Sean Michael Kerner

Security firm Lookout reported on Dec. 20 that it found three fake Bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet apps in the Google Play store, which Google has since removed. Users who want to hold cryptocurrency like Bitcoin need some form of wallet to access, receive and send the currency. There are multiple types of wallets, including offline hardware, […]

Back in May 2013, Twitter first added a two-factor authentication capability to its service, relying on SMS to deliver a six-digit log-in code. Now, after four and a half years, Twitter is adding new options, announcing on Dec. 20 that its 2FA approach will support third-party tools. Twitter calls its 2FA approach “log-in verification,” and […]

Time and again over the course of 2017, security researchers have discovered personally identifiable information sitting on publicly accessible Amazon S3 cloud storage instances.  The latest company to misconfigure cloud data storage is data analytics firm Alteryx, which exposed information on 123 million American households in a data leak reported by security firm UpGuard on Dec. […]

As 2017 draws to close, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that was in cyber-security. In many respects, this was a landmark year for cyber-security, with the scale of attacks and breaches reaching new heights as organizations struggled to stay safe. A number of key cyber-security events took place in 2017—involving ransomware, […]

The U.S. government on Dec. 19 officially pointed the finger at the North Korean government as being responsible for the WannaCry ransomware attacks that first appeared in May. In a press conference at the White House, Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert (pictured) laid out the government’s case against North Korea regarding the WannaCry attacks. Bossert also […]

Network security vendor F5 has discovered a new attack that makes use of known vulnerabilities including the same Apache Struts vulnerability linked to the Equifax breach to mine the Monero cryptocurrency. F5’s threat researchers have dubbed the campaign “Zealot”, which is also the name of a file that is part of multi-stage attack. The Zealot files […]

Thales announced on Dec. 17 that it will acquire digital security vendor Gemalto in a deal valued at 4.8 billion euros, or $5.6 billion. Gemalto was pursued by French firm Atos, which announced its intention to acquire Gemalto on Dec. 13. Atos offered 46 euros per Gemalto share, while Thales is offering 51 euros per […]

Linux Mint 18.3 ‘Sylvia’ Boasts Updated Software Manager, Backup Tools Linux Mint has emerged to become one of the most popular desktop Linux operating systems, thanks in large part to the distribution’s Cinnamon desktop environment. The latest release—Linux Mint 18.3 “Sylvia”—which became generally available on Nov. 27, is based on the Ubuntu 16.04 long-term support […]

Cisco rolled out on Dec. 14 its Cisco Security Connector app, which provides extended security capabilities for Apple iOS device users. Cisco Security Connector benefits from integration with other Cisco technologies, including Umbrella and Clarity, to provide enhanced visibility and control over iOS devices, to help mitigate security risks. The app also benefits from Cisco’s […]

Facebook is aiming to make it easier for organizations to understand and monitor the status of SSL/TLS certificates that have been issued. On Dec. 14, the company announced a series of new tools for developers to gain insight into Certificate Transparency logs and certificate issuance. The new tools, which include Webhooks and a Graph API, […]

Security researchers disclosed a vulnerability dubbed ROBOT on Dec. 12 that is based on an encryption risk that was first disclosed in 1998. Multiple hardware vendors and well-known public websites were potentially at risk from the flaw, which has now been patched. The Return Of Bleichenbacher’s Oracle Threat (ROBOT) was reported by security researchers Hanno […]

Three of the individuals who were behind the Mirai internet of things botnet attack have pleaded guilty for their roles in the attacks that crippled parts of the internet in late 2016.   On Dec. 5, Paras Jha, Josiah White and Dalton Norman pleaded guilty for their roles in the Mirai IoT botnet cyber-attacks, according to […]