Independent – Page 49 – Computer Security Articles

The top 12 tech stories of 2022

December 26, 2022 admin Data Privacy, Regulation, Security, Technology Industry

The technology sector’s vulnerability to the vagaries of geopolitics and the macroeconomy became clearer than ever in 2022, as IT giants laid off workers en masse, regulators cracked down on tech rule-breakers, nations negotiated data privacy, the EU-China chip war widened, and the Ukraine war disrupted business as usual. Through it all the classic tech themes—including innovation and the fight to bolster cybersecurity—continued as ChatGPT was released, Broadcom sought to purchase VMWare, a Mac renaissance began to flower, and teen hackers brought major companies to their knees. Here are our editors’ choices for the dozen stories that rocked the world of tech in 2022.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Why enterprises should embrace remote work in 2023

December 22, 2022 admin apple, Mobile, remote work, Security, small and medium business

Many businesses are looking to cut costs as economies face recession, but some enterprises may be ignoring one of the most effective ways to trim the fat while boosting productivity — by embracing remote working.

The power is in your hands

We know Macs, iPhones, and iPads have been seeing increased deployment across the enterprise. We also know (because IBM, SAP and so many companies tell us) that businesses that embrace Apple kit also see reduced overall cost of ownership and lower tech support costs. Employee choice delivers big benefits.

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ComputerWorld Independent

As China pushes its digital currency plans, the US falls behind

December 21, 2022 admin Financial Services Industry, Government IT, Mobile, Security, small and medium business

China’s digital Yuan project, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency for consumer and commercial finance, can no longer be considered a pilot. That’s the assessment by economic and cryptocurrency experts.

Those experts have been monitoring efforts in China and other countries developing and piloting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with the aim of establishing a blockchain-based virtual cash that is cheaper to use and faster to exchange, both at home and across international borders.

To date, the People’s Bank of China has distributed the digital yuan, called e-CNY, to 15 of China’s 23 provinces, and it has been used in more than 360 million transactions totaling north of 100 billion yuan, or $13.9 billion. The country has literally given away millions of dollars worth of digital yuan through lotteries, and its central bank has also participated in cross-border exchanges with several nations.

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Independent Krebs

The Equifax Breach Settlement Offer is Real, For Now

December 20, 2022 admin data breaches, Equifax breach, equifax class action settlement, myprepaidcenter.com, Other

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2022 20:08:40 +0000

Millions of people likely just received an email or snail mail notice saying they’re eligible to claim a class action payment in connection with the 2017 megabreach at consumer credit bureau Equifax. Given the high volume of reader inquiries about this, it seemed worth pointing out that while this particular offer is legit (if paltry), scammers are likely to soon capitalize on public attention to the settlement money.

Independent Krebs

Hacked Ring Cams Used to Record Swatting Victims

December 19, 2022 admin aspertaine, chumlul, james thomas andrew mccarty, kya christian nelson, Ne'er-Do-Well News, SIM swapping, violence-as-a-service

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:24:10 +0000

Two U.S. men have been charged with hacking into the Ring home security cameras of a dozen random people and then “swatting” them — falsely reporting a violent incident at the target’s address to trick local police into responding with force. Prosecutors say the duo used the compromised Ring devices to stream live video footage on social media of police raiding their targets’ homes, and to taunt authorities when they arrived.

ComputerWorld Independent

The trials and tribulations of Microsoft’s KB5012170 patch

December 19, 2022 admin microsoft, Security, small and medium business, windows

KB5012170 is many things to many Windows users. First, it’s a patch that either installs with no problems or leads to a blue screen of death (BSOD). It can also be an indicator we have a problem getting updated drivers on our systems. It can demonstrate how users don’t keep up with Bios updates. And it shows that some OEMs enable Bitlocker on the systems they sell (not necessarily in a good way).

In short, it’s a problematic patch that just keeps rearing its head.

Also known as “Security Update for Secure Boot DBX,” KB5012170 was released earlier this year and makes improvements to the Secure Boot Forbidden Signature Database (DBX). Windows devices that have Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based firmware have Secure Boot enabled. It ensures only trusted software can be loaded and executed on during the boot process by using cryptographic signatures to verify the integrity of the process and the software being loaded.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Patch Tuesday: Two zero-day flaws in Windows need immediate attention

December 16, 2022 admin microsoft, Security, small and medium business, windows

Microsoft’s December Patch Tuesday updated delivers 59 fixes, including two zero-days (CVE-2022-44698 and CVE-2022-44710) that require immediate attention on the Windows platform. This is a network focused update (TCP/IP and RDP) that will require significant testing with an emphasis on ODBC connections, Hyper-V systems, Kerberos authentication, and printing (both local and remote).

Microsoft also published an urgent out-of-band update (CVE-2022-37966) to address serious Kerberos authentication issues. (The team at Readiness has provided a helpful infographic that outlines the risks associated with each of these updates.)

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ComputerWorld Independent