Malware will lock users out of their devices then demand money transfer to regain access
WASHINGTON – How much would you pay to have your smartphone released if it were hijacked? It sounds like a joke, but according to the Cisco 2015 Midyear Security Report,...
Recently I had an opportunity to meet with Martin Hunt, senior business development director of the automotive industry practice for BT Global Services, to better understand how BT is working in the connected car space. It’s important to clarify that BT Global Services is just...
Since 2009, there has been a significant push to encrypt all Web traffic in order to protect Internet users against surveillance of the content of their communications. The goal was to transition from HTTP, which is notorious for being easy to manipulate, to the...
Regional wireless provider to support parent company, target enterprises and local governments
Regional wireless telecom provider SouthernLINC is set to offer what it’s calling “mission critical” LTE services to parent company Southern Company and entities in Southern Company’s service area.
SouthernLINC said the service would take...
Thunderstrike 2 infects firmware; fix is to re-flash chip
Two computer researchers have created a new firmware worm, Thunderstrike 2, which calls into question the airtight security usually associated with Apple MacBook products.
The research, which has resulted in a proof-of-concept, was done by Xeno Kovach...
IoT is a hot topic at National Instruments' ongoing NI Week
AUSTIN, Texas – National Instruments kicked off its annual NI Week on Aug. 3, and among the first round of presentations was a forward-looking panel discussion about the future of the "Internet of Things."
Moderated...
In 2013, according to IDC, the digital universe contained 4.4 zettabytes of data. By 2020, that figure will surge to 44 zettabytes. This 10x jump in data is the result of the explosion of mobile devices, cloud services and the millions of sensors and...
Smartwatches are a huge security risk according to a new study by Hewlett-Packard. HP tested 10 different smartwatches and found that 100% were vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The vulnerabilities include insufficient authentication, lack of encryption and privacy concerns, according to HP Fortify.
The study found, “Smartwatches...
Cyber threats, secret intrusions and very public data breaches are now part of everyday threats, and the types and vectors of threats are bewildering. In addition to cyber criminals, carriers have to be worried about regulatory threats and enforcement actions. And the number of...
Swapping biometric data for traditional security measures presents challenges and opportunities
WASHINGTON – Global financial services company MasterCard is reportedly testing the possibility of adding facial recognition as a security measure for online purchases.
Fraud is now the world’s No. 1 criminal enterprise, costing consumers and...
What do Spotify, the European Central Bank and Apple have in common? All were the targets of major cybersecurity attacks in 2014, which rose a whopping 48% from 2013 to 2014. Unsurprisingly, people are rattled. According to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 24% of consumers...
As high-profile network security breaches continue to make the news, with the most recent breach of the federal Office of Personnel Management, network security firms with defense pedigrees are looking to target the service provider markets – including mobile network operators – both for their...
An infographic published by Dynatrace reveals just how pervasive mobile usage has become. For instance, mobile app downloads are expected to rise to 200 billion by 2017 – a 185% jump from 2013. A statistic of particular interest for merchants is that mobile users...
I have never seen a situation quite like it in my 22 years in the high-tech industry. I am referring to the sudden and more intense focus by executives on data security, digital trust and intrusion protection.
During my meetings with clients in the past...
Mobility and the cloud are the top two trends affecting enterprise networks, and application visibility is becoming increasingly important to network security as businesses put more of their functions into cloud-based apps, according to Yaniv Sulkes, AVP of marketing for Allot.
He said that while content...
Carrier fixed problem after being tipped off by BuzzFeed
In response to input from a news outlet, Verizon this week fixed a security gap that left some 9 million home Internet customers open to a relatively simple, but devastating, cyberattack.
BuzzFeed News broke the story on...
DARPA researchers plan to demo vulnerability of connected car at conferences
WASHINGTON – Cybersecurity researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, funded by the federal government, announced they will publicly hack a connected car or truck.
The duo received a 2013 grant from the Defense Advance Projects...
The Federal Trade Commission reached a non-monetary settlement with Nomi Technologies based on a complaint that the firm helped retailers track millions of customers via their mobile phones.
“Nomi will be prohibited from misrepresenting consumers’ options for controlling whether information is collected, used, disclosed or...
More connected devices equates to more cybersecurity exposure, more risk
WASHINGTON – Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the nation's largest management consulting firms that is well known for its broad range of experience on cybersecurity, has predicted that a new and more comprehensive approach will...
A secure solution from Ericsson and Intel Security
The explosion of connectivity over the last few years has brought value to all sorts of new frontiers in business and society. But with all that growth comes increased difficulty to keep information on the networks safe...
Booz Allen Hamilton recently published its views on the increasing battle for the dashboard in the connected car. I had the opportunity to learn more about the company and its work in this space. As more and more industry players traditionally known for expertise in IT and...
In an apparent attempt to help fight cyber attacks, IBM has announced it will make its 700 TB database filled with raw cyberthreat data available to private and public companies.
The company has said it will release the data through its new X-Force Exchange platform,...
In-flight Wi-Fi could potentially open up avionics controls to hackers
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on April 14 released a report detailing the potential for in-flight Wi-Fi networks to be compromised by cyber attacks.
In the 56-page report, the GAO found that connectivity associated with modern...
KPN's CIO Jaya Baloo wants everyone to “live long, laugh a lot and encrypt everything.”
Speaking at the International NCSC One Conference in The Hague, Baloo said encryption was essential for protecting the freedom of expression.
Baloo also praised the Blackphone, a secure smartphone designed by Silent Circle that...
