Tag Archive for: Works

Endpoint Protection: Why It’s Important, How It Works & What To Consider

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Endpoint protection, also known as endpoint security, involves the use of advanced security tools and processes to secure various endpoints like servers, workstations and mobile devices that connect to a corporate network. The goal of endpoint protection is to prevent cybercriminals from stealing or altering valuable company data and applications, or from hijacking the business network, all of which can grind operations to a halt. According to IBM, the average total cost of a data breach reached $4.24 million in 2021 — the highest it’s been in seven years.

The endpoint protection tools of today combine the features of antivirus (AV) and antimalware (AM) tools with the capabilities of new-age technologies like automation, cloud computing and remote monitoring, to provide comprehensive network and endpoint security. 

In this blog, we’ll shed light on why endpoint security is an essential businesses requirement, especially in current times when cyberattacks are rampant and catastrophic. We’ll also talk about the benefits of endpoint protection, discuss how it works and delve into the features of a good endpoint protection solution and more. Read on.

What is endpoint protection?

Endpoints can serve as doorways for cybercriminals to gain access to a company’s network. As companies grow and connect more devices to their network, the risk of a cyberattack also increases proportionally. That’s why businesses should monitor all their endpoints for anomalies and suspicious behavior in order to contain threats before they snowball into a disaster and disrupt business activities. 

Thankfully, businesses can purchase sophisticated integrated security tools that can remotely monitor execution processes and log files on various endpoints, analyze variances and remediate incidents automatically. These tools are commonly known as Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) that combine the functionalities of various security products like antivirus and antimalware solutions, firewalls, antispyware and intrusion prevention systems into a single package. The global endpoint security market is projected to continue to grow to over $19 billion in 2025.

Furthermore, to make it easier for…

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How NSO Group’s iPhone-Hacking Exploit Works

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Photo: Amir Levy (Getty Images)

For years, the Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group has sparked fear and fascination throughout the international community via its hacking tools—the likes of which have been sold to authoritarian governments throughout the world and used against journalists, activists, politicians, and anybody else unfortunate enough to be targeted. The company, which has often been embroiled in scandal, has frequently seemed to operate as if by digital incantation—with commercial exploit attacks that require no phishing and malware that is all-seeing and can reach into the most private digital spaces.

But some of NSO’s dark secrets were very publicly revealed last week, when researchers managed to technically deconstruct just how one of the company’s notorious “zero-click” attacks work. Indeed, researchers with Google’s Project Zero published a detailed break-down that shows how an NSO exploit, dubbed “FORCEDENTRY,” can swiftly and silently take over a phone.

The exploit, which was designed to target Apple iPhones, is thought to have led to the hacking of devices in multiple countries—including those of several U.S. State Department officials working in Uganda. Initial details about it were captured by Citizen Lab, a research unit at the University of Toronto that has frequently published research related to NSO’s activities. Citizen Lab researchers managed to get ahold of phones that had been subjected to the company’s “zero-click” attacks and, in September, published initial research about how they worked. Around the same time, Apple announced it was suing NSO and also published security updates to patch the problems associated with the exploit.

Citizen Lab ultimately shared its findings with Google’s researchers who, as of last week, finally published their analysis of the attacks. As you might expect, it’s pretty incredible—and frightening—stuff.

“Based on our research and findings, we assess this to be one of the most technically sophisticated exploits we’ve ever seen, further demonstrating that the capabilities NSO provides rival those previously thought to be accessible to only a handful of nation states,” write…

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This is how ‘smishing’ works, the fraud that uses SMS to infect mobile phones – CVBJ

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12/01/2021

On at 19:01 CET

EP

Check Point Research has warned of the campaigns of ‘smishing‘, a series of cyberattacks that They use texting and social engineering to mislead users, infect their computers and steal sensitive data and money.

SMS from ‘phishing‘, that is, the text messages that simulate their sending from a known body or brand, include a supposed notification for the user, such as a complaint, and accompany it with a link for your follow-up.

By clicking on the link, the user is urged to download a malicious Android application, and to enter sensitive data, such as the bank card. Once installed, the ‘app’ steal all SMS from the infected device, allowing criminals to use the credit or debit card and access the SMS that are sent as part of the two-factor authentication.

The malicious application checks the command and control (C&C) server controlled by cybercriminals for new commands to be executed periodically. In addition, to maintain persistence, after sending the card information, the application can hide its icon, making it difficult to control and uninstall.

This methodology described by the Check Point researchers has been detected in the ‘smishing’ campaigns directed against Iranian citizens, who supplant the Government of the country, and which has led to the theft of billions of Iranian rials from victims, with estimated figures of between 1,000 and 2,000 dollars per user. In addition, third parties can access stolen data ‘online’ since it has not been protected.

The company indicates in a statement that cybercriminals are taking advantage of a technique known as ‘smishing’ botnets, in which compromised devices are used as ‘bots’ to spread SMS of ‘phishing’ similar to other potential victims.

Attackers use various Telegram channels to promote and sell their tools for between $ 50 and $ 150, providing a complete ‘Android campaign kit’, including the malicious app and underlying infrastructure, with a dashboard that can be easily managed by anyone via a simple Telegram bot interface.

“The campaign takes advantage of social engineering and causes significant economic losses, despite the low…

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Security through obscurity no longer works

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Security through obscurity no longer works

To avoid tipping off hackers, many companies are secretive about their network defences. Being open is a better approach

published : 17 Aug 2021 at 18:31



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© The Bangkok Post


Netflix has a lot of valuable data it needs to protect from hackers. Tens of millions of households entrust the company with their personal information, including credit card details and the viewing habits of each family member. Netflix also wants to keep its popular TV series beyond the reach of those who try to view the content without paying.

For a company with so much digital treasure, Netflix hasn’t had many security mishaps. The worst incident occurred in 2017, when a group called Dark Overlord broke in and released some new episodes of Orange is the New Black on the Internet.

Of course, many companies have digital assets to secure. What makes Netflix unusual is how transparent it has become about its cyber defences. In response to the Dark Overlord hack, it developed dozens of open-source cybersecurity products that other companies are allowed to use freely. Netflix saw that harnessing the world’s pool of programmers to build its security software actually made the company, and its data, more secure.

You might expect that companies would be better off keeping their cards close to their chest. The less hackers know about how a company guards its data, the safer the data becomes, according to this line of thinking.

In fact, the opposite is true. Secrecy in cyber security puts everyone at risk: the company, its customers, and its suppliers.

Electric vehicles serve as a good example of the value of openness in cyber security. Many models require extremely sophisticated software that has to be updated frequently. For example, Tesla distributes updates to owners at least once per month.

To deliver updates, an electric car maker requires worldwide access privileges to the on-board computers on its cars. Naturally, car owners want certainty that this does not expose them to hacking, remote carjackings and shut downs, or being spied on as they drive. For this reason, makers of electric vehicles need to be extremely open about their cyber security so…

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