A desktop/laptop killing USB device is on sale for €50.
As I’d mentioned in the detail section of a previous blog post there was a prototype USB memory stick that is designed to fry the electronics on a laptop or desktop, the instant it gets plugged into it. Well it’s now something you can buy for as little as €50. The worrying thing is, as…
Read MoreProtect your on-line accounts, but not with text messages.
As I outlined here, if you are using on-line accounts for e-mail, social media, etc. then one of the strongest means of protecting yourself from the evil doers is to use, what is called, two factor authentication. If you are not doing this now, you really should be as it improves your protection massively. This is…
Read MoreRepeat after me … Microsoft do NOT e-mail out system updates! It’s Fantom Ransomware.
More evil e-mail is coming to scramble all the files on your computer and then demand you to pay your hard earned cash in order to get back access to same. In other words you are being held to Ransom and so we get the term Ransom Software or Ransomware for short and this new…
Read MoreDon’t open that Voicemail!
The evil doers are up to their old tricks, trying to hoodwink people into opening up their dastardly files and execute their nasty contents. Usually they send files that claim to be invoices or bank statements, which will normally catch out a small percentage of their targeted group – accountants in this case, because accountants…
Read MoreA Nightmare on Quadrooter Street.
When I was a teenager, watching slasher flicks like A Nightmare on Elm Street (the original 1984 version) and Halloween, in order to look like a “tough guy” I developed a sort of movie watching buffer whereby when any startling occurrence happened (e.g. the scary guy leaps out of the shadows), I would simply sit…
Read More“Attack” on Garda systems is likely a Ransomware incident.
Now that the dust is settling after the IT Security incident, which caused the Garda Síochána (the Irish Police force) to shut down access to their systems late last week, it would appear that it wasn’t quite as nefarious an incident as was being portrayed in the media. Headlines such as “Mob target Garda computers”…
Read MoreEvil doers just being evil … news at 11!
The good folk over at Cisco’s Talos Threat Intelligence Organisation have been looking at a new piece of “apparent” Ransomware called Ranscam. The reason I use “apparent” is because it doesn’t hold any of your data to ransom, quite simply because it’s deleted it already! That doesn’t stop it trying to get you to pay…
Read MoreThe Ten Commandments of Cyber Security
The Ten Commandments of Cyber Security Click on the links for a summary and detail of each commandment.
Read MoreX. Thou shalt only use the official app store for apps.
Summary: This commandment is more targeted at the mobile device side of technology, but app stores are spreading into the desktop/laptop areas by way of Windows Store for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. From a mobile device perspective, you should only use the official app store for that platform. Most smartphones come with a setting…
Read MoreIX. Thou shalt never insert nor allow to be inserted, a USB memory stick that thy hath never had complete control of since it was removed from its packaging.
Summary: This is an easy commandment to follow, but there might be temptation to breach it for convenience. If you find a USB memory stick on the street or in a car park, bring it to a waste electrical goods recycling centre and dispose of it there. I was going to say place it in…
Read MoreVIII. Thou shalt never reveal thine password for any account to anyone.
Summary: This is one that should be an absolute no-brainer. Your password is your key to your data and applications. It should be absolutely sacrosanct and known only to yourself and NOBODY else. Nobody else has a need for it, except the evil doers and you wouldn’t give it to them willingly, would you? It…
Read MoreVII. Thou shalt use two factor authentication on any account that provides the facility.
Summary: What is two factor authentication? Put simply it is a way of gaining access to an application by using two means of verifying the identity of the person requesting access. Typically the means of verification are (a) something you know – e.g.- a Password (b) something you have – e.g.- a Mobile phone (c)…
Read MoreVI. Thou shalt encrypt all data stored on thine mobile devices.
Summary: Your data is valuable to you. Even something as simple as the phone numbers in your phone’s contact app. It’s also valuable to the evil doers. They would dearly love access to your phone with all of the valuable e-mail, SMS, call logs, WhatsApp messages. Everything on your phone will be of some use…
Read MoreV. Thou shalt cast aside e-mails from strangers and not open attachments/click links they may send you.
Summary: I’m going to start this summary with some scary figures. 93% of phishing e-mails in Quarter 1 2016 have carried a Ransomware payload (source – PhishMe Q1 2016 Malware review). 30% of people that receive phishing e-mails open them and 12% of those that do, then open attachments or click on links (source –…
Read MoreIV. Thou shalt always backup thy data and regularly check its integrity.
Summary: In conjunction with the first, second and third commandments … are you seeing a pattern here? By following each of these simple commandments, you are providing additional layers of defence against the evil doers. This is what security experts refer to as Defence-in-Depth. The more precautions you take, the more difficult it makes life…
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