internet – Page 17 – Computer Security Articles

The NSA's foreign surveillance: 5 things to know

March 14, 2017 admin Data Privacy, internet, Security

Credit to Author: Grant Gross| Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2017 09:27:00 -0700

A contentious piece of U.S. law giving the National Security Agency broad authority to spy on people overseas expires at the end of the year. Expect heated debate about the scope of U.S. surveillance law leading up to Dec. 31.

One major issue to watch involves the way the surveillance treats communications from U.S. residents. Critics say U.S. emails, texts, and chat logs — potentially millions of them — are caught up in surveillance authorized by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

U.S. residents who communicate with foreign targets of the NSA surveillance have their data swept up in what the NSA calls “incidental” collection. The FBI can then search those communications, but it’s unclear how often that happens.

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ComputerWorld Independent

A hard learned lesson in VPNs and secure websites

March 6, 2017 admin internet, Security

Credit to Author: Michael Horowitz| Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2017 17:00:00 -0800

Being a Defensive Computing kind of guy, I am a frequent flyer when it comes to VPN usage. But VPNs have both an upside and a downside.

Previously, I wrote about an unexpected downside that I ran into while making a purchase while logged into a VPN server in another country. I won’t be doing that again.

This time, a VPN interfered with a charitable donation.

I am a big fan of Libre Office. Yesterday, I tried to make a donation to the organization behind it, The Document Foundation, but my credit card was denied with a “transaction failed” error message.

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ComputerWorld Independent

FCC halts data security rules

March 2, 2017 admin internet, Networking, Security, Technology Law & Regulation

Credit to Author: John Ribeiro| Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2017 03:59:00 -0800

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has halted new rules that would require high-speed internet providers to take ‘reasonable’ steps to protect customer data.

In a 2-1 vote that went along party lines, the FCC voted Wednesday to stay temporarily one part of privacy rules passed in October that would give consumers the right to decide how their data is used and shared by broadband providers.

The rules include the requirement that internet service providers should obtain “opt-in” consent from consumers to use and share sensitive information such as geolocation and web browsing history, and also give customers the option to opt out from the sharing of non-sensitive information such as email addresses or service tier information.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Google shifts on email encryption tool, leaving its fate unclear

February 27, 2017 admin Data Privacy, encryption, internet, Security

Credit to Author: Michael Kan| Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2017 13:34:00 -0800

Google is asking developers to take over its effort to make end-to-end email encryption more user-friendly, raising questions over whether it’ll ever become an official feature in the company’s browser.

On Friday, the search giant said its email encryption tool, originally announced in 2014, was no longer a Google product. Instead, it’s become a “full community-driven open source project,” the company said in a blog post.

The tool is designed to work as an extension to Google’s Chrome browser that uses the OpenPGP standard to encrypt emails, ensuring that only the recipient can read them, and not the email provider or a government.

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ComputerWorld Independent

SK Telecom pushes for interoperable quantum crypto systems

February 27, 2017 admin encryption, internet, Networking, Security, Wireless Carriers

Credit to Author: Martyn Williams| Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2017 10:34:00 -0800

SK Telecom and Nokia have developed a prototype quantum cryptography system that combines the South Korean company’s quantum key server with an encryption device from Nokia.

The system, shown Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, was put together to demonstrate interoperability between the two vendors and comes as SK Telecom kicks off a push to get telecom carriers and equipment vendors working together on next-generation quantum-secured networks.

Quantum cryptography involves the transmission of encryption keys across fiber optic networks. It relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect if an eavesdropper has viewed a key en route.

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ComputerWorld Independent

FCC puts the brakes on ISP privacy rules it passed in October

February 24, 2017 admin Data Privacy, internet, Security, Technology Law & Regulation

Credit to Author: Grant Gross| Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2017 10:43:00 -0800

The new chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will seek a stay on privacy rules for broadband providers that the agency just passed in October.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will ask for either a full commission vote on the stay before parts of the rules take effect next Thursday or he will instruct FCC staff to delay part of the rules pending a commission vote, a spokesman said Friday.

The rules, passed when the FCC had a Democratic majority, require broadband providers to receive opt-in customer permission to share sensitive personal information, including web-browsing history, geolocation, and financial details, with third parties. Without the stay, the opt-in requirements were scheduled to take effect next week.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Ransomware 'customer support' chat reveals criminals' ruthlessness

February 23, 2017 admin internet, Security

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2017 14:14:00 -0800

Ransomware criminals chatting up victims, offering to delay deadlines, showing how to obtain Bitcoin, dispensing the kind of customer support that consumers lust for from their cable and mobile plan providers, PC and software makers?

What’s not to love?

Finnish security vendor F-Secure yesterday released 34 pages of transcripts from the group chat used by the crafters of the Spora ransomware family. The back-and-forth not only put a spotlight on the gang’s customer support chops, but, said a company security advisor, illustrated the intertwining of Bitcoin and extortion malware.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Amid cyberattacks, ISPs try to clean up the internet

February 23, 2017 admin cyberattacks, internet, Networking, Security

Credit to Author: Michael Kan| Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2017 06:26:00 -0800

If your computer’s been hacked, Dale Drew might know something about that.

Drew is chief security officer at Level 3 Communications, a major internet backbone provider that’s routinely on the lookout for cyberattacks on the network level. The company has linked more than 150 million IP addresses to malicious activity worldwide.

That means all of those IP addresses have computers behind them that are probably involved in distributed denial-of-service attacks, email spam, or breaches of company servers, Drew said.

Hackers have managed to hijack those computers to “cause harm to the internet,” but the owners don’t always know that, Drew said.

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