Security - SlashGear

‘security’ Stories

HP printer loophole permits data harvesting [Update: HP responds]

Chris Davies, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

Certain HP printers could be remotely persuaded to collect confidential information or even cause physical damage, researchers have demonstrated, with a covert reprograming hack causing them to overheat and present a possible fire hazard. The government and industry funded research team at Columbia University were able to tweak an official HP management tool to include malicious programming in with a regular print job, MSNBC reports, allowing them to coax some LaserJet printers into overheating their fuser. Update: HP has issued us with a statement; you can find it after the cut. Read The Full Story

$2m AT&T hack funded terrorists

Chris Davies, Nov 28th 2011 Discuss [5]

Cash scooped from hacked AT&T business accounts was used to fund terrorist attacks in Asia, local law enforcement has revealed, with four recently arrested hackers believed to have connections to Al Qaeda and the 2002 Bali bombing. The scheme has been operating since 2009, the Philippines Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) believe, while the FBI told the New York Times this weekend that it is cooperating with local police. Although AT&T has not confirmed any figures, reports suggest it has cost the carrier almost $2m to refund affected customers. Read The Full Story

Windows 8 security loophole demoed by researcher

Rue Liu, Nov 25th 2011 Discuss [8]

Microsoft's Windows 8 isn't due out in full until fall of next year, but security researcher Peter Kleissner has already found a way to exploit the platform. Kleissner created a Windows 8 bootkit that can bypass the User Account Control using just 14KB of exploit code. It's said to be the first proof-of-concept to find a vulnerability in Windows 8 and he's posted a demo video of the process. Read The Full Story

HDCP security protecting HD video cracked with cheap hardware

Shane McGlaun, Nov 25th 2011 Discuss [4]

German geek shave cracked the protection that prevents the theft of HD video. Specifically the HDCP protection that protects Blu-ray movies has been cracked. Intel is the company behind the encryption that was cracked. HDCP is used on a bunch of HD video signals including HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort. Read The Full Story

DHS denies Illinois victim of Russian hackers

Chris Davies, Nov 23rd 2011 Discuss [2]

The Department of Homeland Security has denied foreign involvement in what was believed to be a sabotage attempt on utility equipment in Illinois earlier this month, claiming an earlier report from the state's Terrorism and Intelligence Center was incorrect in its apparent findings. "DHS and FBI have concluded that there was no malicious traffic from Russia or any foreign entities, as previously reported" DHS spokesperson Chris Ortman told MSNBC, going on to insist that there was "no evidence" that login credentials had been stolen. Read The Full Story

Xbox LIVE not hacked insists Microsoft

Chris Davies, Nov 22nd 2011 Discuss [23]

Microsoft has denied claims that Xbox LIVE has been hacked, despite reports suggesting the online gaming service had suffered a security breach exposing user data. The company took to its official Facebook page after UK newspaper The Sun alleged gamers had lost between £100 and £20o each ($156-313); in fact, Microsoft clarified, victims had been the unfortunate quarry of a phishing scam. Read The Full Story

AT&T reveals failed hack attack

Chris Davies, Nov 22nd 2011 Discuss [0]

AT&T has revealed it was the target of an unsuccessful hack attack, with would-be data thieves attempting to force access to customer accounts through the carrier's website. No accounts were breached in the assault AT&T told certain subscribers in letters recently, eWeek reports, with less than 1-percent of the company's 101m wireless users impacted. However, it still suggests that subscribers be wary of an uptick in spam and phishing attempts "out of an abundance of caution." Read The Full Story

Android malware: Threat or FUD?

Chris Davies, Nov 21st 2011 Discuss [25]

Android faces an exponential growth in mobile malware, according to researchers, with a 472-percent increase in rogue Android Market apps since July 2011. Increasingly complex apps are taking advantage of loopholes in the Android platform's security to gain root access and grab user-data, Juniper Networks claims, going on to send premium-rate messages unknown to the user or share data covertly with remote hackers. However, while those apps are supposedly proliferating in the Market, it's unclear how many users are actually impacted. Read The Full Story

US utility sabotage blamed on Russian hackers

Chris Davies, Nov 20th 2011 Discuss [39]

Russian hackers may have sabotaged a water pump in what's being described as the first foreign cyber attack on US utility infrastructure, damaging both hardware and confidence in critical systems. The attack targeted a Springfield, Illinois water utility station on November 8, Reuters reports, using network credentials stolen from an industrial software developer; the pump was apparently remotely activated and burnt out, though redundant systems meant no impact was felt by residents of the town. Read The Full Story

Full-Body X-ray scanners banned in Europe airports, TSA comments

Chris Burns, Nov 16th 2011 Discuss [7]

Airport security has always been an issue since airlines became widely used, but it was the events of 9/11/01 here in the USA that brought on such measures as the full-body x-ray scanners being called unsafe this week by airport authorities across Europe. I'll try not to get too into the theories on how these devices cause cancer and haven't been tested properly outside what's presented in the facts here, but DO know this: European authorities have just this week decided that these X-ray machines form a risk to passenger's health and safety to the point that they cannot be used. USA's TSA is not pleased. Read The Full Story