A new guide from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government is offering guidance to political campaigns that wish to keep hackers at bay.
Technologies
Survey of Enterprises Finds High Anxiety over IoT
A survey by Forrester and the firm Forescout finds business leaders in a state of high anxiety over the Internet of Things, as more connected devices infiltrate the workplace.
Experts Propose Standard for IoT Firmware Updates
Bleeping Computer reported that a new proposal submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defines a secure framework for delivering firmware updates to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Insecure software updates for embedded devices (aka ‘firmware’) have been a frequent source of security lapses on mobile and embedded devices like Internet connected webcams. Filed on October 30, the “IoT Firmware Update Architecture,” establishes security requirements for device makers to implement when designing firmware update mechanisms for connected devices. A familiar list of features The proposed rules include features that have long been recommended by security experts to permit safe handling of software updates. Among them the use of cryptographically signed updates and public key cryptography to provide end-to-end security and verify firmware images, as well as the ability to work with low-power and resource constrained IoT devices. Firmware has been the source of widespread security issues. For example, low-cost […]
Report details mass digital surveillance, attacks on ASEAN linked to Vietnamese APT group
The security firm Volexity reported on Monday that it uncovered a massive campaign of digital surveillance and web-based attacks directed at ASEAN and other civil society groups in Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries, including ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Volexity researchers discovered malicious code lurking on main website for ASEAN and more than 80 other websites, many belonging to small media, human rights and civil society organizations, as well as individuals who had been critical of the Vietnamese government. The malicious code allowed the hacking group, dubbed OceanLotus, to track, profile and target visitors to the websites, Volexity said. The scope of the campaign was one of the largest the researchers have ever come across, rivaling the so-called “Waterbug” campaign of phishing and watering hole attacks that was described by the security firm Symantec in 2016. Links to Vietnam OceanLotus is believed to be an Advanced Persistent Threat (or […]
Antivirus Software is dying. What will replace it?
In this industry perspective, Dan Larson of the firm CrowdStrike argues that antivirus software is becoming less effective at stopping damaging cyber attacks, but that companies need to look before they leap when replacing it.
