Tag Archive for: improve

Four simple ways to improve your online security and protect your data from hackers

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When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, cybersecurity isn’t the first topic that springs to mind. 

But given the time we spend online, and the amount of sensitive information at stake, perhaps it should.

So here are four easy things you can do to protect your data and devices from hacking.

1. Choose strong passwords

Yes, this is the most boring advice in this article but it’s definitely still relevant. According to a 2019 online security survey by Google and Harris Poll, 13 per cent of people use the same password for all their accounts.

Doing this makes you vulnerable if your credentials are leaked in the event of a data breach – and we’ve seen a lot of them during the last couple of years. To know if you have been affected by one of these breaches, you can check on the website: haveibeenpwned.com by entering your email or phone number.

The site will run a search through the published breaches. If your mail appears in the list, it’s recommended that you change your password immediately. And please, do choose a strong one.

For example, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recommends combining three random words. This a precaution to take especially for your mailbox, which stores all kinds of sensitive information.

Despite some controversies, the easiest way to keep track of your different logins is to use a password manager. Even if no solution is 100 per cent safe, a password manager allows you to have different strong passwords and keep them all encrypted.

Should you change your passwords regularly? That’s a thorny question. 

The French cybersecurity agency recently changed its guidelines to say that frequent mandatory changes actually result in a lower level of password security. As a result, it doesn’t advise that companies require changing passwords regularly anymore for basic users (as opposed to IT administrators).

2. Secure your transactions with two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication, as its name suggests, combines the use of a password with another method that can be a text message, an app or a biometric identification. 

The NCSC recommends using it for “high-impact” activities such as transferring money or adding credit card details.

Yes,…

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How Does Blockchain Improve Malware Detection?

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  • Although we usually discuss about the benefits of blockchain With regard to cryptocurrencies, we should not lose sight of the fact that this technology could have a similar or more important use: to trace malware
  • This innovation that emerged with bitcoin brings with it a number of essential qualities to explore. malware on another level, and it’s better to know why it’s so optimistic

If you read our articles often, you may have noticed that, especially over the past few years, we have talked a lot about blockchain technology, almost always in relation to bitcoin and altcoins. But since this advance not only allows the commercialization of crypto but Certainly transforms the conversation with online services, then we invite you to learn how it improves blockchain find out malware,

In modern computing, where virtually all of our important data resides online, it makes more sense than ever to try to figure out how cybercriminals operate, but it’s also important to understand how. New technologies have come to provide us with a more secure environment,

History of blockchain And this malware

You don’t have to be an expert to think that, in 2008, when Nakamoto presented blockchain With his bitcoin cryptocurrency in hand, he could sense that the technology would have a “life of its own”.It is certainly being adopted in many other sectors that wish to take advantage of its many benefits.

In any case, and regardless of your assumptions, what is clear is that because of its innate characteristics such as its persistence, anonymity, and even audit ability, blockchain This quickly caught the attention of cybersecurity experts, who saw many of these properties as essential to detect and attack. malware,

old ways fade away

In fact, one thing that is clear is that malware evolves with the rest of the technology, so Those old detection systems are becoming obsolete and we need to lean on the latest in innovation,

The key is that the old ways are only able to detect malware or declare it as such, when it is part of the database malware known, then New threats overcome them,

by observing the behavior of the files, and malware already classified, to discover some of the behaviors that…

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FTC Orders Online Retailer CafePress to Improve Security After 2019 Hack

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The Federal Trade Commission on Friday ordered online retailer CafePress to strengthen its security measures and pay a $500,000 fine as part of a settlement over a 2019 breach affecting millions of customers’ personal data.

The final order mandates that the e-commerce site minimize its data collection, encrypt users’ Social Security numbers and institute multifactor authentication measures. The company also will have to undergo independent security audits every other year.

The settlement reflects how the agency under Chair Lina Khan has pushed prescriptive measures to curtail alleged data-privacy abuses and security lapses. The Biden appointee has promised to take a more aggressive approach to such issues as part of an expansive regulatory agenda.

The CafePress settlement stems from a February 2019 incident in which a hacker accessed data from the online retailer’s computer systems. The breached information included more than 20 million customer emails and passwords with allegedly inadequate encryption, as well 180,000 Social Security numbers stored in plain text. The FTC alleged that the e-commerce site failed to implement reasonable security protections, retained data longer than necessary and didn’t properly investigate the breach.

The order, finalized Friday, will cover CafePress for the next 20 years, requiring the e-commerce site to also report future cyber incidents to the FTC.

CafePress didn’t admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement. A representative for PlanetArt LLC, which owns the online retailer, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Approved unanimously by FTC’s five commissioners, the order comes as the agency’s new Democratic…

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