Dubbed Fireball , the infamous adware comes bundled with other free legitimate software that you download off the Internet. Once installed, the malware installs browser plug-ins to manipulate the victim's web browser configurations and replace their default search engines and home pages with fake search engines. Far from legitimate purposes, Fireball has the ability to spy on victim's web traffic, execute malicious code on the infected computers, install plugins, and even perform efficient malware dropping, cr...