security

The combined might of email, scanners, and computers should have made the venerable fax machine obsolete right? Millennials might laugh at it and presume it went the way of the floppy disk but it might shock them to know that more 300 million fax numbers still exist. That may not mean that all of those are in use but it at suggests that some may be active and may even be connected to some network, be it local or the Internet. And that is one gaping security hole waiting for some enterprising hacker to get through.

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Intel’s new processor generation can’t come soon enough. Just when you thought the computing world was more or less over the Meltdown and Spectre scare, a new relative pops up. The name this time is less frightening but more ominous: Foreshadow. It’s related to Meltdown in that it exploits speculative execution to illegally read data stored in memory. The difference, and the irony, is that Foreshadow breaks into Intel’s SGX, the very feature that’s meant to protect data even from wayward operating systems and software.

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If you have an Instagram account, you may want to take some extra precautions and do what you can to lock it down. That, of course, is always good advice, but at the moment it might be particularly important. Reports of hackers taking over Instagram accounts are starting to circulate, but this story is a fair bit more strange than you would initially expect.

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The Android platform has a reputation for being less than secure, and, despite the system's advantages and improvements, the situation isn't getting any better at the rate it should be. New research from security firm Kryptowire has found that a number of Android devices include vulnerabilities right out of the box, including those shipped directly from wireless carriers. Unfortunately the cause of the problem stems from one of Android's biggest and oldest strong points: its open nature and ability to be modified.

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As part of its efforts to be more transparent and accountable for its political influence, Facebook has announced changes to the verification process for Pages with a large following. The social network will require additional measures from Page administrators to prove their identity, in part to make it harder for Pages to be run by fake or compromised accounts.

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Epic Games’ decision to make Fortnite temporarily exclusive to the Galaxy Note 9 isn’t exactly news nor unpopular. Its decision to shun Google Play Store, however, is ruffling not a few feathers and worrying some about potential security problems. Epic, however, doesn’t concerned at all. In fact, it may have preferred this setup exactly because it would allow them to permaban any player using an unofficial or modded APK, no questions asked.

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Snap accidentally revealed some of its Snapchat for iOS source code, the company has confirmed. The exposure resulted from an app update issued this past May; though Snap moved quickly to fix it, someone had already grabbed a copy and shared it on GitHub. Snap says it discovered its code on the website, forcing it to issue a copyright act removal request.

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The Democratic National Committee has advised Democrats and their staff to avoid purchasing and/or using smartphones made by ZTE and Huawei, both Chinese companies, citing potential security concerns. Both companies have been in the US government's crosshairs for years, with officials and politicians worrying that these devices may be used by the Chinese government to compromise US telecommunications.

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Today Reddit announced a security incident that occurred in the middle of June. The incident was discovered on June 19th, 2018, and the full extent of the data shared and/or compromised was revealed this afternoon. The incident is particularly important right this minute because of the rise of understanding in the weaknesses in sms-verified authentication.

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Facebook has disclosed the discovery of new accounts engaging in "inauthentic behavior," according to newly released statements from the company. These accounts were present on both the Facebook and Instagram platforms, the oldest dating to early 2017 and the newest to May 2018. Facebook, which says it is still in the early stages of its investigation, explains that one page had more than 290,000 followers, and that the Pages collectively produced more than 9,500 organic posts.

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Microsoft OneDrive, the company's cloud storage alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive, just got a big security update for Android users. After updating the Android mobile app, OneDrive allows the user to secure their content behind a fingerprint lock. The extra layer of security ensures only someone with the right fingerprint can unlock the account.

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Verizon is launching its own VPN app for Android and iOS, offering it to customers at the price of $3.99/month. The service, which Verizon calls Safe Wi-Fi, is presented as a way to block advertisement trackers and protect one's privacy without having to sign up with a third-party VPN company. The subscription is only available for certain Verizon customers, though.

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