Articles for September 2016

Breach of White House contractor’s email apparently reveals schedules, whereabouts of first lady, VP Joe Biden and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Source: Hackers post image of Michelle Obama’s passport – CNET

Be careful with what you torrent. A new tool on the black market is helping hackers distribute malware through torrent files in exchange for a fee.

Source: Hackers sell tool to spread malware through torrent files | Computerworld

Federal court cases going on right now are revealing that federal officials can read all your email without your knowledge.

Source: Feds: We can read all your email and you’ll never know – UPI.com

Ransomware attacks on businesses grew exponentially in the past year. Here’s what you need to know and how you can prepare.

Source: Why ransomware is exploding, and how your company can protect itself | ZDNet

Security researchers from InfoArmor have revealed the use of Raum in active campaigns to spread malware through torrents.

On Tuesday, InfoArmor released a detailed analysis of Raum, most often found packaged with the most popular torrent files on the Internet.

While torrent packages themselves are not illegal — as the technology behind them, BitTorrent, is simply a protocol used to increase the download speed of large files between systems — the most popular and active torrents are usually uploaded to share copyrighted material.

Found through websites including The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent and TorrentHound, these torrents allow users to share movies, television shows, games and music, among other content.

When torrents and P2P networking first began to emerge online, you could often tell if torrents were fake or malicious files based on file sizes and peer reviews. However, with the evolution of both torrents and cyberthreats, ways to distribute malware have become more sophisticated.

Source: Raum turns the most popular torrents on the web into malware spreading weapons | ZDNet

Franchises, resellers, customer service, collaboration tools, and training — professional hacking organizations are now operating like any other business.

Source: Cybercrime Inc: How hacking gangs are modeling themselves on big business | ZDNet

Sophisticated malware has been discovered, capable of tricking users into giving away admin rights to their entire system, as well as stealing their bank details.

Source: Data-stealing Qadars Trojan malware takes aim at 18 UK banks | ZDNet

NOTE:  Don’t ask these guys to secure your systems…

One of the IT guys who set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server apparently asked redditors to help him delete evidence.

Source: Hillary’s IT Guy Asked Reddit To Help Him Delete Hillary’s E-Mails

You may want to earn money working from home as a customer service rep for Amazon, but they have some worrying rules about what you should (and shouldn’t) be running on your computer.

Source: Uninstall your anti-virus says Amazon, if you want to work for us from home

Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth 4, is the leading protocol designed for connecting IoT devices, medical equipment, smart homes and like most emerging technologies, security is often an afterthought.

As devices become more and more embedded in our daily lives, vulnerabilities have real impact on our digital and physical security.

Source: How to Hack Smart Bluetooth Locks and IoT Devices — Check this Out