CyberSecurity Updates

RDP on the radar: An up‑close view of evolving remote access threats

Misconfigured remote access services continue to give bad actors an easy access path to company networks – here’s how you can minimize your exposure to attacks misusing Remote Desktop Protocol As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe, many of us, myself included, turned to working full-time from home. Many of ESET’s employees were already accustomed to working remotely part of the time, and it was largely a matter of scaling up existing resources to…

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Toys behaving badly: How parents can protect their family from IoT threats

It pays to do some research before taking a leap into the world of internet-connected toys The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way we live and work. From smart pacemakers to fitness trackers, voice assistants to smart doorbells, the technology is making us healthier, safer, more productive and entertained. At the same time, it has also provided opportunities for manufacturers to market flashy new toys for our children. The global market for smart…

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ESET Research uncovers new APT group Worok – Week in security with Tony Anscombe

Worok takes aim at various high-profile organizations that operate in multiple sectors and are located primarily in Asia ESET researchers have revealed their findings about a previously unknown cyberespionage group that they named Worok. This APT group takes aim at various high-profile organizations that operate in multiple sectors and are located primarily in Asia, but also in the Middle East and Africa. Worok uses both its own toolkit and existing tools to compromise its targets…

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Data capture by border agencies can and will happen – are your on-the-road employees prepared?

Does your company have a travel policy that instructs and supports employees traveling internationally for business with direction regarding comportment and cooperation? This isn’t a trick question. To have a travel program that provides employees with anticipated scenarios, and to provide them with unique devices for international travel, is a significant investment of resources both physical and monetary. The revelation that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) routinely downloads the content of devices of individuals…

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Why is my Wi‑Fi slow and how do I make it faster?

Has your Wi-Fi speed slowed down to a crawl? Here are some of the possible reasons along with a few quick fixes to speed things up. Wireless internet connectivity is a wonder of the modern age. There are few more ubiquitous technology protocols than Wi-Fi, the means via which radio signals sent from our router connect with the devices we use around the smart home. Previously, such internet-enabled devices mostly included one or two laptops,…

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You never walk alone: The SideWalk backdoor gets a Linux variant

ESET researchers have uncovered another tool in the already extensive arsenal of the SparklingGoblin APT group: a Linux variant of the SideWalk backdoor ESET researchers have discovered a Linux variant of the SideWalk backdoor, one of the multiple custom implants used by the SparklingGoblin APT group. This variant was deployed against a Hong Kong university in February 2021, the same university that had already been targeted by SparklingGoblin during the student protests in May 2020.…

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SparklingGoblin deploys new Linux backdoor – Week in security, special edition

ESET Research first spotted this variant of the SideWalk backdoor in the network of a Hong Kong university in February 2021 ESET researchers have published their findings about a Linux variant of the SideWalk backdoor, which is one of a number of custom implants used by the SparklingGoblin APT group. This piece of malware was first detected by ESET in February 2021 in the network of a Hong Kong university. The same university had previously…

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Chrome issues urgent zero-day fix – update now!

by Paul Ducklin Google pushed out a bunch of security fixes for the Chrome and Chromium browser code earlier this week… …only to receive a vulnerability report from researchers at cybersecurity company Avast on the very same day. Google’s response was to push out another update as soon as it could: a one-bug fix dealing with CVE-2022-3723, described with Google’s customary we-can-neither-confirm-nor-deny legalism saying: Google is aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2022-3723 exists…

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Third‑party cookies: How they work and how to stop them from tracking you across the web

Cross-site tracking cookies have a bleak future but can still cause privacy woes to unwary users For many years, privacy advocates have been sounding the alarm on the use of cookies to track, profile, and serve personalized ads to web users. The discussion has been especially acute over cookies used for cross-site tracking, in which a website leaks or offers visitor data to third-party services included in the site. In response, some of the major…

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Rising to the challenges of secure coding – Week in security with Tony Anscombe

The news seems awash this week with reports of both Microsoft and Apple scrambling to patch security flaws in their products The news seems awash this week with tech companies scrambling to patch security vulnerabilities in their software. This month’s Patch Tuesday saw Microsoft plug 64 security holes, including a zero-day that is being actively exploited in the wild. Apple also joined the party, issuing security updates for both iOS and macOS and also plugging…

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