Security News

Google has updated Google Authenticator, its mobile authenticator app for delivering time-based one-time authentication codes, and now allows users to sync their codes to their Google account. They can later be seamlessly synced to a new device once the Google Authenticator app is installed on it and connected to the users' Google account.

The Google Authenticator app has received a critical update for Android and iOS that allows users to back up their two-factor authentication one-time passwords to their Google Accounts and have multi-device support. Google Authenticator is an immensely popular authentication app with over 100 million installs that lets users generate these one-time passwords for 2FA verification.

Google has made available a new tool for Google Workspace admins and security teams to make an assessment of the risk different Chrome extensions may present to their users: Spin.AI App Risk Assessment. The tool is available through the Chrome Browser Cloud Management console and provides admins with valuable insights into potential security threats.

Google's cloud division is following in the footsteps of Microsoft with the launch of Security AI Workbench that leverages generative AI models to gain better visibility into the threat landscape.Users, like with Microsoft's GPT-4-based Security Copilot, can "Conversationally search, analyze, and investigate security data" with an aim to reduce mean time-to-respond as well as quickly determine the full scope of events.

"This change means users are better protected from lockout and that services can rely on users retaining access, increasing both convenience and security," Google's Christiaan Brand said. The update, which also brings a new icon to the two-factor authenticator app, finally brings it in line with Apple's iCloud Keychain and addresses a long-standing complaint that it's tied to the device on which it's installed, making it a hassle when switching between phones.

The web giant's announcement of the resulting new features - marketed under the Google Cloud Security AI Workbench umbrella brand - is pretty long winded, so we thought we'd ask its Bard chat bot to summarize it all. Google Cloud Security AI Workbench is a new platform that uses generative AI to help organizations secure their cloud environments.

The enterprise-targeting Bumblebee malware is distributed through Google Ads and SEO poisoning that promote popular software like Zoom, Cisco AnyConnect, ChatGPT, and Citrix Workspace. Bumblebee is a malware loader discovered in April 2022, thought to have been developed by the Conti team as a replacement for the BazarLoader backdoor, used for gaining initial access to networks and conducting ransomware attacks.

Google and The Center for Internet Security, Inc., launched the Google Cloud Alliance this week with the goal of advancing digital security in the public sector. Google Cloud said it will bring members and services from its Google Cybersecurity Action Team, including insights from its Threat Horizons reports and Mandiant web intelligence division to weigh in on on "Securing the broader technology ecosystem - especially as it relates to cloud posture and overall cybersecurity practices," according to a joint statement.

Google has addressed a Cloud Platform security vulnerability impacting all users and allowing attackers to backdoor their accounts using malicious OAuth applications installed from the Google Marketplace or third-party providers.Named GhostToken by Astrix Security, the Israeli cybersecurity startup that found and reported it to Google in June 2022, this security flaw was addressed via a global patch that rolled out in early April 2023.

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a now-patched zero-day flaw in Google Cloud Platform that could have enabled threat actors to conceal an unremovable, malicious application inside a victim's Google account. "The vulnerability allows attackers to gain permanent and unremovable access to a victim's Google account by converting an already authorized third-party application into a malicious trojan app, leaving the victim's personal data exposed forever," Astrix said in a report.