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Recently uncovered two huge processor vulnerabilities called Meltdown and Spectre have taken the whole world by storm, while vendors are rushing out to patch the vulnerabilities in its products. The issues apply to all modern processors and affect nearly all operating systems (Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, FreeBSD, and more), smartphones and other computing devices made in the past 20 years. What are Spectre and Meltdown? We have explained both , Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) and Spectre (CVE-2017-5753, CVE-2017-5715), exploitation techniques in our previous article. In short, Spectre and Meltdown are the names of security vulnerabilities found in many processors from Intel, ARM and AMD that could allow attackers to steal your passwords, encryption keys and other private information. Both attacks abuse 'speculative execution' to access privileged memory—including those allocated for the kernel—from a low privileged user process like a malicious app running on a...

If you own a D-Link wireless router, especially DWR-932 B LTE router , you should get rid of it, rather than wait for a firmware upgrade that never lands soon. D-Link DWR-932B LTE router is allegedly vulnerable to over 20 issues, including backdoor accounts, default credentials, leaky credentials, firmware upgrade vulnerabilities and insecure UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) configuration. If successfully exploited, these vulnerabilities could allow attackers to remotely hijack and control your router, as well as network, leaving all connected devices vulnerable to man-in-the-middle and DNS poisoning attacks. Moreover, your hacked router can be easily abused by cybercriminals to launch massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, as the Internet has recently witnessed record-breaking 1 Tbps DDoS attack that was launched using more than 150,000 hacked Internet-connected smart devices. Security researcher Pierre Kim has discovered  multiple vulnerabilities in the ...

Unlike the initial reports suggested about Intel chips being vulnerable to some severe 'memory leaking' flaws, full technical details about the vulnerabilities have now been emerged, which revealed that almost every modern processor since 1995 is vulnerable to the issues. Disclosed today by Google Project Zero , the vulnerabilities potentially impact all major CPUs, including those from AMD, ARM, and Intel—threatening almost all PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, regardless of manufacturer or operating system. These hardware vulnerabilities have been categorized into two attacks , named Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) and Spectre (CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715), which could allow attackers to steal sensitive data which is currently processed on the computer. Both attacks take advantage of a feature in chips known as "speculative execution," a technique used by most modern CPUs to optimize performance. "In order to improve performance, many CPUs may choose t...

Users running the website on a self-hosted WordPress or on Drupal are strongly recommended to update their websites to the latest version immediately. A moderately critical vulnerability was discovered in the way Drupal and WordPress implement XMLRPC, which can lead an attacker to disable your website via a method known as Denial of Service (DoS) . VULNERABILITY RESULTS IN DoS ATTACK The latest update of WordPress 3.9.2 mainly addresses an issue in the PHP's XML processor that could be exploited to trigger a DoS (denial of service) attack . The vulnerability affects all previous versions of WordPress. The XML vulnerability was first reported by Nir Goldshlager , a security researcher from Salesforce.com's product security team, that impacts both the popular website platforms. The issue was later fixed by Michael Adams and Andrew Nacin of the WordPress security team and David Rothstein of the Drupal security team. ATTACK MAKES YOUR WEBSITE COMPLETELY INACCES...

Some websites have found using a simple yet effective technique to keep their cryptocurrency mining javascript secretly running in the background even when you close your web browser. Due to the recent surge in cryptocurrency prices, hackers and even legitimate website administrators are increasingly using JavaScript-based cryptocurrency miners to monetize by levying the CPU power of their visitor's PC to mine Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. After the world's most popular torrent download website, The Pirate Bay , caught secretly  using Coinhive , a browser-based cryptocurrency miner service, on its site last month, thousands of other websites also started using the service as an alternative monetization model to banner ads. However, websites using such crypto-miner services can mine cryptocurrencies as long as you're on their site. Once you close the browser window, they lost access to your processor and associated resources, which eventually stops mining. Un...

In cybersecurity, precision matters—and there's little room for error. A small mistake, missed setting, or quiet misconfiguration can quickly lead to much bigger problems. The signs we're seeing this week highlight deeper issues behind what might look like routine incidents: outdated tools, slow response to risks, and the ongoing gap between compliance and real security. For anyone responsible for protecting systems, the key isn't just reacting to alerts—it's recognizing the larger patterns and hidden weak spots they reveal. Here's a breakdown of what's unfolding across the cybersecurity world this week. ⚡ Threat of the Week NCA Arrests for Alleged Scattered Spider Members — The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that four people have been arrested in connection with cyber attacks targeting major retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods. The arrested individuals include two men aged 19, a third aged 17, and a 20-year-old woman. They were apprehended in the West...

Security researchers claimed to have discovered 13 critical Spectre/Meltdown -like vulnerabilities throughout AMD's Ryzen and EPYC lines of processors that could allow attackers to access sensitive data, install persistent malware inside the chip, and gain full access to the compromised systems. All these vulnerabilities reside in the secure part of the AMD's Zen architecture processors and chipsets—typically where device stores sensitive information such as passwords and encryption keys and makes sure nothing malicious is running when you start your PC. The alleged vulnerabilities are categorized into four classes—RYZENFALL, FALLOUT, CHIMERA, and MASTERKEY—and threaten wide-range of servers, workstations, and laptops running vulnerable AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, Ryzen Mobile or EPYC processors. Discovered by a team of researchers at Israel-based CTS-Labs, newly disclosed  unpatched vulnerabilities defeat AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology and could ...

Behind every click, there's a risk waiting to be tested. A simple ad, email, or link can now hide something dangerous. Hackers are getting smarter, using new tools to sneak past filters and turn trusted systems against us. But security teams are fighting back. They're building faster defenses, better ways to spot attacks, and stronger systems to keep people safe. It's a constant race — every move by attackers sparks a new response from defenders. In this week's ThreatsDay Bulletin, we look at the latest moves in that race — from new malware and data leaks to AI tools, government actions, and major security updates shaping the digital world right now. U.K. moves to tighten cyber rules for key sectors U.K. Debuts Cyber Security and Resilience Bill The U.K. government has proposed a new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill that aims to strengthen national security and secure public services like healthcare, drinking wat...

This past week has been packed with unsettling developments in the world of cybersecurity. From silent but serious attacks on popular business tools to unexpected flaws lurking in everyday devices, there's a lot that might have flown under your radar. Attackers are adapting old tricks, uncovering new ones, and targeting systems both large and small. Meanwhile, law enforcement has scored wins against some shady online marketplaces, and technology giants are racing to patch problems before they become a full-blown crisis. If you've been too busy to keep track, now is the perfect time to catch up on what you may have missed. ⚡ Threat of the Week Cleo Vulnerability Comes Under Active Exploitation — A critical vulnerability (CVE-2024-50623) in Cleo's file transfer software—Harmony, VLTrader, and LexiCom—has been actively exploited by cybercriminals , creating major security risks for organizations worldwide. The flaw enables attackers to execute code remotely without authorization...

You might have heard the latest news about Microsoft blocking new security patches and updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users running the latest processors from Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and others. Don't panic, this new policy doesn't mean that all Windows 7 and 8.1 users will not be able to receive latest updates in general because Microsoft has promised to support Windows 7 until 2020 , and Windows 8.1 until 2023. But those who have upgraded their machines running older versions of Windows to the latest processors, or manually downgraded their new laptops to run Windows 7/8.1 would be out of luck. A recently published Microsoft Knowledge Base article suggests that if you are running the older version of operating systems on your computers that feature new processors, including Intel's 7th generation Core i3, i5 and i7 ("Kaby Lake"), AMD Ryzen ("Bristol Ridge") and Qualcomm 8996 chips or later, the security updates will not install. Inste...

This is why you should always think twice before opening innocent looking email attachments, especially word and pdf files. Cybersecurity researchers at Cisco Talos have once again discovered multiple critical security vulnerabilities in the Atlantis Word Processor that allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code and take over affected computers. An alternative to Microsoft Word, Atlantis Word Processor is a fast-loading word processor application that allows users to create, read and edit word documents effortlessly. It can also be used to convert TXT, RTF, ODT, DOC, WRI, or DOCX documents to ePub. Just 50 days after disclosing 8 code execution vulnerabilities in previous versions of Atlantis Word Processor, Talos team today revealed details and proof-of-concept exploits for 3 more remote code execution vulnerabilities in the application. All the three vulnerabilities, listed below, allow attackers to corrupt the application's memory and execute arbitrary code und...

Note:  We have published a follow-up article with more technical details about this vulnerability which resides in Broadcom WiFi SoC equipped not only in Apple devices, but also in Android devices from various manufacturers. Less than a week after Apple released iOS 10.3 with over 100 bug fixes and security enhancements; the company has just pushed an emergency patch update – iOS 10.3.1 – to addresses a few critical vulnerabilities, one of which could allow hackers to "execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip." The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2017-6975, was discovered by Google's Project Zero staffer Gal Beniamini, who noted on Twitter that more information about the flaw would be provided tomorrow. Apple also did not provide any technical details on the flaw, but urged Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users to update their devices as soon a possible. In the security note accompanying iOS 10.3.1, Apple describes the issue as a stack buffer overflow vuln...

After the iPhone encryption battle between Apple and the FBI , Apple was inspired to work toward making an unhackable future iPhones by implementing stronger security measures even the company can't hack. Even at that point the company hired one of the key developers of Signal — one of the world's most secure, encrypted messaging apps — its core security team to achieve this goal. But it seems like Apple has taken something of a backward step. Apple deliberately weakens Backup Encryption For iOS 10 With the latest update of its iPhone operating system, it seems the company might have made a big blunder that directly affects its users' security and privacy. Apple has downgraded the hashing algorithm for iOS 10 from "PBKDF2 SHA-1 with 10,000 iterations" to "plain SHA256 with a single iteration," potentially allowing attackers to brute-force the password via a standard desktop computer processor. PBKDF2 stands for Password-Based Key Deri...