Tag Archive for: Problems

Cyberattack turns up the heat on common security problems

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A cyberattack on Suffolk County, New York, crippled county services and resulted in the leaking of personal information from hundreds of thousands of its residents late last year.

The hack, which has so far cost the county more than $6 million in recovery expenses according to local reports, prompted Suffolk lawmakers to launch a special legislative committee to investigate its origins. 

Among the departments affected was the Traffic and Parking Violation Agency. Its server was compromised by the attack and some residents’ personal information may have been accessed by hackers, county officials said. While systems were down, emergency responders and other services relied on pen and paper.

A forensic investigation issued in December by Palo Alto Networks cited several factors for the cyberattack, including delayed security upgrades and insufficient management. At a December press conference to discuss the investigation’s findings, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said the county’s “existing system fails county government and the taxpayers.”

Many of the issues raised by the forensic report highlight ongoing challenges all state and local governments face as they contend with increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

One of the findings blamed Suffolk County’s inability to address the Log4j vulnerability identified by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in 2021, which the investigation found was first exploited by Suffolk County’s hackers that same year.

At the time the Log4j vulnerability was discovered, CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement it posed “an unacceptable risk to federal network security.” She not only urged federal agencies to immediately patch their system, but said agencies and organizations “large and small” should “follow the federal government’s lead.”

Bellone said during his press conference that Suffolk County could have followed the federal government’s guidance, but it did not install a $1.4 million hardware update that could have averted the vulnerability. Bellone said in retrospect, he should have “acted more aggressively to address that issue,” although he noted that in June a county committee…

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HackerOne encourages customers to adopt standard policy to protect hackers from legal problems

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‘Short, broad, easily-understood safe harbor statement’ offered

Bug bounty platform HackerOne has overhauled its policy guidelines to enhance legal protections for ethical hackers acting in good faith

HackerOne has revamped its policy guidelines to offer better protection from legal problems for ethical hackers acting in good faith.

The Gold Standard Safe Harbor (GSSH) that customers who run bug bounty programs through HackerOne are asked to agree offers a “short, broad, easily-understood safe harbor statement that’s simple for customers to adopt”.

Both vulnerability disclosure programs and bug bounty programs routinely include safe harbor agreements that explain the legal protections that hackers can expect. These agreements can vary, but by asking its customers to agree to a standard policy, HackerOne is aiming to reduce the bureaucratic overhead for ethical hackers.

‘Reduces the burden’

“While many programs already include safe harbor in their policies, the GSSH is a short, broad, easily-understood safe harbor statement that’s simple for customers to adopt,” according to the crowdsourced security platform. “This standardization also reduces the burden on hackers for parsing numerous different program statements.”

Gold Standard Safe Harbor launched on Wednesday, November 16. Organizations committing to the GSSH will replace their existing safe harbor statement with the GSSH on their program page, which will be marked with a digital badge. Hackers will be able to filter searches for programs based on participation in the GSSH scheme.

KAYAK, GitLab Inc, and Yahoo are among the first customers to opt for the GSSH’s standardized language. The GSSH is available for adoption by HackerOne customers worldwide even though its language most closely aligns with recent US government cybersecurity policy updates, The Daily Swig understands.

Catch up with the latest bug bounty news and analysis

Preliminary findings from HackerOne’s upcoming Hacker Report appear to vindicate efforts to strengthen legal safeguards for hackers.

The report will reveal that more than half of hackers have not reported a vulnerability they have discovered, with 12% ascribing their decision not to disclose to threatening legal language being used by the organization whose code contained the…

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Schrader Computer offers personalized service for computer problems

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Each week, this series shares MarionMade! stories of our many wonderful people, places, products and programs in the greater Marion community. To read more positive stories of Marion, or to share some of your own, visit us at marionmade.org or on social media.

Jeff and Lynda Schrader, owners of Schrader Computer, stand in front of their office at 685 Delaware Ave. They opened it in 2006. Their daughters also assist with the family business periodically.

When the computer wheel keeps spinning, or the blue screen of death pops up, many people want to tear their hair out in frustration, but not Jeff Schrader. This local computer expert loves taking on a technical problem.

“I just like fixing problems. That’s all I’ve done all of my life,” Schrader said.

Schrader spent 27 years working for corporations and traveling across the country to fix hardware, software and other networking problems. He started doing independent computer work on the side with the help of his father, Jack, in 2002. Jeff opened his own business in 2006 with his wife, Lynda. Their daughters, Amanda “Mandy” Friend and Bethany Bates, have helped periodically. They specialize in providing support for local businesses.

Jeff Schrader spent decades working for local phone companies, traveling around the United States to fix various problems, before starting his own business. He enjoys serving local businesses and residential clients.

Schrader Computer also has a large base of residential customers as well. They try to educate local computer users, especially seniors, about the myriad scams circulating. Customers have called Schrader Computer after they got a pop-up window from “Microsoft” stating that their computer was infected with a virus and to call a number and fork over hundreds of dollars as well as access to their computer and personal documents.

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Ex-Twitter exec files whistleblower complaints, alleging major security problems | Technology

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Twitter has major security problems that pose a threat to its own users’ personal information, to company shareholders, to national security, and to democracy, according to an explosive whistleblower disclosure obtained exclusively by CNN and The Washington Post.

The disclosure, sent last month to Congress and federal agencies, paints a picture of a chaotic and reckless environment at a mismanaged company that allows too many of its staff access to the platform’s central controls and most sensitive information without adequate oversight. It also alleges that some of the company’s senior-most executives have been trying to cover up Twitter’s serious vulnerabilities, and that one or more current employees may be working for a foreign intelligence service.

The whistleblower, who has agreed to be publicly identified, is Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who was previously the company’s head of security, reporting directly to the CEO. Zatko further alleges that Twitter’s leadership has misled its own board and government regulators about its security vulnerabilities, including some that could allegedly open the door to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns. The whistleblower also alleges Twitter does not reliably delete users’ data after they cancel their accounts, in some cases because the company has lost track of the information, and that it has misled regulators about whether it deletes the data as it is required to do. The whistleblower also says Twitter executives don’t have the resources to fully understand the true number of bots on the platform, and were not motivated to. Bots have recently become central to Elon Musk’s attempts to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy the company (although Twitter denies Musk’s claims).

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