Advanced Linux backdoor found in the wild escaped AV detection

Researchers say they’ve discovered an advanced piece of Linux malware that has escaped detection by antivirus products and appears to be actively used in targeted attacks. HiddenWasp, as the malware has been dubbed, is a fully developed suite of malware that includes a trojan, rootkit, and initial deployment script, researchers at security firm Intezer reported… Read More

Google Just Gave 2 Billion Chrome Users A Reason To Switch To Firefox

Google is planning to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users only, according to 9to5Google. This is despite a backlash to an announcement by Googlein January proposing changes that will stop current ad blockers from working efficiently. And the software giant is not backing down: It says the only people that can use… Read More

Docker Bug Allows Root Access to Host File System

All of the current versions of Docker have a vulnerability that can allow an attacker to get read-write access to any path on the host server. The weakness is the result of a race condition in the Docker software and while there’s a fix in the works, it has not yet been integrated. The bug… Read More

Stolen NSA hacking tool now victimizing US cities

A hacking tool developed by the US National Security Agency is now being used to shut down American cities and towns, says a Saturday report in The New York Times. Code-named EternalBlue, the hacking exploit involves malicious software and was leaked in 2017 by a group called Shadow Brokers. Hackers used the tool that same… Read More

Baltimore ransomware nightmare could last weeks more, with big consequences

It’s been nearly two weeks since the City of Baltimore’s networks were shut down in response to a ransomware attack, and there’s still no end in sight to the attack’s impact. It may be weeks more before the city’s services return to something resembling normal—manual workarounds are being put in place to handle some services… Read More

San Francisco just banned facial-recognition technology

San Francisco, long one of the most tech-friendly and tech-savvy cities in the world, is now the first in the US to prohibit its government from using facial-recognition technology. The ban is part of a broader anti-surveillance ordinance that the city’s Board of Supervisors approved on Tuesday. The ordinance, which outlaws the use of facial-recognition… Read More

Google pulls Huawei’s Android license

Following the US crackdown on Chinese technology companies, Google has cut off Huawei’s Android license, dealing a huge blow to the besieged phonemaker. Reuters first reported the news, and The Verge subsequently confirmed Google’s suspension of business with Huawei with a source familiar with the matter. Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson said only “We… Read More

Google’s Sensorvault Is a Boon for Law Enforcement. This Is How It Works.

Law enforcement officials across the country have been seeking information from a Google database called Sensorvault — a trove of detailed location records involving at least hundreds of millions of devices worldwide, The New York Times found. Though the new technique can identify suspects near crimes, it runs the risk of sweeping up innocent bystanders,… Read More

Post-mortem and remediations for Apr 11 security incident

On April 11th we dealt with a major security incident impacting the infrastructure which runs the Matrix.org homeserver – specifically: removing an attacker who had gained superuser access to much of our production network. We provided updates at the time as events unfolded on April 11 and 12 via Twitter and our blog, but in… Read More