Security News
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.
Microsoft is testing a new hidden feature in the latest Windows 11 preview build that rejuvenates the user interface for Task Manager with a new design and modern appearance. Task Manager is one of the most commonly used built-in Windows apps, allowing users to see how much a process uses CPU and memory, terminate processes, manage auto-starting programs, or simply see what programs are running on a computer.
Security vendor F-Secure has faked a COVID test result on a Bluetooth-equipped home COVID Test. The firm tested the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, a device selected specifically because it uses a "Bluetooth connected analyzer for use with an app on your phone."
Security researchers found a vulnerability in a home test for COVID-19 that a bad actor could use to change test results from positive to negative or vice versa. Here's how the test works: A user downloads an app, answers a few screening questions, watches an informational video and then performs the test.
UK online used goods bazaar Gumtree exposed its users' home addresses in the source code of its webpages, and then tried to squirm out of a bug bounty after infosec bods alerted it to the flaw. British company Pen Test Partners spotted the data leakage, which meant anyone could view a Gumtree user's name and location by pressing F12 in their web browser.