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Watch out! Facebook-owned photo-sharing service has recently patched a critical vulnerability that could have allowed hackers to compromise any Instagram account without requiring any interaction from the targeted users. Instagram is growing quickly—and with the most popular social media network in the world after Facebook, the photo-sharing network absolutely dominates when it comes to user engagement and interactions. Despite having advanced security mechanisms in place, bigger platforms like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Instagram are not completely immune to hackers and contain severe vulnerabilities. Some vulnerabilities have recently been patched , some are still under the process of being fixed, and many others most likely do exist, but haven't been found just yet. Details of one such critical vulnerability in Instagram surfaced today on the Internet that could have allowed a remote attacker to reset the password for any Instagram account and take complete contr...

The chaos and panic that the disclosure of privacy vulnerability in the highly popular and widely-used Zoom video conferencing software created earlier this week is not over yet. As suspected, it turns out that the core issue—a locally installed web server by the software—was not just allowing any website to turn on your device webcam, but also could allow hackers to take complete control over your Apple's Mac computer remotely. Reportedly, the cloud-based Zoom meeting platform for macOS has also been found vulnerable to another severe flaw (CVE-2019-13567) that could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on a targeted system just by convincing users into visiting an innocent looking web-page. As explained in our previous report by Swati Khandelwal, the Zoom conferencing app contained a critical vulnerability ( CVE-2019-13450 ) that resides in the way its click-to-join feature is implemented, which automatically turns on users' webcam when they visit an in...

After months of negotiations, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook over its privacy investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal . The settlement will put an end to a wide-ranging probe that began more than a year ago and centers around the violation of a 2011 agreement Facebook made with the FTC that required Facebook to gain explicit consent from users to share their personal data. The FTC launched an investigation into the social media giant last year after it was revealed that the company allowed Cambridge Analytica access to the personal data of around  87 million Facebook users without their explicit consent. Now, according to a new report published by the Wall Street Journal, the FTC commissioners this week finally voted to approve a $5 billion settlement, with three Republicans voting to approve the deal and two Democrats against it. Facebook anticipated the fine to between $3 billion...

Organizations around the world are wondering how to become immune from cyber attacks which are evolving every day with more sophisticated attack vectors. IT teams are always on the lookout for new ransomware and exploit spreading in the wild, but can all these unforeseen cyber attacks be prevented proactively? That's definitely a 'NO,' which is why there's a reactive approach in place to save organisations from the aftermath of take downs, and with proper cybersecurity practices, one can reduce the chances of becoming a victim. To do that, organizations should follow specific cybersecurity frameworks that will assist them in redefining and reinforcing their IT security and staying vigilant against cyber attacks. In this article, we'll understand what is cybersecurity framework, why they are mandatory for organizations, and what are their types, strategies, benefits, and implementation in detail. What is a Cybersecurity Framework? Cybersecurity framew...

Are you sure the WhatsApp app you are using on your Android device is legitimate, even if it's working perfectly as intended? ...Or the JioTV, AppLock, HotStar, Flipkart, Opera Mini or Truecaller app—if you have installed any of these? I'm asking this because cybersecurity researchers just yesterday revealed eye-opening details about a widespread Android malware campaign wherein attackers silently replaced installed legitimate apps with their malicious versions on nearly 25 million mobile phones. Now the important question here is how they're doing it and why? According to researchers at Check Point, attackers are distributing a new kind of Android malware that disguises itself as innocent-looking photo editing, adult entertainment, or gaming apps and available through widely used third-party app stores. Dubbed Agent Smith , the malware takes advantage of multiple Android vulnerabilities, such as the  Janus flaw and the Man-in-the-Disk flaw , and injects malic...

Magecart strikes again! Cybersecurity researchers have identified yet another supply-chain attack carried out by payment card hackers against more than 17,000 web domains, which also include websites in the top 2,000 of Alexa rankings. Since Magecart is neither a single group nor a specific malware instead an umbrella term given to all those cyber criminal groups and individuals who inject digital card skimmers on compromised websites, it is not necessary for every one of them to use similar techniques with the same sophistication. A new report shared with The Hacker News prior to its release details a new supply-chain attack campaign wherein hackers are using shotgun approach instead of targeted attacks to infect a wide range of websites, preferring larger infection reach as possible over accuracy. Almost two months ago, security researchers from RiskIQ discovered supply-chain attacks involving credit card skimmers placed on several web-based suppliers, including AdMaxi...

A new ransomware family has been found targeting Linux-based Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices made by Taiwan-based QNAP Systems and holding users' important data hostage until a ransom is paid, researchers told The Hacker News. Ideal for home and small business, NAS devices are dedicated file storage units connected to a network or through the Internet, which allow users to store and share their data and backups with multiple computers. Independently discovered by researchers at two separate security firms, Intezer and Anomali, the new ransomware family targets poorly protected or vulnerable QNAP NAS servers either by brute forcing weak SSH credentials or exploiting known vulnerabilities. Dubbed " QNAPCrypt " by Intezer and " eCh0raix " by Anomali, the new ransomware is written in the Go programming language and encrypts files with targeted extensions using AES encryption and appends .encrypt extension to each. However, if a compromised NAS devic...