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  • iSpy? Researcher exposes backdoor in iPhones and iPads

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    How much of your personal data on your iPhone or iPad would you be willing to bet law enforcement or a hacker can grab from your device, even if you’ve encrypted it?

    How about all of it?

    A “backdoor” that Apple built into iOS for developers can be used to spy on iPhones and iPads by governments, law enforcement, or cyber criminals, according to forensics researcher Jonathan Zdziarski.

    For the backdoor to be exploited by a spy, your iDevice needs to be synced to another computer via a feature called iOS pairing.

    Once your iDevice is paired to your PC or Mac, they exchange encryption keys and certificates to establish an encrypted SSL tunnel, and the keys are never deleted unless the iPhone or iPad is wiped with a factory reset.

    That means a hacker could insert spyware on your computer to steal the pairing keys, which allows them to locate and connect to your device via Wi-Fi.

    Because iPhones and iPads automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks with names they recognize, an attacker could then set up a hotspot using a spoofed network name to get your device to connect, and grab all your data.

    Zdziarski used his talk at the HOPE X hacker conference on 18 July to state that Apple’s backdoors give access to personal data that’s beyond what developers or Apple itself need.

    In mentioning that the Snowden leaks revealed the National Security Agency (NSA) had used backdoors in iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, Zdziarski also implied that the NSA may have used Apple’s backdoors for easy access to iPhones and iPads.

    Apple issued a statement to reporters, acknowledging the access through pairing.

    But what Zdziarski described as a backdoor, Apple calls “diagnostic functions” – Apple said developers and IT departments need them for “troubleshooting.”

    Apple’s statement also flatly denies any cooperation with the NSA, or government agencies “from any country.”

    We have designed iOS so that its diagnostic functions do not compromise user privacy and security, but still provides needed information to enterprise IT departments, developers and Apple for troubleshooting technical issues.

    A user must have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer before that computer is able to access this limited diagnostic data. The user must agree to share this information, and data is never transferred without their consent.

    As we have said before, Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services.

    Zdziarski said:

    Apple’s seeming admission to having these back doors, however legitimate a use they serve Apple, unfortunately have opened up some serious privacy weaknesses as well.

    I think at the very least, this warrants an explanation and disclosure to the some 600 million customers out there running iOS devices.

    The lack of disclosure of these security loopholes is a bit puzzling, but Apple seems to have, at least, done the disclosing part now.

    Will Apple back down?

    Will the programmers in Cupertino be instructed to remove the libraries, or perhaps limit their use to developers debugging their apps?

    Chances are that’s not going to happen, not least because Apple obviously went to some trouble to get all this stuff working in the first place.

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  • iPhone 6 leak – Sneak Preview of what’s to come

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    If the rumors hold true, the next iPhone could sport a nearly indestructible and perhaps flexible sapphire screen. That sound you hear is Apple muttering, “Bring it on” to device torture-testers everywhere.

    espanol-iphone6-rumorv3.jpg

    The iPhone 6 seems to be itchin’ for a fight, if the rumors are true.

    A video making the rounds this week purports to show a sapphire crystal screen panel from the upcoming iPhone 6 withstanding some pretty serious scratches and stabs from a hunting knife and some keys.

    It’s an impressive demonstration that, along with other rumors that the next iPhone‘s screen could also be curved or flexible, means that those like myself in the device torture-testing community might need to up our game in the near future.

    In the past, simply dropping a device (sometimes from great heights) has sufficed, but to literally scratch the surface of sapphire’s vulnerabilities is probably going to take a little more creativity.

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  • Tails Website has been hacked! Operating System Tails Hacked

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    tails os website hacked the hacker news

    Just a few hours ago, the Official website of the Tails Operating System has been hacked and it appears that a self-proclaimed 17-year old hacker breached and defaced it.

    Tails is a Linux-based highly secure Operating System, specially designed and optimized to preserve users’ anonymity and privacy. Hacker, who named himself “Sum guy”, managed to access the website as administrator and edited the homepage content with the following message:

    You has been haxoredeszed by sum dumb 17 year old by accident… Sorry about that please forgive me! I accidentally logged myself in as someone important and changed the site, not knowing that what I was changing would save! So sorry about that… I hope you have a backup, Oh and btw I love your OS! Yours sincerely, Sum guy
    And before I leave,
    Hi ed…
    and zoin

     

    Defaced Link: https://tails.boum.org/index.en.html. However, all other pages on the Tails website are working just fine, but at this moment it is not clear whether the hacker has also modified the OS Image or not. So readers are advised to do not download the Tails OS from the website, at least for a few days.

    Tails, also known as ‘Amnesiac Incognito Live System‘, is free software based on Debian GNU/Linux and you install it on a DVD or USB drive, boot up the computer from the drive. This allows you to work on a sensitive file on any computer and prevent the data being recovered after the computer is turned off.

    Tails was reportedly used by the NSA Whistle-blower Edward Snowden in discussions with journalists because it includes a range of tools for protecting your data by means of strong encryption.

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  • TowelRoot – 1-Click Android Rooting tool released by Geohot

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    one click android rooting software app

     

    Waiting for the root access for your AT&T or Verizon Android phone? Then there is really a Great News for you!

    Geohot (aka George Hotz) – a famed cracker who was responsible for hacking the PlayStation 3 and subsequently being sued by Sony – has built and released a root tool called Towelroot on Sunday night that will let most Android smartphones users to root their Android device with one click only, as long as it has an unpatched version of the Linux kernel.
    EXPLOITS LINUX KERNEL VULNERABILITY 

    Towelroot application exploits the same vulnerability (CVE-2014-3153) which was recently disclosed by the hacker Pinkie Pie in the Linux kernel version 3.14.5 and most versions of other Android devices, which could be leveraged by hackers to potentially acquire root access on affected devices.

     

    Having root access of your device simply means you make System-level changes to your device such as accessing and modifying any file or program using any mode (single- or multi-user). It is just like operating an administrator account on a computer.
    SUPPORTED DEVICES

    Towelroot supports handful of devices so far including some particularly tough phones. here’s the list:

    • AT&T Galaxy S5
    • Verizon Galaxy S5
    • Galaxy S4 Active
    • Nexus 5
    • AT&T Galaxy Note 3
    • Verizon Galaxy Note 3
    • Also some users have even reported its success with the all time favorite company of GeoHot, Sony Xperia SP C5303.

    Geohot became famous for being the first person to carrier unlock the original iPhone in 2007 and later for creating the limera1n jailbreak tool for future versions of the iPhone. He gained fame after subsequently hacking the software of the PlayStation 3 console, thereby opening up the ability to add homebrew and play pirated games, for which he was taken to court by Sony.
    HOW TO ROOT ANDROID DEVICE

    Step 1: Download Android Rooting application from towelroot.com and install it.

    Step 2: While Installation you might receive warning message saying that Towelroot “contains code that attempts to bypass Android’s security“. Just hit Install anyway after selecting the checkbox: “I understand and still want to install it“.

    Step 3: Once the Towelroot installation completes, launch the application and click the button reading “make it ra1n” and it will force your device to reboot.

    Step 4: After the device reboots to home screen your phone will be rooted with its bootloader unlocked. Cheers!

    Along with the Android users who were itching to get Android rooting technique for their devices and doing tons of things such as customizations, patching apps and installing third-party ROMs, the new tool will also allow cybercriminals as well to gain administrative access to a victim’s phone.

     

    Specifically, at the same time the cyber criminal with the administrative access could potentially run malicious code, retrieve files, bypass third-party or security applications including containers like Samsung’s secure Knox sub-operating system, and place backdoors for future access on users’ devices.

     

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  • Certain DevianArt advertising Campaigns lead to Malware, Spyware and Unwanted Applications on your computer

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    DeviantArt Malwaretising

     

    Today, the estimated number of known computer threats like viruses, worms, backdoors, exploits, Trojans, spyware, password stealer, and other variants of potentially unwanted software range into millions. It has the capability to create several different forms of itself dynamically in order to thwart antimalware programs.

    Users of the biggest online artwork community, DevianART with Global Alexa Rank 148, are targeted by the potentially unwanted software programs — delivered by the advertisements on the website, Stop Malvertising reported on Sunday.

    A Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) is a program that may not be intentionally malicious, but can negatively affect the performance and reliability of the system by distributing spyware or adware that can cause undesirable behavior on the computer. Some may simply display annoying advertisements, while others may run background processes that cause your computer to slow down. However, unlike malware, users themselves consent to install a PUA into their systems.

    The malicious advertisements are delivered via newly registered (3rd March 2014) domains – Redux Media (www.reduxmedia.com) and avadslite.com. “Over the past months, this domain has been seen to resolve to the following IP addresses: 107.20.210.36 (2014-05-01), 54.243.89.71 (2014-05-01) and 184.170.128.86 (2014-05-25). According to VirusTotal, malware has communicated with the last two IP addresses.” Kimberly from Stop Malvertising said.

    Once the user click on the Ad served by the DevianArt website, they are redirected to the Optimum Installer, a source of Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA’s) that downloads legitimate software applications as well as bundled third-party software including toolbar.

     

    malware ad

    As shown, a pop-under warning will urge users to “update Media Player“, immediately followed by a second advertisement to “update Windows 7 Drivers” to avoid vulnerabilities, reduce crashes and ensure an optimal browsing experience. This is just a scam nothing more or less.

    Obviously, these are well known social engineering techniques to trick the computer user into installing malicious or ad-support software. Such infection are designed specifically to make money, generate web traffic, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.

     

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  • First Android Phone Ransomware that Encrypts your SD card Files

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    We have seen cybercriminals targeting PCs with Ransomware malware that encrypts your files or lock down your computer and ask for a ransom amount to be paid in a specified duration of time to unlock it.
    To deliver the Ransomware malwares to the mobile devices, cyber criminals have already started creating malicious software programs for android devices. Last month, we reported about a new Police Ransomware malware that locks up the devices until the victims pay a ransom to get the keys to unlock the phone. But, the malware just lock the mobile screen and a loophole in the its implementation allowed users to recover their device and data stored on SDcard.

    Now, in an effort to overcome this, threat actors have adopted encryption in the development of mobile Ransomware malwares. Recently, the security firm ESET has discovered a new Android ransomware, dubbed as Android/Simplocker.A, that has ability to encrypt the files on the device SD card and then demand a ransom from the victim in order to decrypt those files.

    Once installed, the malware scans the SD card for certain file types such as image, document or video with extensions – jpeg, jpg, png, bmp, gif, pdf, doc, docx, txt, avi, mkv, 3gp, mp4 and encrypts them using AES in a separate thread in the background. After encrypting the files, the malware displays the following ransom message, written in Russian, which clearly means that this threat is targeting Russian Android users.

    “WARNING your phone is locked!
    The device is locked for viewing and distributing child pornography , zoophilia and other perversions.
    To unlock you need to pay 260 UAH.
    1.) Locate the nearest payment kiosk.
    2.) Select MoneXy
    3.) Enter {REDACTED}.
    4.) Make deposit of 260 Hryvnia, and then press pay. Do not forget to take a receipt!
    After payment your device will be unlocked within 24 hours. In case of no PAYMENT YOU WILL LOSE ALL DATA ON your device!”

    The Ransomware malware directs victim to pay the ransom amount i.e. 260 UAH, which is roughly equal to $21 US, through the MoneXy service, as this payment service is not easily traceable as the regular credit card.

    mobile virus

    To maintain anonymity the malware author is using the Command-and-Control server hosted on TOR .onion domain and the malware sends the information of the infected device such as IMEI number to its server. The researchers at ESET are still analysing the malware:

    “Our analysis of the Android/Simplock.A sample revealed that we are most likely dealing with a proof-of-concept or a work in progress – for example, the implementation of the encryption doesn’t come close to “the infamous Cryptolocker” on Windows.”

    The researchers have found that the malware is capable to encrypt the victim’s files, which could be lost if the decryption key is not retrieved from the malware author by paying the ransom amount, but on the other hand the researchers strongly advise users against paying fine, as their is no guarantee that the hacker will provide you decryption keys even after paying the amount.
    Unfortunately, mobile antivirus products are only capable to detect such known/detected threats only and can’t detect similar the new threats. So, it is important for you to always keep the back-up of all your files either manually on the computer system or use cloud backup services like dropbox, google drive etc, in order to protect it from the emerging threats.

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  • Android security loophole lets apps take and upload pics without you knowing

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    Google is always keen to downplay the problem of malware on Android, for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t make the underlying threats any less troubling. New threats are being discovered all the time, and as the platform grows – with over 1.5 million Android devices being activated every day – the potential to infect ever more devices grows too.

    It must be said that Google does a pretty decent job when it comes to eliminating malware from its own Play Store – less than 0.1% of apps there contain malicious code, according to F-Secure (pdf) – and efforts such ason-device monitoring have also helped to limit the impact of rogue software. But third-party Android stores fare considerably worse than this; according to Forbes, in one third-party store, a staggering 33% of apps were found to be infected.

    One such threat was documented by security researcher Szymon Sidor this week, who found that by creating an app that exploited a simple loophole in the OS, he was able to get a device to capture photos using its camera, and then upload them to a remote server, without the user having so much as a hint that anything untoward had happened.

    [​IMG]
    Your phone could be taking photos of you looking like this, without you knowing!

    Sidor said that he had observed numerous apps on Google Play that were capable of taking photos covertly, but each of them required a visible indication of the app’s activity on screen and, critically, for the screen to be switched on. As he wrote on his Snacks For Your Mind blog, he set about trying to see if there was a way to perform the same task, but without that visible indication.

    He succeeded, and he was able to do so by exploiting a simple loophole in Android’s security features. Android requires that, when a photo is being taken, a preview of the image viewfinder must be shown on the screen; it’s a measure to ensure that users know that the camera is engaged and not taking photos or videos of them without their knowledge.

    But Sidor adjusted the code in his testbed app to continue displaying that preview, but only on a single pixel. That makes it completely impossible for a user to be able to see the preview, and therefore none the wiser if an app were to covertly be capturing snaps of them and uploading them elsewhere. The app was also able to capture other details from the device, such as battery level (crucial in helping to avoid detection of the app via its battery drain), and even the current location of the device. Check out the video below:

    Perhaps the most disturbing finding is revealed in this little snippet (emphasis is ours):

    The result was amazing and scary at the same time – the pixel is virtually impossible to spot on Nexus 5 screen (even when you know where to look)! Also it turned out that even if you turn the screen completely off, you can still take photos, as long as the pixel is still there.

    Sidor’s post on his findings is well worth a read – and he also includes a few handy tips on how to protect yourself from the threat of malicious apps on your Android device. He acknowledges that he was not, in fact, the first to discover this flaw, but also adds that he has contacted Google with the details of his own research, in the hope that they will close the loophole with a future security patch.

     

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  • 4chan Hacked, Attacker Mainly Targeted Moderator Accounts

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    Complete Computer Repair Latest News and Virus Threats Fort Lauderdale
    Complete Computer Repair News

     

    A few hours ago, Christopher Poole, aka “moot,” the founder of 4chan, revealed that the popular image-based bulletin board was hacked.

    The attack took place last week. The hacker leveraged a software vulnerability to gain access to administrative functions and data from a 4chan database. The attacker apparently wanted to expose the posting habits of a specific user he didn’t like.

    “After careful review, we believe the intrusion was limited to imageboard moderation panels, our reports queue, and some tables in our backend database,” moot noted.

    “Due to the way the intruder extracted information from the database, we have detailed logs of what was accessed. The logs indicate that primarily moderator account names and credentials were targeted.”

    The hacker accessed the Pass credentials of three 4chan Pass users. The impacted individuals have been notified and offered refunds and lifetime Passes.

    moot highlights the fact that 4chan doesn’t process any payment information, so the attacker couldn’t have gained access to financial data. Payment information is processed by Stripe.

    As far as the vulnerability leveraged by the hacker is concerned, it has been patched shortly after 4chan became aware of it. Software and systems are being reviewed to prevent future breaches.

    In a 4chan post published last week (removed since), a user revealed that the attacker was an Australian individual who wanted to expose “multiple abuses of power and violations of proper mod stewardship.” The attacker allegedly gained access to the details of over 12,000 sold Passes. He’s said to have had access to 4chan’s systems for a week.

    This isn’t the first time 4chan is targeted by hackers. Back in June 2012, hackers of UGNazi redirected the site’s visitors to their Twitter account.

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  • AOL hit by massive data breach, Urges users to change their passwords

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    AOL hit by massive data breach

    The personal details of AOL’s millions of customers has been leaked in an attack on the company’s systems, resulting in thousands of accounts being hijacked to send spam.
    Internet pioneer AOL has warned of a major breach that has affected a significant number of users, leaking email and postal addresses, contact information and password details to attackers unknown.

    AOL launched in 1983 as the Control Video Corporation and produced a short-lived modem-based gaming download service for the Atari 2600 dubbed GameLine. The precursor to Valve’s Steam and similar digital distribution systems, GameLine was not a financial success; the company had better luck with the Link series of online portals for the Commodore 64, Apple II and Macintosh, and IBM compatibles. In 1989, America Online was born as a walled-garden internet service which included chat, email and several games – including the first-ever web-based interactive fiction series and the first automated play-by-email game.

    While internet-savvy consumers soon dropped AOL’s walled-garden system for more open services from generic internet service providers, the company still boasts a considerable client base. Despite an ongoing slide in customers, the company boasts a near three-million user count in the US alone – and it’s these customers who have been exposed in a serious security breach.

    ‘We have determined that there was unauthorised access to information regarding a significant number of user accounts,’ the company admitted late last night, following an investigation into spam messages sent from registered AOL accounts. ‘This information included AOL users’ email addresses, postal addresses, address book contact information, encrypted passwords and encrypted answers to security questions that we ask when a user resets his or her password, as well as certain employee information. We believe that spammers have used this contact information to send spoofed emails that appeared to come from roughly two per cent of our email accounts.’

    The company has not confirmed the nature of the ‘encryption’ used to store the passwords – which should, by industry best practice, be a salted one-way hash function, rather than reversible encryption – but does claim that it has ‘no indication’ that said encryption was broken; this despite the attackers gaining full access to the accounts from which spam is issuing, an indication that they have indeed been able to retrieve at least some passwords from the corpus.

    Users affected by the breach – and, at this point, it looks to cover anyone with an AOL email address, active or otherwise – is advised to reset their password and change their security questions; if the same password is used anywhere else, that should be changed too.

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  • Linux Worm targets Internet-enabled Home appliances to mine Cryptocurrencies

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    Could a perfectly innocent looking device like router, TV set-top box or security cameras can mine Bitcoins? YES! Hackers will not going to spare the Smart Internet-enabled devices.

     

    A Linux worm named Linux.Darlloz, earlier used to target Internet of Things (IoT) devices, i.e. Home Routers, Set-top boxes, Security Cameras, printers and Industrial control systems; now have been upgraded to mine Crypto Currencies like Bitcoin.

    Security Researcher at Antivirus firm Symantec spotted the Darlloz Linux worm back in November and they have spotted the latest variant of the worm in mid-January this year.

    Linux.Darlloz worm exploits a PHP vulnerability (CVE-2012-1823) to propagate and is capable to infect devices those run Linux on Intel’s x86 chip architecture and other embedded device architectures such as PPC, MIPS and MIPSEL.

    The latest variant of Linux.Darlloz equipped with an open source crypto currency mining tool called ‘cpuminer’, could be used to mine Mincoins, Dogecoins or Bitcoins.

    Symantec Researchers scanned the entire address space of the Internet and found 31,716 devices infected with Darlloz. “By the end of February 2014, the attacker mined 42,438 Dogecoins (approximately US$46 at the time of writing) and 282 Mincoins (approximately US$150 at the time of writing). These amounts are relatively low for the average cybercrime activity so, we expect the attacker to continue to evolve their threat for increased monetization.” Kaoru Hayashi, senior development manager and threat analyst with Symantec in Japan.

    Major infected countries are China, the U.S., South Korea, Taiwan and India.

    Darlloz hack malware

    Crypto Currency typically requires more memory and a powerful CPUs, so the malware could be updated to target other IoT devices in the future, such as home automation devices and wearable technology.A Few weeks back, Cisco has announced a global and industry-wide initiative to bring the Security community and Researchers together to contribute in securing the Internet of Things (IoT) and launched a contest called the “Internet of Things Grand Security Challenge“, offering prizes of up to $300,000 for winners.

    Users are advised to update firmware and apply security patches for all software installed on computers or Internet-enabled devices. Make sure, you are not using default username or password for all devices and block port 23 or 80 from outside if not required.

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