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Today’s topics include recommendations for a federally mandated aerial drone registration process, Dell’s directions for removing the rogue eDellRoot CA certificate authority from its computers, a renewed Windows partnership between Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprises, and a study finds iOS and Android mobile payment app security is lacking.
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force presented its recommendations for a drone registration process for review by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The task force proposed a Web- based or mobile-based registration process with the goal of making it as easy as possible for drone owners to register these remotely controlled craft to encourage compliance.
Additionally, drone owners would only be required to register once, regardless of how many drones the person owns. The new regulations apply to any unmanned aircraft weighing more than 250 grams or about 8.8 ounces.
Dell released an advisory to its customers on how to remove a preinstalled, self-signed root-certificate authority known as eDellRoot.
Dell disclosed the laptops were accidentally shipped with the root certificate installed, and this could provide an avenue for cyber-attackers to break into the machines and steal data.
Dell has publicly posted instructions on how users can remove eDellRoot CA from all Dell systems and will remove it from all new systems the company ships from now on.
Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard completed its split into two companies: the PC- and printer-centric HP Inc., and the business computing focused-Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
While it was assumed HP Inc. would continue a long-standing partnership with Microsoft, there was speculation about whether Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Microsoft would continue to maintain a similar relationship.
However, it seems those questions have been answered because the two companies confirmed they had established a relationship to bring Windows-based solutions to businesses.
As consumers get ready for holiday sales events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an announcement from Bluebox Security may make some think twice about how much they will use mobile payment apps to shop.
According to the study, at least 10 of the most popular apps across Apple iOS and Google Android do not have enough security features in place. Specifically, none of the payment apps examined in the study encrypts data stored on users’ devices.
This could enable attackers to potentially access information that will allow them to steal money from user bank accounts. While Bluebox said this was a serious security issue, it would not release the names of the apps at risk.