software Archives

Tag: software

Fitbitten: Researchers Exploit Health Monitor To Earn Workout Rewards

May 2, 2013 Paul Roberts

Call it “the quantified self” – that intersection of powerful, IP-enabled personal health monitoring tools and (usually) Web based tools for aggregating, analyzing and reporting. The last five years has brought an explosion in these products. In addition to the long-popular gear like Garmin GPS watches – must have items for the exercise addicted – there’s a whole range of new tools for the merely “exercise curious” or folks interested in losing weight or just figure out what, exactly, they do all day. Count Nike’s FuelBand, Jawbone’s UP, and Fitbit in that category. Alas, a growing number of reports suggest that, when it comes to medical devices and health monitoring tools, the security of sensitive personal data isn’t a top priority. The latest news comes by way of researchers at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. A team of three researchers, composed of students and faculty, analyzed the Fitbit health monitoring device […]

The History Of Programming Languages – And Their Popularity

April 17, 2013 Paul Roberts

Our friends over at Veracode posted a great little infograph this week that explains the history of computer programming languages, starting with software development’s forefather foremother, the lovely Ada Lovelace, who is credited with developing the first programming language, an algorithm for a mechanical computer dubbed the Analytic Engine in 1883! The graphic describes the history of modern programming languages, including COBOL, FORTRAN and LISP in the 1950s and 60s, up to today’s dominant languages: Java, C and Objective-C. Check it out! Infographic by Veracode Application Security

Application Security ‘Precrimes’ Report: SQL Injection, Crypto Hacks in 2013

April 8, 2013 Paul Roberts

We have plenty of industry-provided reports that tell us what happened in the past. The annual Verizon Databreach Investigations Report is due out any day, providing data on breaches investigated by that company’s incident response professionals, as well as information from law enforcement agencies around the world. And, with the first quarter gone, its safe to assume that similar reports will follow from Symantec and others. But what about the threats for 2013? That’s where Veracode’s State of Software Security (SoSS) report comes in. Released to the public today, SoSS documents the kinds of software vulnerabilities that company found during 2012. And, where there are vulnerabilities, there will be attacks, Veracode CTO Chris Wysopal says. So what’s on tap for 2013? SQL injection attacks are likely to be one of the main attack types against web-based applications this year, as they were last year, Veracode says. That’s because SQL […]

That Facebook Account Hijack Vulnerability Is Still Dangerous. Here’s Why.

April 6, 2013 Paul Roberts

Did you hear about that really dangerous security hole that allows attackers to manipulate third party Facebook applications to hack into your Facebook account? Skype and Dropbox both said they fixed a web site redirection vulnerability that both companies fixed before the vulnerability was disclosed? Great news, right? Right. Except for the fact that the same vulnerability may exist in hundreds, or even thousands of other Facebook applications and still provides a ready pathway into Facebook accounts, according to Nir Goldshlager, the Israeli security researcher who discovered the vulnerability. Goldshlager described the vulnerability, which he named the “UnFix Bug” on his web site in a post on Wednesday, after discussing details of the hole with the online publication TechCrunch. It is just the latest in a string of security holes he has discovered in OAuth, an open authentication standard used by social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The vulnerability allows a […]

Home Invasion: Home Routers May Be The Next Big Hack

April 1, 2013 Paul Roberts

Most of us have broadband at home. It’s always there. It works and, for the most part, we don’t think about it until it goes down. Our amnesia extends to the humble home gateway or broadband router that is our connection to the global Internet. That piece of CPE (or customer-premises equipment) probably sits on our desk, or down in our basement gathering dust. Strong password? Meh. Firmware update? Hey, ‘if it ain’t broke…don’t fix it!” But all those small, insecure devices could add up to a major security crisis for users and their Internet Service Provider (ISP), according to researchers at the firm IOActive. Writing on the IOActive blog, researchers Ehab Hussein (@_obzy_) and Sofiane Taimat (@_sud0) say that millions of vulnerable home routers and gateways are vulnerable to trivial attacks. Those devices could be harnessed by cyber criminal groups, state-backed actors or hacktivists for malware distribution, spam or […]