Showing only posts in Ars Technica. Show all posts.

Commercial spyware vendor exploits used by Kremlin-backed hackers, Google says

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Critics of spyware and exploit sellers have long warned that the advanced hacking sold by commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs) represents a worldwide danger because they inevitably find their way into the hands of malicious parties, even when the CSVs promise they will be used only …

Unpatchable 0-day in surveillance cam is being exploited to install Mirai

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images ) Malicious hackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in a widely used security camera to spread Mirai, a family of malware that wrangles infected Internet of Things devices into large networks for use in attacks that take down websites and other Internet-connected devices. The attacks target …

Hackers infect ISPs with malware that steals customers’ credentials

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Malicious hackers likely working on behalf of the Chinese government have been exploiting a high-severity zero-day vulnerability that allowed them to infect at least four US-based ISPs with malware that steals credentials used by downstream customers, researchers said Tuesday. The vulnerability resides in the Versa …

Android malware steals payment card data using previously unseen technique

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Enlarge (credit: d3sign ) Newly discovered Android malware steals payment card data using an infected device’s NFC reader and relays it to attackers, a novel technique that effectively clones the card so it can be used at ATMs or point-of-sale terminals, security firm ESET said. ESET researchers have named …

Novel technique allows malicious apps to escape iOS and Android guardrails

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Phishers are using a novel technique to trick iOS and Android users into installing malicious apps that bypass safety guardrails built by both Apple and Google to prevent unauthorized apps. Both mobile operating systems employ mechanisms designed to help users steer clear of apps that …

“Something has gone seriously wrong,” dual-boot systems warn after Microsoft update

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Last Tuesday, loads of Linux users—many running packages released as early as this year—started reporting their devices were failing to boot. Instead, they received a cryptic error message that included the phrase: “Something has gone seriously wrong.” The cause: an update Microsoft issued …

Windows 0-day was exploited by North Korea to install advanced rootkit

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) A Windows zero-day vulnerability recently patched by Microsoft was exploited by hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government so they could install custom malware that’s exceptionally stealthy and advanced, researchers reported Monday. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-38193, was one of six zero-days …

Google’s threat team confirms Iran targeting Trump, Biden, and Harris campaigns

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Enlarge / Roger Stone, former adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, center, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. (credit: Getty Images) Google's Threat Analysis Group confirmed Wednesday that they observed a threat actor backed by the Iranian government targeting Google accounts associated with US …

Nashville man arrested for running “laptop farm” to get jobs for North Koreans

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Enlarge Federal authorities have arrested a Nashville man on charges he hosted laptops at his residences in a scheme to deceive US companies into hiring foreign remote IT workers who funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in income to fund North Korea’s weapons program. The scheme, federal prosecutors …

512-bit RSA key in home energy system gives control of “virtual power plant”

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Enlarge When Ryan Castellucci recently acquired solar panels and a battery storage system for their home just outside of London, they were drawn to the ability to use an open source dashboard to monitor and control the flow of electricity being generated. Instead, they gained much, much more—some …

Students scramble after security breach wipes 13,000 devices

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Students in Singapore are scrambling after a security breach wiped notes and all other data from school-issued iPads and Chromebooks running the mobile device management app Mobile Guardian. According to news reports, the mass wiping came as a shock to multiple students in Singapore, where …

Mac and Windows users infected by software updates delivered over hacked ISP

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Enlarge (credit: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker ) Hackers delivered malware to Windows and Mac users by compromising their Internet service provider and then tampering with software updates delivered over unsecure connections, researchers said. The attack, researchers from security firm Volexity said, worked by hacking routers or similar types …

Cloudflare once again comes under pressure for enabling abusive sites

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) A familiar debate is once again surrounding Cloudflare, the content delivery network that provides a free service that protects websites from being taken down in denial-of-service attacks by masking their hosts: Is Cloudflare a bastion of free speech or an enabler of spam, malware delivery …

Mysterious family of malware hid in Google Play for years

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Enlarge A mysterious family of Android malware with a demonstrated history of effectively concealing its myriad spying activities has once again been found in Google Play after more than two years of hiding in plain sight. The apps, disguised as file-sharing, astronomy, and cryptocurrency apps, hosted Mandrake, a family …

Hackers exploit VMware vulnerability that gives them hypervisor admin

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Microsoft is urging users of VMware’s ESXi hypervisor to take immediate action to ward off ongoing attacks by ransomware groups that give them full administrative control of the servers the product runs on. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-37085, allows attackers who have already gained …

97% of CrowdStrike systems are back online; Microsoft suggests Windows changes

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Enlarge / A bad update to CrowdStrike's Falcon security software crashed millions of Windows PCs last week. (credit: CrowdStrike) CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said Thursday that 97 percent of all Windows systems running its Falcon sensor software were back online, a week after an update-related outage to the corporate security …

Chrome will now prompt some users to send passwords for suspicious files

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(credit: Chrome ) Google is redesigning Chrome malware detections to include password-protected executable files that users can upload for deep scanning, a change the browser maker says will allow it to detect more malicious threats. Google has long allowed users to switch on the Enhanced Mode of its Safe Browsing …

Secure Boot is completely broken on 200+ models from 5 big device makers

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Enlarge (credit: sasha85ru | Getty Imates) In 2012, an industry-wide coalition of hardware and software makers adopted Secure Boot to protect against a long-looming security threat. The threat was the specter of malware that could infect the BIOS, the firmware that loaded the operating system each time a computer booted …

How Russia-linked malware cut heat to 600 Ukrainian buildings in deep winter

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Enlarge / The cityscape from the tower of the Lviv Town Hall in winter. (credit: Anastasiia Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images ) As Russia has tested every form of attack on Ukraine's civilians over the past decade, both digital and physical, it's often used winter as one of its …

Major outages at CrowdStrike, Microsoft leave the world with BSODs and confusion

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Enlarge / A passenger sits on the floor as long queues form at the check-in counters at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on July 19, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images) Millions of people outside the IT industry are learning what CrowdStrike is today, and that's a real …

Vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager lets attackers change any user password

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Enlarge Cisco on Wednesday disclosed a maximum-security vulnerability that allows remote threat actors with no authentication to change the password of any user, including those of administrators with accounts, on Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem devices. The Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem resides inside the customer premises and provides …

Rite Aid says breach exposes sensitive details of 2.2 million customers

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Enlarge / Rite Aid logo displayed at one of its stores. (credit: Getty Images) Rite Aid, the third biggest US drug store chain, said that more than 2.2 million of its customers have been swept into a data breach that stole personal information, including driver's license numbers, addresses, and …

Here’s how carefully concealed backdoor in fake AWS files escaped mainstream notice

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Enlarge (credit: BeeBright / Getty Images / iStockphoto ) Researchers have determined that two fake AWS packages downloaded hundreds of times from the open source NPM JavaScript repository contained carefully concealed code that backdoored developers' computers when executed. The packages— img-aws-s3-object-multipart-copy and legacyaws-s3-object-multipart-copy —were attempts to appear as aws-s3-object-multipart-copy, a legitimate JavaScript …

Google makes it easier for users to switch on advanced account protection

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Google is making it easier for people to lock down their accounts with strong multifactor authentication by adding the option to store secure cryptographic keys in the form of passkeys rather than on physical token devices. Google’s Advanced Protection Program, introduced in 2017, requires …

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