Tag Archive for: message

How Samsung’s New ‘Message Guard’ Protects Your Phone From ‘Zero-Click’ Attacks

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Photo: Framesira (Shutterstock)

Photo: Framesira (Shutterstock)

Hackers and bad actors are always looking for new methods of attack. One of those attacks is known as “zero-click,” which can infect your phone without you having to do anything at all. Samsung wants to be the face of the solution to this emerging problem, implementing a new security tool for its latest devices known as Samsung Message Guard.

What are “zero-click” exploits?

Zero-click exploits are a particularly nasty kind of security vulnerability. While many attacks rely on you, the user, clicking on a malicious URL or downloading a file containing malware, zero-click exploits don’t require you to do a thing to attack. All a bad actor needs to do is send you the malicious file: Once you receive the message on your phone, you’re already infected.

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How Samsung Message Guard keeps your phone safe

With Samsung Message Guard is enabled on your device, the tool looks out for incoming images in your messages. When one arrives, it isolates that image, and doesn’t allow it to communicate with the rest of the device, in what’s known as a “sandbox.”

Message Guard then scans the message bit by bit for any trace of malicious code. If there is an issue, the image won’t be able to run its code with any other part of your phone, preventing a zero-click attack from ever occurring. It’s a smart strategy, and hopefully ruins the day of anyone relying on zero-click to spread malware around our smartphones.

Which phones are compatible with Samsung Message Guard?

At launch, Samsung Message Guard is only available on the latest suite of Galaxy devices, which includes the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra. Samsung has plans for Message Guard to roll out to other Galaxy phones and tablets later this year, so long as the device is running One UI 5.1.

This isn’t a gimmick to force you to use Samsung Messages, either. If you prefer Google’s Messages app, keep using it, since Samsung Message Guard works with it as well. Even better, Samsung plans to issue an update at a later point, allowing Message Guard to work with third-party chat apps.

[The Verge]

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Your computer has been compromised or hacked message

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While surfing the internet, some users have seen a popup message saying Your computer has been compromised or hacked. Different users have seen this message on different browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc. After getting this warning message, the affected users scanned their computers with the antivirus installed on their systems but the antivirus did not find any threat. If the antivirus threat report is clear, what does this message mean? Is this message real or fake? In this article, we will see what the Your computer has been compromised or hacked message means and what you should do if you see this message on your computer.

Your computer has been compromised

Your computer has been compromised or hacked message

According to the feedback of the affected users, their web browser refuses to close after they receive the popup message. Also, a contact number is displayed along with the warning message. When they contacted that number, the support person asked them for some money to fix the problem. On the other hand, some users have also reported that after visiting a certain web page, instead of the warning popup message, they heard a voice saying “Your PC is hacked.”

Some users were also told to give access to their computers in order to resolve the issue. This is a spam and misleading message. You should ignore it otherwise, you will become the prey of hackers. Moreover, if you grant access to your computer to the person on the call, he/she might steal the data stored on your computer that may contain sensitive information.

Such types of warning messages usually display either a contact number or a link. We suggest you do not click on the link displayed in such types of warning messages. If you do so, a virus or malware may enter your system and may start sending your data to the hackers. Or, clicking on that link may install a program on your system. That program may contain a suspicious code. Such types of malicious programs are designed to change the registry keys on a user’s computer.

If you see a Your computer has been compromised or hacked warning message while surfing the internet, you should take the following steps immediately in order to protect your computer from malware or virus…

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Lapsus$ gang sends a worrying message to would-be criminals • The Register

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Analysis The Lapsus$ cyber-crime gang, believed to be based in Brazil, until recently was best known for attacks on that country’s Ministry of Health and Portuguese media outlets SIC Noticias and Expresso.

However, the gang is climbing up the ladder, swinging at larger targets in the tech industry. Over the past few weeks, those have included Nvidia, Samsung, and Argentine online marketplace operator Mercado Libre. Now, Lapsus$ is suspected of attacking game developer Ubisoft.

Lapsus$ in February compromised Nvidia, stealing a terabyte of data that included proprietary information and employee credentials, and dumping some of the data online. The crew also demanded the GPU giant remove limits on crypto-coin mining from its graphics cards, and open-source its drivers.

Days later, the group broke into Samsung, hoping to unlock the secrets of its TrustZone secure environment, and eventually leaked almost 200GB of data, including algorithms related to its biometric technologies, source code for bootloaders, activation servers, and authentication for Samsung accounts, and source code given to chip-designing partner Qualcomm.

Ubisoft, whose games include Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia and Watch Dogs, last week said in a brief statement it had “experienced a cyber security incident that caused temporary disruption to some of our games, systems, and services. Our IT teams are working with leading external experts to investigate the issue.”

The development house added that all of its games and services were operating as normal despite the attack. The online criminals have reportedly claimed the disruption was their work.

Growing pains

The attacks on Nvidia, Samsung, and seemingly Ubisoft represent a sharp upward turn in terms of the size of Lapsus$’s targets.

Cybersecurity experts describe a still-maturing cybercriminal group that is testing its capabilities with a range of different attack methods – from data…

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How text message phishing can affect the enterprise

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Phishing is a digital threat that has grown since the birth of the internet, and it has evolved to encompass a broader range of endpoints and vectors.

An organization’s security strategy needs to encompass the potential for phishing attacks from all sorts of methods, including texts and phone calls on mobile devices.

Phishing targets victims via email, texting and other forms of messaging to pose as a legitimate organization to get a victim to reveal credit card details, passwords or additional sensitive information.

As a method of cyber attack, phishing began with the birth of email and the commercial internet in the mid-1990s. This type of hacking continues to grow into the 2020s, with social media, voice and phishing text messages becoming the most popular attack mechanisms.

Why is text phishing rising in popularity?

Phishing text messages are a logical evolution of the spoofing phenomenon. SMS or text phishing, often called smishing, targets victims via text messaging rather than the traditional email approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many employees working from home, further separating them from an IT department, the corporate network and organizational security protocols. This opens up a new level of threat for mobile phishing scams. 

Smishing attacks are soaring, with criminals impersonating everything from banks to governments. The goals of these attacks range from accessing people’s bank information to downloading malware onto users’ cellphones. However, from an organization’s perspective, the biggest risk is hackers infecting the corporate network.

Smishing attacks have increased nearly 700% in the first six months of 2021, according to software company Proofpoint. In addition, 45% of people reply to texts, whereas just 6% respond to email messages, according to Gartner. This makes smishing a prime attack vector for hackers. 

A phishing text message can resemble an innocent notification that someone might receive from a package delivery company, a bank or a local government agency. The aim is to get you to click on a malware link embedded in the text or reply with bank details, a…

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