Should you uninstall Kaspersky software?

Q: Should I uninstall Kaspersky anti-virus from my computer? A recent Wall Street Journal story about a National Security Agency contractor that had classified documents on his home computer and was allegedly targeted because of his use of Kaspersky Lab anti-virus software has once again put the Russian cybersecurity company in the spotlight. The theory is that hackers used the file inventory process that Kaspersky anti-virus uses to discover the sensitive files and target the contractor. Concerned?  See below for suggestions on how to remove Kaspersky from your computer. Government ban Software from Kaspersky Lab was removed from the U.S. General Services Administration approved list in July and in September, the...

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5 mobile security threats you should take seriously in 2018

IDGNS Mobile security is at the top of every company's worry list these days — and for good reason: Nearly all workers now routinely access corporate data from smartphones, and that means keeping sensitive info out of the wrong hands is an increasingly intricate puzzle. The stakes, suffice it to say, are higher than ever: The average cost of a corporate data breach is $21,155 per day, according to a 2016 report by the Ponemon Institute. While it's easy to focus on the sensational subject of malware, the truth is that mobile malware infections are incredibly uncommon in the real world — with your odds of being infected significantly less than your odds of being struck by lightning, according to one estimate. That's thanks...

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Here is every patch for KRACK Wi-Fi attack available right now

Monday morning was not a great time to be an IT admin, with the public release of a bug which allowed WPA2 security to be broken. As reported previously by ZDNet, the bug, dubbed "KRACK" -- which stands for Key Reinstallation Attack -- is at heart a fundamental flaw in the way Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) operates. The security protocol, an upgrade from WPA, is used to protect and secure communications between everything from our routers, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, but there is an issue in the system's four-way handshake which permits devices with a pre-shared password to join a network. According to security researcher Mathy Vanhoef, who discovered the flaw, threat actors can leverage the vulnerability...

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Apple Macs At Risk From ‘Rising’ Malware Attacks

Apple not so safe after all. Rapid rise in malware targeting Mac devices, as Android security problem worsens Malwarebytes has warned Apple Mac users that the days of their devices being relatively safe from malware are long over. The security specialist analysed data from millions of its users worldwide and it discovered that Mac and Android ransomware and malware attacks have risen significantly in the past year. Indeed, Malwarebytes found that more Mac malware had been detected in Q2 2017 than in all of 2016. Mac Malware According to the security vendor, the “rapidly rising rates of malware” targetting Mac devices should disperse the popular belief that Macs are impenetrable. It cited the recent outbreak of the FruitFly...

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Check if you were hit by the massive 'Avalanche' cybercrime ring

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. government has posted links for free scanning programs so companies and individuals can check their computers to make sure they weren't victims of a massive, international cyber criminal operation that was taken down Thursday after a four-year investigation. “This is probably the biggest operation that law enforcement has ever done against cyber crime,” said Catalin Cosoi, chief security strategist with BitDefender, one of the dozens of companies worldwide that worked with law enforcement to attack the group. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US_CERT) has posted links to five scanners on its site. Europol has also posted a list of sites in multiple languages for potentially infected users. The malware only affects systems running the Microsoft...

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Alert (TA16-336A) Avalanche (crimeware-as-a-service infrastructure)

Systems Affected Microsoft Windows Overview “Avalanche” refers to a large global network hosting infrastructure used by cyber criminals to conduct phishing and malware distribution campaigns and money mule schemes. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is releasing this Technical Alert to provide further information about Avalanche. Description Cyber criminals utilized Avalanche botnet infrastructure to host and distribute a variety of malware variants to victims, including the targeting of over 40 major financial institutions. Victims may have had their sensitive personal information stolen (e.g., user account credentials). Victims’ compromised systems may also have been used to conduct...

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