Tag Archive for: vital

Measuring your Android device’s hidden hack hazards: The vital diagnostic check to keep devices secure

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With the Optus hack attack sparking fresh data security concerns across the country, Android users again have been urged to run security checks on their devices given the popular operating system’s ongoing susceptibility to hackers and malware.

For example, there’s Android malware like Ads Blocker, which as CNET points out, promises to prevent pop-ups, but instead simply serve up more ads which the app’s developers are paid to flood your screen with.

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Then there’s the more serious Man In The Middle (MITM) attacks, in which a hacker can set up a fraudulent WiFi network disguised as an innocuous public network like those usually made available to patrons in a cafe or shopping centre.

However, once the Android user joins it, the hacker then has complete access to the device and can either log keystrokes or install more Android malware.

Malware found in multiple Android apps. Credit: Dr. Web/Google Play Store

So why are Android users at more risk? It comes down to the fact that the operating system is Linux-based and partly open-source, which means it can be modified by anyone.

In contrast Apple’s iOS system is closed source. That same point of difference is what makes Android currently the world’s most popular system with 2.5 billion active users on devices made by a number of different companies, such as Samsung, Oppo and Motorola. Meanwhile Apple’s iOS is totally confined to Apple devices.

But there’s an easy diagnostic check Android users can run on their device to highlight how much hacking danger they are in.

Simply head to your device’s settings section and click on the Security tab.

On the top of the page a small chart will outline the security status of the device, with the following classifications:

  • No problems found: No security issues are present on your device or Google Account (usually with a tick inside a green circle)
  • Security can be improved: You have security recommendations (usually with a tick inside a green circle)
  • Security may be at risk: Please review the security recommendations and take action to secure your account…

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Why printing security plays a vital part in keeping Aotearoa safe

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While Kiwis continue to follow the world when it comes to working online, there’s still one manual business need that is often still crucial to a successful enterprise. Whether you’re an educational institute, a law or accounting firm or even a government agency, printed documents often play a vital role in working operations.

Much has changed since the simpler days of plug-in, pressed and mechanical printing. Printers and print mechanisms are now heavily integrated, with cloud technologies and the internet being significant parts of the process. What could be done via dial-up 12 years ago can now be completed within seconds by clicking a button.

While internet printing, mobile printing and other similar technologies have no doubt made things easier to manage, it has also brought a whole new set of problems to the table. As with all cloud, mobile and internet-based technologies, cybersecurity can be a significant challenge to address, and because of the complexities involved in the printing process it can become even more disruptive.

And history has proven that there are ongoing issues. In 2017, Y Soft conducted a survey which found that while 35% of New Zealand workers were using a mobile device at work for printing, only 50% had adequate security protection or antivirus installed on their mobile devices. A global report from Quocirca in 2016 also found that 61% of respondents had experienced at least one print-related data breach during this period. 

The subsequent 2020 report reflected that 83% of IT decision-makers were very concerned about home printing security, proving that there was still a significant concern in both the workplace and at home. The rise in hybrid work situations has also meant that, in a similar fashion to general cybersecurity, printing security has become more complex and involves more risk.

Part of this risk comes from things like inadequate firewall protection, lack of WiFi security and additional problems with file sharing and data protection. Transferring data in any sense can be dangerous, and often printing devices (mobile and computer) and printers themselves don’t have the correct security. As the data reflects, often Kiwis are…

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Computer chips are vital to national security. US needs to make more of them on American soil.

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As soon as Tuesday, the Senate could take up legislation that would pour $52 billion into chip research and incentives for building manufacturing plants in the United States. Lawmakers should approve the bill and get it to the president’s desk as soon as possible.

Big subsidies for a thriving industry can be difficult to swallow. But Congress really doesn’t have a choice. In China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Europe, governments are pouring massive sums into semiconductors. And if Washington doesn’t compete, the country’s shrinking share of semiconductor production could shrink even further. In 1990, 37 percent of the world’s chip-making capacity resided in the United States. Now it’s just 12 percent.

That’s a national security concern. Without a steady domestic supply of chips, our economy and our military prowess are put at real risk.

The House approved the semiconductor spending in February, tucking it into a larger package aimed at countering China’s growing economic and technological power. And the Senate passed a narrower version of the bill last year.

But the legislation has languished. And domestic manufacturers have put plans for new semiconductor plants on hold in places like Ohio and Texas while they wait on word from Congress.

Drag out the process too long, the companies have warned, and they’ll go overseas.

It’s not the $52 billion in research dollars and manufacturing incentives that has slowed passage of the broad economic competitiveness legislation that has been stalled in Congress for months. Among other things, Republicans have objected to parts of the House version that favor unionization and boost aid for workers displaced by offshoring.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, eager for a victory before the midterm elections, appears willing to move on a slimmed-down bill that would pair the semiconductor subsidies with a tax credit from another bipartisan chip-manufacturing bill.

Some other elements of the larger economic competitiveness package may be tacked on, too, in what some lawmakers are calling a “chips-plus” bill. But it’s unclear which ones.

Several are…

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Why NI is vital in addressing RAN threats

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Why network intelligence is vital in addressing RAN threats

 

The cybersecurity threat landscape is always evolving, with increasing volume and types of breaches annually. This means CSPs ( Communications Service Providers )need to stay on top of these evolving threats to be better prepared for attackers lurking in the shadows. While every organization will experience some version of a breach, it is important to be prepared for when it happens, despite the fact that mobile networks are well protected against intrusions. To reduce the impact of an attack, it is critical to detect a security incident as soon as it occurs, before it gets a foothold and spreads around in an uncontrolled manner.

In this blog, we will unveil a novel way to detect false base station attacks and finally counter the threat.

What’s new with false base stations?

With telecommunication networks playing an increasingly vital part in our lives, they’ve become an obvious target for malicious actors to launch high-impact attacks. In the RAN domain, which is the most physically accessible part of mobile networks, the limited awareness of the scale and sophistication of the false base station (FBS) threat makes it attractive to malicious actors. Without adequate detection capabilities these threats will remain unknown to service providers. The malicious use of FBSs can have a high impact through techniques such as eavesdropping, tracking, identity spoofing, data and traffic modification, or denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

The main challenges with detecting false base stations include:

Limited awareness of the scale of the threat

Current methods to detect false base stations are insufficient to understand and quantify the scale of the threat. Examples methods include user equipment (UE)-based detectors, UE applications, crowd-sourced detectors, network-based detectors not using UE measurements, and drive-test based detectors.

Lack of timely and precise detection

Manual threat detection is resource-intensive, limited in coverage (time and place), and prone to human errors and false positives. Even with specialized equipment or sophisticated software, it is hard to do timely and precise…

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