Tag Archive for: study

FIU study: Ransomware can hide in the websites you upload files to

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FIU cybersecurity researchers warn websites that request access to your files might be able to bypass antivirus software and carry out major ransomware attacks.

Free photo editors, tax document assistants and other online apps that ask for permission to access your media can encrypt files and effectively take control of them, an FIU College of Engineering and Computing study shows. These attackers could then demand ransom in exchange for the files’ safe return.

The researchers say that the hack works on all three major PC operating systems: Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Some cloud services such as Apple Cloud, Box, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox are also susceptible, as well as external drives.

Just two things are needed for a malicious website to conduct the attack.

  1. A person needs to say, ‘yes’ to a pop-up that asks them to share their files, such as ‘Allow this website to access your photos?’
  2. Someone must click, ‘yes,’ on a second pop-up, which is the attack. The pop-up will be disguised as a benign message, such as an advertisement or a request like, ‘May we close the rest of your tabs for you?’

Clicking ‘yes’ on these two pop-ups is all too easy, says Selcuk Uluagac, principal investigator of the research and Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences professor.

“Antivirus software systems allow these attacks because it is normal for them to give browsers access to files,” Uluagac said. “They don’t detect that anything is wrong.”

The research was conducted in collaboration with Google senior research scientist Güliz Seray Tuncay and published in the proceedings of the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium, which is a top-tier cybersecurity conference according to Google Scholar.

“Everybody knows not to download a suspicious file. Now we are finding that it can be just as dangerous to upload a file,” said Harun Oz, a Ph.D. student on the research team.

These hacks are possible due to the increasing power of web browsers, researchers say.

“Browsers have become much more powerful over time,” said Abbas Acar, a postdoctoral researcher on the…

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Jet stream will get faster as climate change continues, study finds

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Jet stream will get faster as climate change continues, study finds
Jet streams circulate around the world. A new study finds fast jet stream winds (those in dark red) will get even faster over time as climate change accelerates. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

A new study in Nature Climate Change takes one of the first deep dives into how climate change will affect the fastest jet streams—the powerful, narrow winds in the upper atmosphere that steer much of the Earth’s weather systems and are connected to outbreaks of severe weather.

The research, by UChicago Prof. Tiffany Shaw and National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist Osamu Miyawaki, suggests that as the world warms, the fastest upper-level jet stream winds will get faster and faster—by about 2% for every degree Celsius the world warms. Furthermore, the fastest winds will speed up 2.5 times faster than the average wind.

“Based on these results and our current understanding, we expect record-breaking winds,” said Shaw, “and it’s likely that they will feed into decreased flight times, increased clear-air turbulence and a potential increase in severe weather occurrence.”

Wind, weather and warming

Partly prompted by recent news reports of speed-record-breaking flights over the Atlantic, Shaw and Miyawaki began to investigate and realized there had been very little exploration of how the very fastest jet stream winds would respond to climate change.

To fill this gap, they combined climate change models with what we know about the physics of jet streams.

Jet streams usually move from west to east around the globe in the upper atmosphere, about six miles (10 kilometers) above us. We know that jet streams strongly influence the weather we experience on the ground—especially air temperature, winds and weather patterns, and storms. They also influence the occurrence of severe storms, tornadoes, hail and severe wind.

Jet streams form because of the contrast between the cold, dense air at the poles and the warm, light air in the tropics, in combination with the rotation of the Earth. (This was first shown in…

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New Security Study Reveals AutoSpill Vulnerabilities in Android Password Managers

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A recent security study conductedresearchers at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) has unveiled a new attack called AutoSpill, which targets Android password managers and can potentially lead to the theft of account credentials. The researchers discovered that most password managers for Android are vulnerable to this attack, even without the use of JavaScript injection.

The attack worksexploiting weaknesses in Android’s WebView framework, which is commonly usedAndroid apps to render web content. Password managers on Android rely on this framework to automatically fill in a user’s account credentials when logging into services like Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, or Google.

The AutoSpill attack is particularly concerning because it allows rogue apps to capture a user’s login credentials without leaving any trace of the compromise. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive accounts.

The researchers tested AutoSpill against several password managers on various Android versions and found that 1Password, LastPass, Enpass, Keeper, and Keepass2Android are all susceptible to the attack. However, Google Smart Lock and DashLane follow a different technical approach and are safe from AutoSpill unless JavaScript injection is used.

The AutoSpill vulnerability stems from Android’s failure to clearly define the responsibility for securely handling auto-filled data. This loophole can result in the leakage or capture of sensitive informationthe host app.

The researchers have reported their findings to the affected software vendors and Android’s security team. While the validity of the report has been acknowledged, no details regarding plans for fixing the issue have been shared yet.

In response to the disclosure, password management providers impactedAutoSpill, such as 1Password and LastPass, have assured their users that they are working on fixes to address the vulnerability. They emphasize the importance of user vigilance and explicit actions required for autofill functions.

Users are advised to exercise caution while installing apps and only download from trusted app stores like Google Play. Android developers are also encouraged to implement WebView best…

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Study: Bridgerton ‘most dangerous’ series to pirate

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According to a study by data destruction and information security experts Secureteam, Bridgerton is the most dangerous series to stream illegally, as fans eagerly await its return. The study curated a list of 2023 and 2024’s most popular series and returning shows and ran torrenting and streaming URLs through a malware detection program.

Some 70 per cent of torrenting and streaming URLs for Bridgerton were flagged as sites with a critical security risk. These sites contained malware and had been blacklisted by security programs like McAfee, or both. Malware-ridden streaming sites included 1337x.

The top five most dangerous 2023 series and immanently returning shows to torrent and illegally stream are: 

Name of Series Percentage of Medium Security Risk and Above Percentage of Critical Security Risk 
Bridgerton 80 70
The Walking Dead: Dead City 75 35
The Mandalorian 70 30
Only Murders in the Building 45 20
The Last of Us 65 15

Methodology 

To determine the most dangerous shows to torrent and stream illegally, Secureteam started by curating a list of popular shows that were released in 2023 and popular series returning later in the year or in 2024. They then put these search terms into Google, alongside the keywords “torrent”, “stream” or “watch for free”. Example: “Torrent Bridgerton”, “Stream Bridgerton”, “Watch Bridgerton for free”. The top 21 URLs were then entered into Sucuri, a website malware and security checker.

Why are these sites so dangerous? 

“Illegal streaming sites that distribute copyrighted content, such as TV series and movies, with authorisation are ethically problematic and also pose significant risks to users. They typically contain hidden malware that, if accidentally accessed, can have serious consequences for users and their devices. When users visit these sites and engage with their content, they unknowingly expose themselves to potential security risks. Malware on these sites may be present in the form of Trojans, viruses, worms, adware and spyware. Downloaded malicious software may compromise sensitive personal information, including login credentials, private messages and…

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