Security News
Mozilla privacy survey finds mental health and prayer apps fail privacy test pretty spectacularly. Apps with the most sensitive data seem to be the worst at protecting user privacy, according to a review by Mozilla's Privacy Not Included team.
WithSecure and Cue Health have worked together to address a security issue that WithSecure discovered in Cue's COVID-19 test, which delivers the results of a nasal swab test via bluetooth to a mobile device. The COVID-19 test is a molecular test that offers users results in 20 minutes with accuracy that's comparable to PCR tests performed in labs.
LockBit beats REvil and Ryuk in Splunk's ransomware encryption speed test. Splunk researchers put 10 ransomware variants to a speed test to help network defenders improve their security strategies.
Nestlé, which is to stop selling KitKats and other brands in Russia, says corporate data leaked online this week by Anonymous was not stolen nor all that useful. Nestlé told The Register the data is not real or sensitive, wasn't stolen, and was accidentally leaked by itself via one of its own websites.
Researchers have conducted a technical experiment, testing ten ransomware variants to determine how fast they encrypt files and evaluate how feasible it would be to timely respond to their attacks. Ransomware is malware that enumerates the files and directories on a compromised machine, selects valid encryption targets, and then encrypts the data, so it is unavailable without a corresponding decryption key.
The vendor's research team Surge today published research on how long it takes 10 of the big ransomware families including Lockbit, Conti, and REvil to encrypt 100,000 files. While the criminal gangs' speeds varied, Surge found the median ransomware variant can encrypt nearly 100,000 files totaling 53.93GB in 42 minutes and 52 seconds.
Microsoft has announced that the company's new cloud-based Microsoft Defender security solution has entered preview for home customers in the United States. While Microsoft paints a pretty picture of Microsoft Defender Preview's capabilities, in reality, the application is in its very early stages.
Cignpost Diagnostics, which trades as ExpressTest and offers £35 tests for holidaymakers, said it holds the right to analyse samples from seals to "Learn more about human health" - and sell information on to third parties. Individuals are required to give informed consent for their sensitive medical data to be used but customers' consent for their DNA to be sold now as buried in Cignpost's online documents.
Scammers are taking advantage of the focus on COVID-19 testing and the need for at-home test kits, says Barracuda Networks. A recent blog post from security firm Barracuda Networks looks at the rise in phishing campaigns that exploit the concerns over such testing.
The Omicron variant has contributed to a 521 per cent rise in COVID test related scam emails between October 2021 and January 2022, according to Barracuda Networks. One of the most common scams include offers to sell counterfeit or unauthorised COVID tests, and other medical supplies such as masks or gloves.