Security News
Google released 46 fixes for Android in its August security patch batch, including one for a Linux kernel flaw in the mobile OS that can lead to remote code execution. While Google never provides much detail in its monthly patch bulletins about how Android flaws are being abused in the wild, it does note that "There are indications that CVE-2024-36971 may be under limited, targeted exploitation."
Google has addressed a high-severity security flaw impacting the Android kernel that it has been actively exploited in the wild. That said, Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group has been credited with reporting the flaw, suggesting that it's likely being exploited by commercial spyware vendors to infiltrate Android devices in narrowly targeted attacks.
Infosec in brief Scammers have been using Google's own ad system to fool people into downloading a borked copy of the Chocolate Factory's Authenticator software. A team at security shop Malwarebytes spotted the adverts, which appear to come from a Google approved domain - and from a verified user - earlier this week.
A recent Google Chrome update has broken the drag-and-drop feature in the Downloads bubble that previously allowed you to drag and drop downloaded files onto any website or tab in the browser. [...]
Google Chrome is now encouraging uBlock Origin users who have updated to the latest version to switch to other ad blockers before Manifest v2 extensions are disabled [...]
Mozilla is following in Google Chrome's footsteps in officially distrusting Entrust as a root certificate authority following what it says was a protracted period of compliance failures. Entrust has apologized to Google, Mozilla, and the wider web community, outlining its plans to regain the trust of browsers, but these appear to be unsatisfactory to both Google and Mozilla.
Google has announced that it's adding a new layer of protection to its Chrome browser through what's called app-bound encryption to prevent information-stealing malware from grabbing cookies on Windows systems. "On Windows, Chrome uses the Data Protection API which protects the data at rest from other users on the system or cold boot attacks," Will Harris from the Chrome security team said.
Google has fallen victim to its own ad platform, allowing threat actors to create fake Google Authenticator ads that push the DeerStealer information-stealing malware. [...]
Thousands of accounts have been exposed after hackers used existing emails to create Google Workspace accounts and bypassed the verification process. One impacted user that shared their experience on a Google Cloud Community forum was notified by Google that someone had created a Workspace account with their email without verification and then used it to log into Dropbox.