In-brief: researchers have demonstrated how a snooping Android application can turn an Android based smart television set into an omnibus surveillance device. Get ready for more IoT misappropriations like this.
Consumer
Thing Ghetto? IT Pros Envision Separate Networks for Devices
In-brief: Could security, privacy and availability concerns created by Internet of Things devices end up encouraging separate “thing-only” networks? A survey of IT pros suggests that it could.
Update: Smart Cities Seek Security, Privacy Expertise
In-brief: Cities and state governments often lack the expertise in cyber security that could help them properly assess the risks of smart city projects, including so-called “cyber physical” risks. (Editor’s note: updated with comments from Chris Rezendes of INEX.)
FDA: Antivirus Crashed Diagnostic Tool During Heart Procedure
In-brief: antivirus software running on a medical diagnostic computer caused the device to fail in the middle of a cardiac procedure, the FDA said.
Blurred Lines: Sophisticated Hacks Building On Commodity Crime Tools
The information security industry has long operated with the premise of two, very different kinds of threats: indiscriminate, cyber criminal activity aimed at making money quick and sophisticated, targeted attacks intended to provide long term competitive advantage to another company (or economy), disrupt the operation of the target or provide a (future) strategic advantage in some kind of cyber conflict. But new research from FireEye suggests that the lines between sophisticated and unsophisticated cyber operations are blurred, making it hard for organizations to know if a given infection is merely bad luck, or evidence of a larger and more dangerous operation. Writing about a new financially motivated hacking crew called Fin6, FireEye said that the group, which targeted point-of-sale systems made off with “millions of payment card numbers.” Still, FireEye said that it couldn’t figure out how the group compromised its victims. “In Mandiant’s investigations of FIN6, the group already […]
