anti malware

Brian Richardson, Intel

UEFI: Security, BIOS and the Internet of Things

One of the notable trends in recent years has been the drive, among malicious actors, to compromise devices in new- and hard-to-detect ways. An area of interest and exploration is malicious software that can attack a computer’s BIOS – the small bit of code that runs when a computing device is first powered on. BIOS malware is so powerful because it offers adversaries the possibility of getting a foothold on systems prior to an operating system and the security features- and applications that run there. Successful BIOS attacks give attackers almost total control over the system they are installed on. BIOS malware isn’t a new idea. In fact, it has been around since the late 1990s, when the Chernobyl Virus was identified. That virus could wipe a machine’s BIOS, a well as the contents of its hard drive. But BIOS threats have been getting more attention lately. Proof of concept malware appeared as recently […]

Samsung Research America

Report: Samsung Investing In IoT Security

South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. said on Tuesday that it will invest heavily in security for the Internet of Things sector, citing security for IoT as a ‘key future technology’ alongside energy storage and harvesting.   The report on Tuesday, from South Korea’s Yonhap News Service said Samsung, currently the world’s top maker of mobile phones, said Samsung is soliciting proposals on IoT security algorithms and protocols through the end of June. Possible applications include “biometrics, smart structures and advanced traffic networks,” according to Yonhap. The announcement comes by way of Samsung’s Future Technology Fostering Center, a research group that the company established last year to help keep it on the cutting edge in technology. According to published reports, Samsung has pledged 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) over 10 years to fund the Center. Approximately 750 billion won ($670 million) will be allocated to research projects through 2017.

Veterans Targeted In Attack Using IE 10 Zero Day

Visitors to the web site of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) are being targeted in an attack that exploits a previously unknown hole in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10 web browser, according to warnings Thursday by security firms.   Some visitors to the web site of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), vfw[dot]org, were the victim of a ‘watering hole’ attack that takes advantage of a previously unknown ‘use-after-free’ vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10 web browser. The VFW site was hacked and then altered to redirect users, silently, to a malicious website programmed to exploit vulnerable versions of IE 10 on systems running 32 bit versions of the Windows operating system.  The VFW did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment. According to a write-up by the security firm FireEye, the vulnerability allows the attacker to “modify one byte of memory at an arbitrary address” stored […]

Confer graphic_Final

With $8m In Funding, Confer Taps Cloud, Crowd To Secure Endpoints

A new endpoint security startup, Confer, pulled the covers off its technology on Wednesday, announcing a new services-based endpoint protection product that it claims will provide better protection against malicious software and advanced attacks. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Confer has been in existence for just over a year and has received $8 million in venture funding from North Bridge Capital and Matrix Partners. The company’s cloud- and endpoint-based software enables organizations to collaborate to stop sophisticated attacks by sharing attack and malware anonymously with other Confer customers. The company said its technology will appeal to enterprise customers who have grown weary of malware infections that manage to bypass or elude traditional anti virus software. Confer is just the latest company to see dollar signs in corporations’ waning enthusiasm for anti malware software. Modern anti malware products are still focused on securing Windows endpoints. They are geared for use in the […]