February, 2022

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Breaking 256-bit Elliptic Curve Encryption with a Quantum Computer

Schneier on Security

Researchers have calculated the quantum computer size necessary to break 256-bit elliptic curve public-key cryptography: Finally, we calculate the number of physical qubits required to break the 256-bit elliptic curve encryption of keys in the Bitcoin network within the small available time frame in which it would actually pose a threat to do so. It would require 317 × 10 6 physical qubits to break the encryption within one hour using the surface code, a code cycle time of 1 μ s, a reaction

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Report: Missouri Governor’s Office Responsible for Teacher Data Leak

Krebs on Security

Missouri Governor Mike Parson made headlines last year when he vowed to criminally prosecute a journalist for reporting a security flaw in a state website that exposed personal information of more than 100,000 teachers. But Missouri prosecutors now say they will not pursue charges following revelations that the data had been exposed since 2011 — two years after responsibility for securing the state’s IT systems was centralized within Parson’s own Office of Administration.

Education 360
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Which Types Of Encryption Will Remain Secure As Quantum Computing Develops – And Which Popular Ones Will Not

Joseph Steinberg

As I discussed last month, unless we take actions soon, a tremendous amount of data that is today protected through the use of encryption will become vulnerable to exposure. The reason that such a major threat exists is simple – much of today’s data relies on the security of what are known as asymmetric encryption algorithms, and such algorithms rely for their security on the fact that the mathematics that they use to encrypt cannot easily be reversed in order to decrypt.

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The Irony of InfoSec’s Reaction to Crytpo, NFTs, and Web3

Daniel Miessler

There’s something strange about how our InfoSec community is reacting to cryptocurrency, NFTs, and Web3. Mostly, it’s horribly negative. And not dispassionate negative either—but a negativity soaked in ridicule and hate. This is very curious coming from a community that includes so many hackers. I think this comes from the dual nature of hackers themselves.

InfoSec 352
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Prevent Data Breaches With Zero-Trust Enterprise Password Management

Keeper Security is transforming cybersecurity for people and organizations around the world. Keeper’s affordable and easy-to-use solutions are built on a foundation of zero-trust and zero-knowledge security to protect every user on every device. Our next-generation privileged access management solution deploys in minutes and seamlessly integrates with any tech stack to prevent breaches, reduce help desk costs and ensure compliance.

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How Everything We're Told About Website Identity Assurance is Wrong

Troy Hunt

I have a vehement dislike for misleading advertising. We see it every day; weight loss pills, make money fast schemes and if you travel in the same circles I do, claims that extended validation (EV) certificates actually do something useful: Why are you still claiming this @digicert ? This is extremely misleading, anyone feel like reporting this to the relevant advertising standards authority in their jurisdiction?

Banking 332
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GUEST ESSAY – A primer on ‘WAAP’ – an approach to securing APIs at the web app layer

The Last Watchdog

One could make the argument that Application Programming Interfaces — APIs – are a vital cornerstone of digital transformation. Related: How a dynamic WAF can help protect SMBs. APIs interconnect the underlying components of modern digital services in a very flexible, open way. This has resulted in astounding innovations in cloud services, mobile computing, IoT systems and agile software development.

Mobile 266

More Trending

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How Phishers Are Slinking Their Links Into LinkedIn

Krebs on Security

If you received a link to LinkedIn.com via email, SMS or instant message, would you click it? Spammers, phishers and other ne’er-do-wells are hoping you will, because they’ve long taken advantage of a marketing feature on the business networking site which lets them create a LinkedIn.com link that bounces your browser to other websites, such as phishing pages that mimic top online brands (but chiefly Linkedin’s parent firm Microsoft ).

Phishing 347
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Could That QR Code Actually Be a Phishing Attack?

Lohrman on Security

The FBI recently warned consumers that some QR codes can lead to fraud and steal victim funds if scanned into smartphones. Let’s explore this growing trend.

Phishing 256
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Anton and The Great XDR Debate, Part 3

Anton on Security

TLDR: no, this post still does not contain the Ultimate Answer for XDR, Life and Everything Question. Moreover, I don’t think anything ever will. While we discuss XDR , the market forces change the definitions, vendors pivot away, analysts ponder, customers cry… well, the cyber-usual. To start, I’ve had many conversations about XDR recently. Some were the ones where I sought answers, while others were where I sought questions and some were where people sought answers from me.

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Weekly Update 281

Troy Hunt

I feel like perfect audio remains an unsolved problem for me. Somehow, a low "hiss" has slipped in over the last couple of weeks and messing around trying to solve it before recording this video only served to leave me without any audio at all on the first attempt, and the status quo remaining on the second attempt. And I still can't use my Apollo Twin DAC as an input device almost a year on from when I bought it.

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Optimizing The Modern Developer Experience with Coder

Many software teams have migrated their testing and production workloads to the cloud, yet development environments often remain tied to outdated local setups, limiting efficiency and growth. This is where Coder comes in. In our 101 Coder webinar, you’ll explore how cloud-based development environments can unlock new levels of productivity. Discover how to transition from local setups to a secure, cloud-powered ecosystem with ease.

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GUEST ESSAY: 5 steps all SMBs should take to minimize IAM exposures in the current enviroment

The Last Watchdog

Which topics should CEOs, CIOs and CISOs have on their radar when it comes to Identity and Access Management ( IAM ) and cyber security risks in 2022? Related: How IAM authenticates users. Here are a few important issues that relate to the changes in today’s working environment. Reduce manual processes. Automation can help get rid of manual processes.

CISO 245
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A New Cybersecurity “Social Contract”

Schneier on Security

The US National Cyber Director Chris Inglis wrote an essay outlining a new social contract for the cyber age: The United States needs a new social contract for the digital age — one that meaningfully alters the relationship between public and private sectors and proposes a new set of obligations for each. Such a shift is momentous but not without precedent.

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Red Cross Hack Linked to Iranian Influence Operation?

Krebs on Security

A network intrusion at the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) in January led to the theft of personal information on more than 500,000 people receiving assistance from the group. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that the email address used by a cybercriminal actor who offered to sell the stolen ICRC data also was used to register multiple domain names the FBI says are tied to a sprawling media influence operation originating from Iran.

Hacking 281
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Planning for a Nation-State Cyber Attack — Are You Ready?

Lohrman on Security

Some global experts are predicting a significant cyber attack against U.S. and UK critical infrastructure if Russia invades Ukraine. Whether it happens or not, is your organization prepared for this scenario?

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The Tumultuous IT Landscape Is Making Hiring More Difficult

After a year of sporadic hiring and uncertain investment areas, tech leaders are scrambling to figure out what’s next. This whitepaper reveals how tech leaders are hiring and investing for the future. Download today to learn more!

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Cyberattack threat: Corporate users infected via Microsoft Teams

Tech Republic Security

Corporate users are more aware of phishing attacks in their mailboxes. Yet they are not used to being targeted via other systems like Microsoft Teams. Learn how to protect yourself. The post Cyberattack threat: Corporate users infected via Microsoft Teams appeared first on TechRepublic.

Phishing 217
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Welcoming the New Zealand Government to Have I Been Pwned

Troy Hunt

Continuing the march forward to provide governments with better access to their departments' data exposed in breaches , I'm very pleased to welcome the 28th national government onto Have I Been Pwned - New Zealand! They'll join the other govs around the world that have complete free access to breach information impacting their gov domains and TLDs.

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GUEST ESSAY: Can Apple’s pricey ‘Business Essentials’ truly help SMBs secure their endpoints?

The Last Watchdog

Today’s operating system battleground has long been defined by the warfare between the top three players—Microsoft’s Windows, Google’s Android, and Apple’s iOS. Related: Co ok vs. Zuckerberg on privacy. While each of them has its distinguishing features, Apple’s privacy and security are what makes it the typical enterprise’s pick.

Marketing 245
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The EARN IT Act Is Back

Schneier on Security

Senators have reintroduced the EARN IT Act, requiring social media companies (among others) to administer a massive surveillance operation on their users: A group of lawmakers led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have re-introduced the EARN IT Act , an incredibly unpopular bill from 2020 that was dropped in the face of overwhelming opposition.

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The Importance of User Roles and Permissions in Cybersecurity Software

How many people would you trust with your house keys? Chances are, you have a handful of trusted friends and family members who have an emergency copy, but you definitely wouldn’t hand those out too freely. You have stuff that’s worth protecting—and the more people that have access to your belongings, the higher the odds that something will go missing.

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IRS: Selfies Now Optional, Biometric Data to Be Deleted

Krebs on Security

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Monday that taxpayers are no longer required to provide facial scans to create an account online at irs.gov. In lieu of providing biometric data, taxpayers can now opt for a live video interview with ID.me , the privately-held Virginia company that runs the agency’s identity proofing system. The IRS also said any biometric data already shared with ID.me would be permanently deleted over the next few weeks, and any biometric data provided for new

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Google Cybersecurity Action Team Threat Horizons Report #2 Is Out!

Anton on Security

This is my completely informal, uncertified, unreviewed and otherwise unofficial blog inspired by my reading of our second Threat Horizons Report ( full version , short version ) that we just released ( the official blog for #1 is here ). Google Cybersecurity Action Team My favorite quotes follow below: “Threat actors have been known to use tools native to the Cloud environment rather than downloading custom malware or scripts to avoid detection.

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FBI: Criminals escalating SIM swap attacks to steal millions of dollars

Tech Republic Security

The federal agency says hundreds of victims have lost money due to scams over a two-year span. The post FBI: Criminals escalating SIM swap attacks to steal millions of dollars appeared first on TechRepublic.

Scams 214
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I Wanna Go Fast: How Many Pwned Password Queries Can You Make Per Second?

Troy Hunt

I feel the need, the need for speed. Faster, Faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. If you're in control, you're not going fast enough. And so on and so forth. There's a time and a place for going fast, and there's no better place to do that than when querying Have I Been Pwned's Pwned Passwords service.

Passwords 305
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IDC Analyst Report: The Open Source Blind Spot Putting Businesses at Risk

In a recent study, IDC found that 64% of organizations said they were already using open source in software development with a further 25% planning to in the next year. Most organizations are unaware of just how much open-source code is used and underestimate their dependency on it. As enterprises grow the use of open-source software, they face a new challenge: understanding the scope of open-source software that's being used throughout the organization and the corresponding exposure.

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GUEST ESSAY: Successful tactics threat actors leverage to probe, compromise vulnerable networks

The Last Watchdog

When new vulnerabilities re announced or flaws are discovered in public or “off the shelf” applications, several things happen. News spreads of the risks while attackers and security professionals alike begin searching for potential attack targets for the purpose of exploiting or protecting them. Related: How GraphQLs expanded the attack surface. When Log4Shell first hit the street, we immediately saw attacks against almost every one of our customers.

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Possible Government Surveillance of the Otter.ai Transcription App

Schneier on Security

A reporter interviews a Uyghur human-rights advocate, and uses the Otter.ai transcription app. The next day, I received an odd note from Otter.ai, the automated transcription app that I had used to record the interview. It read: “Hey Phelim, to help us improve your Otter’s experience, what was the purpose of this particular recording with titled ‘Mustafa Aksu’ created at ‘2021-11-08 11:02:41’?”.

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IRS To Ditch Biometric Requirement for Online Access

Krebs on Security

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said today it will be transitioning away from requiring biometric data from taxpayers who wish to access their records at the agency’s website. The reversal comes as privacy experts and lawmakers have been pushing the IRS and other federal agencies to find less intrusive methods for validating one’s identity with the U.S. government online.

Insurance 234
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Who Does What In Cloud Threat Detection?

Anton on Security

This post is a somewhat random exploration of the cloud shared responsibility model relationship to cloud threat detection. Funny enough, some popular shared responsibility model visuals don’t even include detection, response or security operations. Mildly embarrassing, that. Anyhow, let’s start here: a naïve view of shared responsibility model and detection is simply the following: the cloud provider (CSP) is responsible for detecting threats to their backend systems while the customer is respo

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Beware of Pixels & Trackers on U.S. Healthcare Websites

The healthcare industry has massively adopted web tracking tools, including pixels and trackers. Tracking tools on user-authenticated and unauthenticated web pages can access personal health information (PHI) such as IP addresses, medical record numbers, home and email addresses, appointment dates, or other info provided by users on pages and thus can violate HIPAA Rules that govern the Use of Online Tracking Technologies by HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates.

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2021 mobile malware evolution: Fewer attacks, escalating dangers

Tech Republic Security

2021 saw a decrease in mobile malware attacks, yet they have become increasingly sophisticated. Learn more about these threats and how to avoid being a victim. The post 2021 mobile malware evolution: Fewer attacks, escalating dangers appeared first on TechRepublic.

Mobile 211
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Weekly Update 284

Troy Hunt

A little late this week as the tail end of travel bites into my time, but it's nice to be home again (albeit amidst a period of record rainfall). I'll get back on a normal schedule next week but for now, here's all the usual stuff in number 284, complete with a super cool "ransomwear" hoodie from this week's sponsor, Varonis 😎 References The Messaging Malware Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group Mary Litynski Award (seeing industry recognition for HIBP is enormousl

Mobile 245
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GUEST ESSAY: The case for shifting to ‘personal authentication’ as the future of identity

The Last Watchdog

I currently have over 450 accounts that use passwords combined with a variety of two-factor authentication methods. Related: How the Fido Alliance enables password-less authentication. I don’t know every password; indeed, each password is long, complex and unique. In effect, my passwords are now “keys” — and I must authenticate across many accounts, multiple times per day, on a variety of device platforms.

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On the Irish Health Services Executive Hack

Schneier on Security

A detailed report of the 2021 ransomware attack against Ireland’s Health Services Executive lists some really bad security practices : The report notes that: The HSE did not have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or a “single responsible owner for cybersecurity at either senior executive or management level to provide leadership and direction.

Antivirus 318
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Software Composition Analysis: The New Armor for Your Cybersecurity

Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera

Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?