security

It smelled like a ransomware and talked like a ransomware but, in fact, it was worse than a ransomware. Although it has been labeled as a strain of a 2016 ransomware, this year's "Petya" malware has been mislabeled. According to cybersecurity outfit Comae Technologies, the so-called Petya.2017 is actually a wiper masquerading as a ransomware, doing irrecoverable damage to data on drives. To add insult to injury, this wiper was specifically designed to look like the first Petya in order to fool media into thinking that it is.

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The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to announce new 'enhanced' security measures that will lift in-cabin laptop bans currently in place against passengers in flights originating from certain cities. According to sources, the laptop ban will be dropped for airlines that adopt and follow the new security measures, though airlines that reject them may still be subject to the in-cabin ban. The ban itself is said to be the result of new intel indicating terrorists may try to weaponize large batteries found in laptops and tablets.

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In an increasingly competitive world of connected security cameras, Nest has turned to Alphabet-sibling Google and its facial recognition tech to make the Nest Cam IQ stand out. Not just the latest in the company's sophisticated home security camera line-up, the Nest Cam IQ represents a complete platform upgrade, with an all-new sensor, lossless zooming support, and the ability to recognize and track faces. On the downside, it also commands the highest price of a Nest camera so far, so does it deliver for $299?

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As if last month's major malware attack wasn't enough, today we're hearing about large-scale ransomware attack that that is crippling IT systems around the world. While some of the details are a little unclear at this early stage, it's obvious that this is a massive attack. It may even take advantage of the same weaknesses that allowed Wannacry to spread so quickly last month.

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It appears Samsung is gearing up to launch a new consumer-tier security camera, one designed for use in and around one's home. The camera has appeared on Best Buy's website with the name 'SmartCam,' though the Korean company hasn't officially announced the product at this time. The listing shows the camera as featuring a 1080p resolution with WiFi support. The launch date isn't known, though.

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While the US still tries to sort out how Russian cyberattacks played an influence on the recent presidential election, the British Parliament is currently experiencing its own attack from hackers this weekend. News reports say the country's lawmakers have been left unable to use or access their email as a result of a "sustained and determined" cyberattack from unknown individuals.

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If you have a top-tier flagship smartphone, there's a good chance you paid somewhere between $600 and $800 for it...or more. That's a fairly substantial sum, and the reason why many find it hard to turn down their carrier's monthly phone insurance. That insurance, though, adds up on its own, typically being $11.99/month -- that's just under $144/year, not including the 'deductible' many charge when you need to use it. The good news is that you don't have to pay this; there are much cheaper options on the market with arguably better coverage.

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Logitech has announced that its soon-to-launch Circle 2 home security camera can now be used with the Amazon Echo Show device, enabling users to view their security video feeds on Amazon's latest IoT product. This is thanks to Logitech's newly announced support for the latest Alexa camera API on the Echo Show. Logitech Circle 2 owners will be able to take full advantage of the Echo's Alexa abilities, including using voice to pull up a camera's video feed.

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Security-minded company ProtonMail has announced that its VPN service 'ProtonVPN' is now out of beta and available to everyone. Even better, particularly for those who are unable to pay, is that ProtonVPN is free. According to the company, its VPN service improves upon the competing products available on the market, utilizing things like a Secure Core architecture to help protect users from attacks, as well as 'seamless integration with' Tor.

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Data security firm UpGuard is bringing our attention to a very severe data exposure today. This "leak" of sorts left the personal data of nearly every registered voter in the US exposed, making this the "largest known data exposure of its kind," according to UpGuard's Cyber Risk team. In all, the data for 198 million registered voters in the US was left exposed, which is a ridiculous number of people when you consider that it's 61% of the country's population.

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We haven't heard a whole lot from Ring in recent months, but now, following the launch of its Floodlight Cam at the start of the year, the company is launching a new version of its flagship product. Today Ring announced its second-generation Video Doorbell, aptly named "Video Doorbell 2." This new product seems to borrow from both the original Video Doorbell and the Video Doorbell Pro to roll the best of both products into one.

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Those closely following Samsung's movements, arguably the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, probably knows by now how it is pushing Bixby as its Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana rival. In fact, it has long abandoned some features that more or less provided that functionality. Apparently, however, Samsung forgot to clean up after itself and has let the S Suggest domain expire, potentially leaving thousands of Galaxy phone owners vulnerable to hacking attempts.

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