PossibleThreat Articles

Articles for the experts…

Month: February 2022

ComputerWorld Independent 

Will World War III begin in cyberspace?

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Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2022 03:00:00 -0800

People die because of cyber wars, even if no bullets are ever fired. Instead, they die in emergency rooms that no longer have power, from broken medical communication networks, and from riots. All of this has happened before. It will happen again. And now, with Russia poised to invade Ukraine and Russian cyberattacks already in motion, we can only hope and pray that what promises to be the first major European war since World War II doesn’t spark the next World War.

If it does, I fear the proximate cause won’t be Russian T-90 main battle tanks trying to smash their way into Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. It will be the Russian GRU Sandworm hacking group launching a cyberattack that perhaps wrecks the European Union power grid; or knocks out major US internet sites such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft; or stops 4G and 5G cellular services in their tracks.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

VPNs and browsers — staying secure while online

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Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2022 09:08:00 -0800

In business, we’ve used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for years. But I’m now seeing recommendations that consumers use VPN software to make internet connections more private so sites can’t snoop on your surfing and other communications. As someone who runs a website that uses IP address reputation as a guide to know who is and is not reputable on my site, I can tell you that using a VPN often assigns you an IP address that’s less than stellar. As a result, if you attempt to access sites that check for reputation, such as your bank, you may find yourself blocked.

I’m not against the concept of consumer-based VPN software, but I’m not convinced it’s the security panacea many think it is. Users think it’s keeping sites from tracking them, or keeping them safe when surfing on coffee shop Wi-Fi. They think it keeps prying eyes from reviewing our web traffic. But all VPN software is not created equal. I recently read new research from Consumer Reports that tested various VPN platforms; I was surprised to find that the top VPN providers included vendors I’ve not even heard of.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Microsoft beefs up Edge's security against zero-day attacks

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Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:16:00 -0800

In the latest release of its Edge beta, Microsoft introduced a new way for IT admins to better secure the Chromium-based browser against web-based attacks.

The release notes for Microsoft Edge Beta Channel describe the new security features as employing several techniques to guard against so-called zero-day exploits; Zero-day exploits are software or network vulnerabilities developers are unaware of, and so they’ve not been patched.

Imagine if the keylock mechanism on your home’s backdoor was faulty and jiggling the doorknob released the latch. Burglars could walk door to door looking for that particular vulnerability and jiggle doorknobs until one opened. Zero days are the same concept, but in cyberspace.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

How to keep your apps up to date in Windows 10 and 11

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Credit to Author: Ed Tittel| Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2022 03:00:00 -0800

Look around a typical Windows desktop. Whether it’s running Windows 10 or 11, chances are that it’s running at least a couple of dozen Windows applications (.exe files), and at least four dozen Microsoft Store apps. On my local fleet of 10 PCs, the range for applications is from a low of 24 to a high of 120; for Store apps, it ranges from 49 to 81. Such numbers are quite typical, if my online research is at all accurate.

In general, it’s considered good security practice to keep apps and applications up-to-date. Why? Because many updates involve security patches and fixes that block potential attacks and prevent unauthorized and unwanted access to applications and their data (and sometimes, the host OS and the PCs they run on). In this story, I will offer some tools to help you streamline this process, along with some instructions on how to put them to work to help you keep your apps and applications current and safe.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

20 years after Gates’ call for trustworthy computing, we’re still not there

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Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2022 03:42:00 -0800

Do you feel more secure? Is your computing experience more trustworthy these days?

Seriously — you’re reading this article on a computer or phone, connecting to this site on an internet shared with your Grandma as well as Russian hackers, North Korean attackers, and lots of teenagers  looking at TikTok videos. It’s been 20 years since then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates wrote his Trustworthy Computing memo where he emphasized security in the company’s products.

So are we actually more secure now?

I’m going to keep in mind the side effects from last week’s Patch Tuesday security updates and consider them in my answer. First, the good news: I don’t see major side effects occurring on PCs not connected to active directory domains (and I haven’t seen any showstoppers in testing my hardware at home). I can still print to my local HP and Brother printers. I can surf and access files. So, while I’m not ready yet to give an all-clear to install the January updates, when I do, I doubt you’ll see side effects.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Patch Tuesday gets off to a busy start for January

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Credit to Author: Greg Lambert| Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2022 12:10:00 -0800

For this week’s Patch Tuesday, the first of the year, Microsoft addressed 97 security issues, six of them rated critical. Though six vulnerabilities have been publicly reported, I do not classify them as zero-days. Microsoft has fixed a lot of security related issues and is aware of several known issues that may have inadvertently caused significant server issues including:

  • Hyper-V, which no longer starts with the message, “Virtual machine xxx could not be started because the hypervisor is not running.”
  • ReFS (Resilient) file systems that are no longer accessible (which is kind of ironic).
  • And Windows domain controller boot loops.

There are a variety of known issues this month, and I’m not sure whether we’ll see more issues reported with the January server patches. You can find more information on the risk of deploying these latest updates with our helpful infographic.

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MalwareBytes Security 

Cyberattack on fuel supplier causes supply chain disruption

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Credit to Author: Pieter Arntz| Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2022 16:52:28 +0000

A cyber attack interrupted the supply chain for thousand of gas stations in Germany. Alternatives had to be found when the automated loading systems for the supply trucks were disabled.

Categories: Vital infrastructure

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Cellular networks revolt against Apple privacy moves

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Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2022 09:43:00 -0800

Every time Apple attempts to inject a little more privacy into the digital world, it faces pushback – but the evidence suggests opponents would be better off going along for the ride.

A bigger business with more privacy

Take Do Not Track for ads and the move to quash IDFA tracking in iOS 14. When Apple first announced its plan, critics across the ad industry complained it would damage their business.

Apple counter-argued that it would simply inspire advertisers to think more creatively about how to reach customers — while also providing more privacy to those customers.  

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Microsoft touts first PCs to ship natively with secure Pluton chip

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Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2022 03:00:00 -0800

As organizations continue to wrestle with how to manage a hybrid workforce, security outside the corporate firewall continues to play a huge role in day-to-day IT operations.

Following the October release of Windows 11, which boasted features aimed at enabling hybrid work, Microsoft last week announced the first PCs with its Pluton chip-to-cloud security technology. The technology is aimed at securing the computers of remote workers and others.

At CES, Microsoft announced that Lenovo and chipmaker AMD have launched the first laptops — the ThinkPad Z13 and ThankPad Z16 — that come natively with the Pluton security chips. Pricing for the ThinkPad Z13 starts at $1,549, pricing for the ThinkPad Z16 starts at $2,099. Both laptops will be available in May and Lenovo said there is no additional cost associated with the Pluton chip inside.

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