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In Brief According to an investigation, Matthew Edman, a cyber security expert and former employee of the Tor Project, helped the FBI with Cornhusker a.k.a Torsploit malware that allowed Feds to hack and unmask Tor users in several high-profile cases, including Operation Torpedo and Silk Road. Do you know who created malware for the FBI that allowed Feds to unmask Tor users? It's an insider's job… A former Tor Project developer. In an investigation conducted by Daily Dot journalists, it turns out that  Matthew J. Edman , a former part-time employee of Tor Project, created malware for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that has been used by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies in several investigations, including Operation Torpedo . Matthew Edman is a computer scientist who specializes in cyber security and investigations and  joined the Tor Project in 2008 to build and enhance Tor software's interactions with Vidalia software, cross-platform

In Brief The Microsoft's Windows Defender Advanced Threat Hunting team detected that a cyber espionage group of hackers, known as PLATINUM, has found a way to turn the Windows's Hotpatching technique (a way of updating the operating system without requiring a restart) to hide its malware from Antivirus products. PLATINUM group has been active since 2009 and launching large-scale attacks against governmental organizations, intelligence agencies, defense institutes and telecommunication providers in South and Southeast Asia. Practically speaking, the most important thing for a sophisticated APT hacker and a cyber-espionage group is to remain undetected for the longest possible period. Well, that's exactly what an APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) group has achieved. The Microsoft's Windows Defender Advanced Threat Hunting team has discovered that an APT group, dubbed Platinum, has been spying on high-profile targets by abusing a " novel " technique called

It comes as no surprise that today's cyber threats are orders of magnitude more complex than those of the past. And the ever-evolving tactics that attackers use demand the adoption of better, more holistic and consolidated ways to meet this non-stop challenge. Security teams constantly look for ways to reduce risk while improving security posture, but many approaches offer piecemeal solutions – zeroing in on one particular element of the evolving threat landscape challenge – missing the forest for the trees.  In the last few years, Exposure Management has become known as a comprehensive way of reigning in the chaos, giving organizations a true fighting chance to reduce risk and improve posture. In this article I'll cover what Exposure Management is, how it stacks up against some alternative approaches and why building an Exposure Management program should be on  your 2024 to-do list. What is Exposure Management?  Exposure Management is the systematic identification, evaluation,

No matter how smart and fast your devices would be, the biggest issue is always with the battery technology. Whenever you go to buy any electronic gadget — smartphone, laptop, or any wearable — the most important specification isn't its processor speed or its camera quality but its Battery Backup , which is not getting better any time soon. What if you could eliminate the very thing entirely? Well, that's exactly what the electrical engineers from the University of Washington has developed. A team of researchers from the University of Washington's Sensor Lab and the Delft University of Technology has developed a new gadget that doesn't need a battery or any external power source to keep it powered; rather it works on radio waves. So, this means you have to turn on your radio every time to keep this device charged. Right? No, you don't need to do this at all, because the device sucks radio waves out of the air and then converts them into electricity. Wireless Ident

In Brief The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made its first disclosure about a software security flaw to Apple under the Vulnerability Equities Process (VEP), a White House initiative created in April 2014 for reviewing flaws and deciding which ones should be made public. Unfortunately, the vulnerability reported by the federal agency only affected older versions of Apple's iOS and OS X operating system and was patched nine months ago, with the release of iOS 9 for iPhones and Mac OS X El Capitan, according to Apple. The FBI informed Apple of a vulnerability in its iPhone and Mac software on April 14, but it's not the one used to unlock an iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, Reuters  reported . But, Why didn't the FBI disclose the hack used to get data off the San Bernardino iPhone ? Well, the answer came from the FBI is not much complicated. According to the FBI Director James Comey, the FBI is still assessing whether the hack used to unlock Farook's i

In Brief A group of pro-ISIS hackers calling themselves the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) has issued a "Kill List" containing the names of dozens of U.S. government personnel at the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and several other federal agencies. Meanwhile, the US military's Cyber Command has announced to launch its first attack against ISIS' digital infrastructure in an effort to disrupt the terrorist's communications and other core functions. The announcement came earlier this week when President Barack Obama discussed the war on ISIS ( Islamic State ) in Hanover, Germany, where he met with world leaders and represented this new cyber initiative, according to the sources from New York Times. On the other side, the Kill List was distributed Monday by the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) hackers over the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging app Telegram through which the ISIS communicate with their followers and spread terro

1. Spotify Hacked! Change your Password ASAP If you are one of the millions of people around the world who love to listen to music on Spotify, you may need to change your password immediately. Has Spotify been hacked? The company says no, but some Spotify users have claimed their profiles were hijacked, and details were changed without knowledge, including passwords and email addresses, TC  reported . Spotify apparently suffered a security breach that leaked hundreds of Spotify accounts details, including emails, usernames, passwords and account type, which was published last week to the popular anonymous file sharing website Pastebin. Spotify is investigating the Pastebin leaks of Spotify user information. 2. Over 1 Million Android Apps Are Coming to Chrome OS Google is ready to integrate millions of Android applications onto its Chrome OS platform by bringing the entire Play Store to it. Redditor 'TheWiseYoda' first spotted a new option to "Enable And

In Brief US-based Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) agency is sponsoring a program to build portable laser sensors that could detect explosives, narcotics and other dangerous chemical weapons from 100 feet away. Dubbed SILMARILS ( Standoff Illuminator for Measuring Absorbance and Reflectance Infrared Light Signatures ), the program aims to identify biological agents as well as chemical and explosive substances in real-time. The Bombs are often planted in public areas, so it is important to detect them in a way that does not harm the surrounding infrastructure and human lives. The new technology could make the front line and home front safer for everyone. The agency has funded five companies via the US Air Force, including LGS Innovations, Physical Sciences, Photonics, Block Engineering, and Leidos, through its SILMARILS program . Currently, the technology used to detect narcotics, explosives, and other dangerous chemicals requires physical contact

In Brief Cyber crooks find a new and ingenious way to make hundreds of thousands of dollars with no effort. An unknown cyber gang, pretending to be Armada Collective , has made more than $100,000 in less than two months simply by threatening to launch DDoS attack on websites, but never actually launched a single attack. A group of Cyber Extortionists is sending threatening emails to businesses across the globe involves the launching of powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against victim's website unless a ransom is paid. But, the group never actually launched a single DDoS attack. In a typical scenario, attackers disrupt a targeted website with a short-term DDoS attack in order to demonstrate its power, followed by an e-mail containing ransom note threatening further disruption, if the ransom does not get paid. Armada Collective is the same criminal gang that was responsible for one of largest DDoS attacks against ProtonMail in November 2015 and ext

In Brief Investigators from British defense contractor BAE Systems discovered that hackers who stole $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank actually hacked into software from SWIFT financial platform, a key part of the global financial system. The hackers used a custom-made malware to hide evidence and go undetected by erasing records of illicit transfers with the help of compromised SWIFT system. The Bangladesh Bank hackers, who managed to steal $81 Million from the bank last month in one of the largest bank heists in history, actually made their tracks clear after hacking into SWIFT, the heart of the global financial system. SWIFT , stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, is a global messaging network used for most international money and security transfers. More than 11,000 Global Banks on HIGH ALERT! Nearly 11,000 Banks and other financial institutions around the World use SWIFT system to send securely and receive payment

Just last month, DARPA launched a project dubbed "Improv," inviting hackers to transform simple household appliances into deadly weapons . Now, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is finding someone in the private sector to develop a hacker-proof " secure messaging and transaction platform " for the U.S. military. Darpa wants researchers to create a secure messaging and transaction platform that should be accessible via the web browser or standalone native application. The secure messaging app should " separate the message creation, from the transfer (transport) and reception of the message using a decentralized messaging backbone to allow anyone anywhere the ability to send a secure message or conduct other transactions across multiple channels traceable in a decentralized ledger, " agency's  notice explains. In simple words, DARPA aims to create a secure messaging service that not only implements the standard encryption and se

In Brief Investigators from the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh investigated the $80 Million bank heist and discovered that the hackers managed to gain access to the network because the Bank was using second-hand $10 network switches without a Firewall to run its network. When it was reported last month that an unknown hacking group attempted to steal $1 Billion from Bangladesh's Federal Reserve bank account with the help of a malware and, in fact, successfully stole over $80 Million , the investigators would not say how the hackers managed to bypass the security solutions on its network. But in reality, there was no security solution installed to help protect against increasingly sophisticated attacks. This lack of security practices made it incredibly easier for the hackers to break into the system and steal $81 Million, though a simple typo (spell error) by hackers halted the further transfers of the $850 Million funds. The network computers that we

How to Hack Facebook? That's the most commonly asked question during this decade. It's a hacker dream to hack Facebook website for earning bug bounty or for any malicious purpose. Facebook security team recently found that someone, probably a blackhat hacker with malicious intent, has breached into its server and installed a backdoor that was configured to steal Facebook employees' login credentials. Since the backdoor discovered in the Facebook's corporate server, not on its main server, Facebook user accounts are not affected by this incident. Though the company would have never known about the backdoor if a whitehat hacker had never spotted the backdoor script while hunting for vulnerabilities. Also Read: Ever Wondered How Facebook Decides, How much Bounty Should be Paid? Security researcher Orange Tsai of Taiwanese security vendor DEVCORE accidentally came across a backdoor script on one of Facebook's corporate servers while finding bugs to earn cash reward fr

In Brief Facebook has hit another Milestone: More than 1 MILLION people, or you can say privacy conscious, are accessing Facebook over TOR. Facebook proudly announced today that, this month, for the first time, the people connected to the anonymous version of Facebook that's accessible only through the TOR anonymity network exceeded 1 Million – an increase of almost 100% in the past ten months. Today, when global surveillance system continues to grow, encryption has the power to protect users' security and privacy online. And it is ultimately a good thing that companies like Facebook are competing on users' security. In 2014, Facebook launched a special version of its website that runs only with the help of Tor anonymity software that offers privacy to users. Tor anonymity software or Tor browser secures and encrypts connections to prevent cyber criminals or law enforcement agencies from tracking users' web activity. Tor users can visit Facebook's Tor hidden s

In Brief: Sony is finally bolstering the security of the PlayStation Network by adding Two-Factor Authentication to the servers — almost five years after a massive hack that exposed data of over 77 Million users. Sony confirmed to Polygon today that it is planning to introduce two-factor verification to its PlayStation Network widely soon after a Twitter user saw a reference to it in the latest 4.80 firmware update for the PlayStation 3. Although there is no official announcement from the company revealing when two-step authentication will be implemented in PSN, the representative told sources that "more details will be shared at a later date." Microsoft has been providing two-step verification to its Xbox Live users since 2013. The feature is also used on Battle.net and Steam. Two-Factor authentication, also known as two-step verification, is a process that requires you to submit two different forms of verification when logging into a service: One is your

In Brief Guess how much the FBI has paid an unknown grey-hat hacker to break into San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone? FBI Director James Comey hinted during an interview that the FBI spent more than $1.3 Million for breaking into the iPhone of a suspected terrorist and found nothing useful on it. Apple's  legal battle with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ended following the bureau's announcement last month that it bought a hacking tool to break into the locked iPhone 5C belonging to the alleged San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. At the time, the FBI did not disclose the name of the third party neither it revealed the cost of the hacking tool. But yesterday while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in London, FBI Director James Comey gave a hint on the price it gave to the unnamed "outside party" for the hacking solution after Apple refused to help the agency bypass the iPhone's security mechanisms. The FBI Paid Over $1.3 MILLION f

On Tuesday, the Dutch Police arrested a 36-year-old man, Danny Manupassa , on suspicion of money laundering and involvement in selling encrypted smartphones to criminals. Manupassa owns a company called Ennetcom , which provides customized Blackberry Phones with the secure PGP-encrypted network. Reportedly, Ennetcom sold nearly 19,000 encrypted cell phones at 1500 euros each in last few years. Police have seized Ennetcom servers based in the Netherlands and Canada and pulled them offline. The seized servers contain data of encrypted communications belong to a large number of criminals. According to a press release , the investigation is ongoing and seized data from the servers will be analyzed soon. Police believe this operation would result in collecting evidence required for solving numerous ongoing investigations involving drug trafficking, assassinations, and other serious crimes. Moreover, Canadian Police is also involved in this investigation and surprisingly, i

In Brief Opera becomes the first web browser to offer a built-in Free, unlimited and 256-bit encrypted VPN service for everyone. Opera's Free VPN protects unencrypted browser session from leaking on public WiFi networks and will also let unblock firewalls to improve privacy and security. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have become an important tool not just for large companies, but also for individuals to improve web privacy, dodge content restrictions and counter growing threat of cyber attacks. Opera has released an updated desktop version of its web browser with a Free built-in VPN service to keep you safe on the Internet with just a click. That's a great deal! For those unfamiliar, VPNs are easy security and privacy tools that route your Internet traffic through a distant connection, protecting your browsing, hiding your location data and accessing restricted resources. Free VPN Service with Unlimited Data Usage Unlike several other free VPN services,

In Brief Two International hackers, Aleksandr Andreevich Panin and Hamza Bendelladj, have been sentenced to a combined 24 years and 6 months in prison for their roles in developing and distributing SpyEye banking trojan, a powerful botnet similar to the infamous ZeuS malware. Both hackers were charged with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from banking institutions worldwide. Masterminds behind the development and distribution of the infamous " SpyEye " botnet have finally been sentenced to a combined total of 24 years and 6 months in prison. Aleksandr Andreevich Panin and Hamza Bendelladj have been sentenced for their roles in developing and distributing SpyEye malware that is said to have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the financial sector, the U.S. Justice Department said  on Wednesday. SpyEye, a successor to the notorious Zeus banking malware , has affected financial institutions since 2009. Once infected, the malware connects t

In Brief: Introducing  RansomWhere , a free generic ransomware detection tool for Mac OS X users that can identify ransomware-like behavior by continually monitoring the file-system for the creation of encrypted files by suspicious processes. This ransomware detection tool helps to block the suspicious processes and waits for the user to decide whether to allow or stop the process. Ransomware has risen dramatically since last few years... so rapidly that it might have already hit someone you know. With hundred of thousands of ransomware samples emerging every day, it is quite difficult for traditional signature-based antivirus products to keep their signature database up-to-date. So, if signature-based techniques are not enough to detect ransomware infection , then what else can we do? Some Antivirus companies have already upgraded their security solutions that detect suspicious behaviors like the sequential accessing of a large number of files, using encryption algori

In Brief Apple's head of legal has denied all rumors about providing its complete source code or any backdoor to the Chinese government. Apple officially confirmed that the Chinese government has asked Apple twice in the past two years to hand over the source code for its operating system, but the company refused in both the cases. In a Tuesday hearing entitled "Deciphering the Debate Over Encryption: Industry and Law Enforcement Perspectives,"  the police officials put allegations on Apple for handing over user data to Beijing while refusing the authorities at its home in the US. However, speaking under oath at the congressional hearing, Apple's General Counsel Bruce Sewell denied the claims, saying "We have been asked by the Chinese government" for the source code behind the iPhone. But, "we refused." The response came just after Indiana State Police Captain Charles Cohen accused Apple of providing its source code to China. N