Search This Blog
Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Labels

Footer About

Footer About

Labels

Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Showing posts with label Cloud. Show all posts
Technology
AI Cloud Dark Web Internet Ransomware Technology

Why Ransomware Attacks Keep Rising and What Makes Them Unstoppable


In August, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) suffered a cyberattack. JLR employs over 32,800 people and provides additional 104,000 jobs via it's supply chain. JLR is the recent victim in a chain of ransomware attacks. 

Why such attacks?

Our world is entirely dependent on technology which are prone to attacks. Only a few people understand such complex infrastructure. The internet is built to be easy, and this makes it vulnerable. The first big cyberattack happened in 1988. That time, not many people knew about it. 

The more we rely on networked computer technology, the more we become exposed to attacks and ransomware extortion.

How such attacks happen?

There are various ways of hacking or disrupting a network. Threat actors get direct access through software bugs, they can access unprotected systems and leverage them as a zombie army called "botnet," to disrupt a network.

Currently, we are experiencing a wave of ransomware attacks. First, threat actors hack into a network, they may pretend to be an employee. They do this via phishing emails or social engineering attacks. After this, they increase their access and steal sensitive data for extortion reasons. By this, hackers gain control and assert dominance.

These days, "hypervisor" has become a favourite target. It is a server computer that lets many remote systems to use just one system (like work from home). Hackers then use ransomware to encode data, which makes the entire system unstable and it becomes impossible to restore the data without paying the ransom for a decoding key.

Why constant rise in attacks?

A major reason is a sudden rise in cryptocurrencies. It has made money laundering easier. In 2023, a record $1.1 billion was paid out across the world. Crypto also makes it easier to buy illegal things on the dark web. Another reason is the rise of ransomware as a service (RaaS) groups. This business model has made cyberattacks easier for beginner hackers 

About RaaS

RaaS groups market on dark web and go by the names like LockBit, REvil, Hive, and Darkside sell tech support services for ransomware attack. For a monthly fees, they provide a payment portal, encryption softwares, and a standalone leak site for blackmailing the victims, and also assist in ransom negotiations.


Read more »
Technology
AI atlas ChatGPT Cloud Google Internet Technology

Is ChatGPT's Atlas Browser the Future of Internet?

Is ChatGPT's Atlas Browser the Future of Internet?

After using ChatGPT Atlas, OpenAI's new web browser, users may notice few issues. This is not the same as Google Chrome, which about 60% of users use. It is based on a chatbot that you are supposed to converse with in order to browse the internet.  

One of the notes said, "Messages limit reached," "No models that are currently available support the tools in use," another stated.  

Following that: "You've hit the free plan limit for GPT-5."  

Paid browser 

According to OpenAI, it will simplify and improve internet usage. One more step toward becoming "a true super-assistant." Super or not, however, assistants are not free, and the corporation must start generating significantly more revenue from its 800 million customers.

According to OpenAI, Atlas allows us to "rethink what it means to use the web". It appears to be comparable to Chrome or Apple's Safari at first glance, with one major exception: a sidebar chatbot. These are early days, but there is the potential for significant changes in how we use the Internet. What is certain is that this will be a high-end gadget that will only function properly if you pay a monthly subscription price. Given how accustomed we are to free internet access, many people would have to drastically change their routines.

Competitors, data, and money

The founding objective of OpenAI was to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), which roughly translates to AI that can match human intelligence. So, how does a browser assist with this mission? It actually doesn't. However, it has the potential to increase revenue. The company has persuaded venture capitalists and investors to spend billions of dollars in it, and it must now demonstrate a return on that investment. In other words, it needs to generate revenue. However, obtaining funds through typical internet advertising may be risky. Atlas might also grant the corporation access to a large amount of user data.

The ultimate goal of these AI systems is scale; the more data you feed them, the better they will become. The web is built for humans to use, so if Atlas can observe how we order train tickets, for example, it will be able to learn how to better traverse these processes.  

Will it kill Google?

Then we get to compete. Google Chrome is so prevalent that authorities throughout the world are raising their eyebrows and using terms like "monopoly" to describe it. It will not be easy to break into that market.

Google's Gemini AI is now integrated into the search engine, and Microsoft has included Copilot to its Edge browser. Some called ChatGPT the "Google killer" in its early days, predicting that it would render online search as we know it obsolete. It remains to be seen whether enough people are prepared to pay for that added convenience, and there is still a long way to go before Google is dethroned.

Read more »
Web browser
AI ChatGPT Cloud Data Internet Technology Web browser

The Risks of AI-powered Web Browsers for Your Privacy


AI and web browser

The future of browsing is AI, it watches everything you do online. Security and privacy are two different things; they may look same, but it is different for people who specialize in these two. Threats to your security can also be dangers to privacy. 

Threat for privacy and security

Security and privacy aren’t always the same thing, but there’s a reason that people who specialize in one care deeply about the other. 

Recently, OpenAI released its ChatGPT-powered Comet Browser, and Brave Software team disclosed that AI-powered browsers can follow malicious prompts that hide in images on the web. 

AI powered browser good or bad?

We have long known that AI-powered browsers (and AI browser add-ons for other browsers) are vulnerable to a type of attack known as a prompt injection attack. But this is the first time we've seen the browser execute commands that are concealed from the user. 

That is the aspect of security. Experts who evaluated the Comet Browser discovered that it records everything you do while using it, including search and browser history as well as information about the URLs you visit. 

What next?

In short, while new AI-powered browser tools do fulfill the promise of integrating your favorite chatbot into your web browsing experience, their developers have not yet addressed the privacy and security threats they pose. Be careful when using these.

Researchers studied the ten biggest VPN attacks in recent history. Many of them were not even triggered by foreign hostile actors; some were the result of basic human faults, such as leaked credentials, third-party mistakes, or poor management.

Atlas: AI powered web browser

Atlas, an AI-powered web browser developed with ChatGPT as its core, is meant to do more than just allow users to navigate the internet. It is capable of reading, sum up, and even finish internet tasks for the user, such as arranging appointments or finding lodgings.

Atlas looked for social media posts and other websites that mentioned or discussed the story. For the New York Times piece, a summary was created utilizing information from other publications such as The Guardian, The Washington Post, Reuters, and The Associated Press, all of which have partnerships or agreements with OpenAI, with the exception of Reuters.

Read more »
Windows
AI Cloud Data Microsoft Technology Windows

Microsoft Warns Windows 10 Users: Hackers Target Outdated Systems

Microsoft Warns Windows 10 Users: Hackers Target Outdated Systems

Modern cyberattacks rarely target the royal jewels.  Instead, they look for flaws in the systems that control the keys, such as obsolete operating systems, aging infrastructure, and unsupported endpoints.  For technical decision makers (TDMs), these blind spots are more than just an IT inconvenience.  They pose significant hazards to data security, compliance, and enterprise control.

Dangers of outdated windows 10

With the end of support for Windows 10 approaching, many businesses are asking themselves how many of their devices, servers, or endpoints are already (or will soon be) unsupported.  More importantly, what hidden weaknesses does this introduce into compliance, auditability, and access governance?

Most IT leaders understand the urge to keep outdated systems running for a little longer, patch what they can, and get the most value out of the existing infrastructure.

Importance of system updates

However, without regular upgrades, endpoint security technologies lose their effectiveness, audit trails become more difficult to maintain, and compliance reporting becomes a game of guesswork. 

Research confirms the magnitude of the problem.  According to Microsoft's newest Digital Defense Report, more than 90% of ransomware assaults that reach the encryption stage originate on unmanaged devices that lack sufficient security controls.  

Unsupported systems frequently fall into this category, making them ideal candidates for exploitation.  Furthermore, because these vulnerabilities exist at the infrastructure level rather than in individual files, they are frequently undetectable until an incident happens.

Attack tactic

Hackers don't have to break your defense. They just need to wait for you to leave a window open. With the end of support for Windows 10 approaching, hackers are already predicting that many businesses will fall behind. 

Waiting carries a high cost. Breaches on unsupported infrastructure can result in higher cleanup costs, longer downtime, and greater reputational harm than attacks on supported systems. Because compliance frameworks evolve quicker than legacy systems, staying put risks falling behind on standards that influence contracts, customer trust, and potentially your ability to do business.

What next?

Although unsupported systems may appear to be small technical defects, they quickly escalate into enterprise-level threats. The longer they remain in play, the larger the gap they create in endpoint security, compliance, and overall data security. Addressing even one unsupported system now can drastically reduce risk and give IT management more piece of mind. 

TDMs have a clear choice: modernize proactively or leave the door open for the next assault.

Read more »
Technology
agentic AI AI ChatGPT Cloud Technology

The Threats of Agentic AI Data Trails


What if you install a brand new smart-home assistant that looks surreal, and if it can precool your living room at ease. However, besides the benefits, the system is secretly generating a huge digital trace of personal information?

That's the hidden price of agentic AI, your every plan, act, and prompt gets registered, forecasts and logs hints of frequent routines reside info long-term storage. 

These logs aren't silly mistakes. They are standard behaviour for most agentic AI systems. Fortunately, there's another way. Easy engineering methods build efficiency and autonomy while limiting the digital footprint. 

How Agentic AI Stores and Collects Private Data

It uses a planner based on a LLM to optimize similiar devices via the house. It surveills electricity prices and weather details, configures thermostats, adjusting smart plugs, and schedules EV charge. 

To limit personal data, the system registers only pseudonomymous resident profiles locally and doesn't access microphones and cameras. Agentic AI updates its plan when the weather or prices change, and registers short, planned reflections to strengthen future runs.

However, you as a home resident may not be aware about how much private data is being stored behind your back. Agentic AI systems create information as a natural result of how they function. In baseline agent configurations (mostly), the data gets accumulated. However, this is not considered the best tactic in the business, like configuration is a practical initial point for activating Agentic AI and function smoothly.

How to avoid AI agent trails?

Limit memory to the task at hand.

The deleting process should be thorough and easy.

The agent's action should be transparent via a readable "agent trace."

Read more »
Microsoft
ai agents AI technology Cloud Cloud Security Critical Data Cyber Security data security Microsoft

Microsoft Sentinel Aims to Unify Cloud Security but Faces Questions on Value and Maturity

 

Microsoft is positioning its Sentinel platform as the foundation of a unified cloud-based security ecosystem. At its core, Sentinel is a security information and event management (SIEM) system designed to collect, aggregate, and analyze data from numerous sources — including logs, metrics, and signals — to identify potential malicious activity across complex enterprise networks. The company’s vision is to make Sentinel the central hub for enterprise cybersecurity operations.

A recent enhancement to Sentinel introduces a data lake capability, allowing flexible and open access to the vast quantities of security data it processes. This approach enables customers, partners, and vendors to build upon Sentinel’s infrastructure and customize it to their unique requirements. Rather than keeping data confined within Sentinel’s ecosystem, Microsoft is promoting a multi-modal interface, inviting integration and collaboration — a move intended to solidify Sentinel as the core of every enterprise security strategy. 

Despite this ambition, Sentinel remains a relatively young product in Microsoft’s security portfolio. Its positioning alongside other tools, such as Microsoft Defender, still generates confusion. Defender serves as the company’s extended detection and response (XDR) tool and is expected to be the main interface for most security operations teams. Microsoft envisions Defender as one of many “windows” into Sentinel, tailored for different user personas — though the exact structure and functionality of these views remain largely undefined. 

There is potential for innovation, particularly with Sentinel’s data lake supporting graph-based queries that can analyze attack chains or assess the blast radius of an intrusion. However, Microsoft’s growing focus on generative and “agentic” AI may be diverting attention from Sentinel’s immediate development needs. The company’s integration of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server within Sentinel’s architecture hints at ambitions to power AI agents using Sentinel’s datasets. This would give Microsoft a significant advantage if such agents become widely adopted within enterprises, as it would control access to critical security data. 

While Sentinel promises a comprehensive solution for data collection, risk identification, and threat response, its value proposition remains uncertain. The pricing reflects its ambition as a strategic platform, but customers are still evaluating whether it delivers enough tangible benefits to justify the investment. As it stands, Sentinel’s long-term potential as a unified security platform is compelling, but the product continues to evolve, and its stability as a foundation for enterprise-wide adoption remains unproven. 

For now, organizations deeply integrated with Azure may find it practical to adopt Sentinel at the core of their security operations. Others, however, may prefer to weigh alternatives from established vendors such as Splunk, Datadog, LogRhythm, or Elastic, which offer mature and battle-tested SIEM solutions. Microsoft’s vision of a seamless, AI-driven, cloud-secure future may be within reach someday, but Sentinel still has considerable ground to cover before it becomes the universal security platform Microsoft envisions.
Read more »
Technology
AI Browser Cloud Data Google Internet Technology

Incognito Mode Is Not Private, Use These Instead


Incognito (private mode) is a famous privacy feature in web browsers. Users may think that using Incognito mode ensures privacy while surfing the web, allowing them to browse without restrictions, and that everything disappears when the tab is closed. 

With no sign of browsing history in Incognito mode, you may believe you are safe. However, this is not entirely accurate, as Incognito has its drawbacks and doesn’t guarantee private browsing. But this doesn’t mean that the feature is useless. 

What Incognito mode does

Private browsing mode is made to keep your local browsing history secret. When a user opens an incognito window, their browser starts a different session and temporarily saves browsing in the session, such as history and cookies. Once the private session is closed, the temporary information is self-deleted and is not visible in your browsing history. 

What Incognito mode can’t do

Incognito mode helps to keep your browsing data safe from other users who use your device

A common misconception among users is that it makes them invisible on the internet and hides everything they browse online. But that is not true.

Why Incognito mode doesn't guarantee privacy

1. It doesn’t hide user activity from the Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Every request you send travels via the ISP network (encrypted DNS providers are an exception). Your ISPs can track user activity on their networks, and can monitor your activity and all the domains you visit, and even your unencrypted traffic. If you are on a corporate Wi-Fi network, your network admin can see the visited websites. 

2. Incognito mode doesn’t stop websites from tracking users

When you are using Incognito, cookies are deleted, but websites can still track your online activity via device and browser fingerprinting. Sites create user profiles based on unique device characteristics such as resolution, installed extensions, and screen size.

3. Incognito mode doesn’t hide your IP address

If you are blocked from a website, using Incognito mode won’t make it accessible. It can’t change your I address.

Should you use Incognito mode?

It may give a false sense of benefits, but Incognito mode doesn’t ensure privacy. It is only helpful for shared devices.

What can you use?

There are other options to protect your online privacy, such as:

  1. Using a virtual private network (VPN)
  2. Privacy-focused browsers: Browsers such as Tor are by default designed to block trackers, ads, and fingerprinting.
  3. Using private search engines: Instead of Google and Bing, you can use private search engines such as DuckDuckGo and Startpage.

Read more »
Technology
AI Cloud Data Internet Ransomware Technology

Paying Ransom Does Not Guarantee Data Restoration: Report


A new report claims that smaller firms continue to face dangers in the digital domain, as ransomware threats persistently target organizations. Hiscox’s Cyber Readiness Report surveyed 6,000 businesses, and over 59% report they have been hit by a cyber attack in the last year.  

Financial losses were a major factor; most organizations reported operational failures, reputation damage, and staff losses. “Outdated operating systems and applications often contain security vulnerabilities that cyber attackers can exploit. Even with robust defenses, there is always a risk of data loss or ransomware attacks,” the report said.

Problems with ransomware payments

Ransomware is the topmost problem; the survey suggests that around 27% of respondents suffered damage, and 80% agreed to pay ransom. 

Despite the payments, recovery was not confirmed as only 60% could restore their data, while hackers asked for repayments again. The reports highlight that paying the ransom to hackers doesn’t ensure data recovery and can even lead to further extortion. 

Transparency needed

There is an urgent need for transparency, as 71% respondents agreed that companies should disclose ransom payments and the money paid. Hiscox found that gangs are targeting sensitive data like executive emails, financial information, and contracts.

The report notes that criminal groups are increasingly targeting sensitive business data such as contracts, executive emails, and financial information. "Cyber criminals are now much more focused on stealing sensitive business data. Once stolen, they demand payment…pricing threats based on reputational damage,” the report said. This shift has exposed gaps in businesses’ data loss prevention measures that criminals exploit easily.  

AI threat

Respondents also said they experienced AI-related incidents, where threat actors exploited AI flaws such as deepfakes and vulnerabilities in third-party AI apps. Around 65% still perceive AI as an opportunity rather than a threat. The report highlights new risks that business leaders may not fully understand yet. 

According to the report, “Even with robust defenses, there is always a risk of data loss or ransomware attacks. Frequent, secure back-ups – stored either offline or in the cloud – ensure that businesses can recover quickly if the worst happens.”

Read more »
Windows
AI Cloud Internet Microsoft PCs Technology Windows

Microsoft to end support for Windows 10, 400 million PCs will be impacted


Microsoft is ending software updates for Windows 10

From October 14, Microsoft will end its support for Windows 10, experts believe it will impact around 400 million computers, exposing them to cyber threats. People and groups worldwide are requesting that Microsoft extend its free support. 

According to recent research, 40.8% of desktop users still use Windows 10. This means around 600 million PCs worldwide use Windows 10. Soon, most of them will not receive software updates, security fixes, or technical assistance. 

400 million PCs will be impacted

Experts believe that these 400 million PCs will continue to work even after October 14th because hardware upgrades won’t be possible in such a short duration. 

“When support for Windows 8 ended in January 2016, only 3.7% of Windows users were still using it. Only 2.2% of Windows users were still using Windows 8.1 when support ended in January 2023,” PIRG said. PIGR has also called this move a “looming security disaster.”

What can Windows users do?

The permanent solution is to upgrade to Windows 11. But there are certain hardware requirements when you want to upgrade, and most users will not be able to upgrade as they will have to buy new PCs with compatible hardware. 

But Microsoft has offered few free options for personal users, if you use 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Users can also back up their data to the Windows Backup cloud service to get a free upgrade. If this impacts you, you can earn these points via Microsoft services such as Xbox games, store purchases, and Bing searches. But this will take time, and users don’t have it, unfortunately. 

The only viable option for users is to pay $30 (around Rs 2,650) for an Extended Security Updates (ESU) plan, but it will only work for one year.

According to PIGR, “Unless Microsoft changes course, users will face the choice between exposing themselves to cyberattacks or discarding their old computers and buying new ones. The solution is clear: Microsoft must extend free, automatic support.”

Read more »
zero-click
AI Cloud Data Internet Spyware Technology zero-click

Zero-click Exploit AI Flaws to Hack Systems


What if machines, not humans, become the centre of cyber-warfare? Imagine if your device could be hijacked without you opening any link, downloading a file, or knowing the hack happened? This is a real threat called zero-click attacks, a covert and dangerous type of cyber attack that abuses software bugs to hack systems without user interaction. 

The threat

These attacks have used spywares such as Pegasus and AI-driven EchoLeak, and shown their power to attack millions of systems, compromise critical devices, and steal sensitive information. With the surge of AI agents, the risk is high now. The AI-driven streamlining of work and risen productivity has become a lucrative target for exploitation, increasing the scale and attack tactics of breaches.

IBM technology explained how the combination of AI systems and zero-click flaws has reshaped the cybersecurity landscape. “Cybercriminals are increasingly adopting stealthy tactics and prioritizing data theft over encryption and exploiting identities at scale. A surge in phishing emails delivering infostealer malware and credential phishing is fueling this trend—and may be attributed to attackers leveraging AI to scale distribution,” said the IBM report.

A few risks of autonomous AI are highlighted, such as:

  • Threat of prompt injection 
  • Need for an AI firewall
  • Gaps in addressing the challenges due to AI-driven tech

About Zero-click attacks

These attacks do not need user interaction, unlike traditional cyberattacks that relied on social engineering campaigns or phishing attacks. Zero-click attacks exploit flaws in communication or software protocols to gain unauthorized entry into systems.  

Echoleak: An AI-based attack that modifies AI systems to hack sensitive information.

Stagefright: A flaw in Android devices that allows hackers to install malicious code via multimedia messages (MMS), hacking millions of devices.

Pegasus: A spyware that hacks devices through apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp, it conducts surveillance, can gain unauthorized access to sensitive data, and facilitate data theft as well.

How to stay safe?

According to IBM, “Despite the magnitude of these challenges, we found that most organizations still don’t have a cyber crisis plan or playbooks for scenarios that require swift responses.” To stay safe, IBM suggests “quick, decisive action to counteract the faster pace with which threat actors, increasingly aided by AI, conduct attacks, exfiltrate data, and exploit vulnerabilities.”

Read more »
Tehcnology
Cloud GitHub GitLab Internet Red Hat Tehcnology

Red Hat Hit by Data Breach, Hackers Exploit GitLab Instance

Red Hat Hit by Data Breach, Hackers Exploit GitLab Instance

An extortion gang by the name of Crimson Collective claimed to have stolen approximately 570GB of compressed data from internal development repositories belonging to Red Hat. Red Hat confirmed the breach impacted one of its GitLab instances.

The stolen data contains around 800 Customer Engagement Reports (CERs), which contain sensitive data about a customer’s platform and network. A CER is a consulting document made for clients that includes infrastructure data, configuration details, authentication tokens, and other data that could be exploited to attack customer networks. 

Red Hat confirmed that it was hit by a security breach impacting its consulting business, but it has not confirmed any of the threat actor’s claims about the stolen GitLab repositories and customer CERs. 

According to Bleeping Computer’s conversation with the hacker, the breach happened two weeks ago. Threat actors allegedly accessed the full database URIs, authentication tokens, and private data in Red Hat CERs and code. They claim that the data was used to get access to the downstream customer infrastructure.

The hacking gang also released a full directory containing the list of the allegedly extracted GitLab repositories and a list of CERs between 2020 and 2025 on Telegram. 

The directory list of CERs contains various sectors and famous organizations like AT&T, Fidelity, Kaiser, Bank of America, Mayo Clinic,  T-Mobile, Costco, Federal Aviation Administration, the US Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, the House of Representatives, etc. 

The hackers claim they contacted Red Hat with an extortion ransom, but did not get any reply except a message asking the hackers to provide a vulnerability report to Red Hat’s security team.

"We recently detected unauthorized access to a GitLab instance used for internal Red Hat Consulting collaboration in select engagements. Upon detection, we promptly launched a thorough investigation, removed the unauthorized party’s access, isolated the instance, and contacted the appropriate authorities. Our ongoing investigation found that an unauthorized third party had accessed and copied some data from this instance," said Red Hat. 

Read more »
Phishing Campaigns
AI Cloud Cyber Security GenAI Internet Microsoft Phishing Campaigns

Microsoft Stops Phishing Scam Which Used Gen-AI Codes to Fool Victims


AI: Boon or Curse?

AI code is in use across sectors for variety of tasks, particularly cybersecurity, and both threat actors and security teams have turned to LLMs for supporting their work. 

Security experts use AI to track and address to threats at scale as hackers are experimenting with AI to make phishing traps, create obfuscated codes, and make spoofed malicious payloads. 

Microsoft Threat Intelligence recently found and stopped a phishing campaign that allegedly used AI-generated code to cover payload within an SVG file. 

About the campaign 

The campaign used a small business email account to send self addressed mails with actual victims coveted in BCC fields, and the attachment looked like a PDF but consisted SVG script content. 

The SVG file consisted hidden elements that made it look like an original business dashboard, while a secretly embedded script changed business words into code that exposed a secret payload. Once opened, the file redirects users to a CAPTCHA gate, a standard social engineering tactical that leads to a scanned sign in page used to steal credentials. 

The hidden process combined business words and formulaic code patterns instead of cryptographic techniques. 

Security Copilot studied the file and listed markers in lines with LLM output. These things made the code look fancy on the surface, however, it made the experts think it was AI generated. 

Combating the threat

The experts used AI powered tools in Microsoft Defender for Office 375 to club together hints that were difficult for hackers to push under the rug. 

The AI tool flagged the rare self-addressed email trend , the unusual SVG file hidden as a PDF, the redirecting to a famous phishing site, the covert code within the file, and the detection tactics deployed on the phishing page. 

The incident was contained, and blocked without much effort, mainly targeting US based organizations, Microsoft, however, said that the attack show how threat actors are aggressively toying with AI to make believable tracks and sophisticated payloads.

Read more »
Technology
Cloud Data Facebook Google Internet Partiful Technology

Social Event App Partiful Did Not Collect GPS Locations from Photos

 

Social event planning app Partiful, also known as "Facebook events for hot people," has replaced Facebook as the go-to place for sending party invites. However, like Facebook, Partiful also collects user data. 

The hosts can create online invitations in a retro style, which allows users to RSVP to events easily. The platform strives to be user-friendly and trendy, which has made the app No.9 on the Apple store, and Google has called it "the best app" of 2024. 

About Partiful

Partiful has recently developed into a Facebook-like social graph; it maps your friends and also friends of friends, what you do, where you go, and your contact numbers. When the app became famous, people started doubting its origins, alleging that the app had former employees of a data-mining company. TechCrunch, however, found that the app was not storing any location data from user-uploaded images, which include public profile pictures. 

Metadata in photos

The photos that you have on your phones have metadata, which consists of file size, date of capture. With videos, Metadata can include information such as the type of camera used, the settings, and latitude/longitude coordinates. TechCrunch discovered that anyone could use the developer tools in a web browser to get raw user profile photos access from Partiful’s back-end database on Google Firebase. 

About the bug

The flaw could have been problematic, as it could have exposed the location of a person’s profile photo if someone used Partiful. 

According to TechCrunch, “Some Partiful user profile photos contained highly granular location data that could be used to identify the person’s home or work, particularly in rural areas where individual homes are easier to distinguish on a map.”

It is a common norm for companies hosting user photos and videos to automatically remove metadata once uploaded to prevent privacy issues, such as Partiful.

Read more »
Technology
Cloud Dark Web Data Digital ID Internet Technology

Is UK's Digital ID Hacker Proof?


Experts warned that our data will never be safe, as the UK government plans to launch Digital IDs for all citizens in the UK. The move has received harsh criticism due to a series of recent data attacks that leaked official government contacts, email accounts, staff addresses, and passwords. 

Why Digital IDs?

The rolling out of IDs means that digital identification will become mandatory for right-to-work checks in the UK by the end of this Parliament session. It aims to stop the illegal migrants from entering the UK, according to Keir Starmer, the UK's Prime Minister, also stressing that the IDs will prevent illegal working.

Experts, however, are not optimistic about this, as cyberattacks on critical national infrastructure, public service providers, and high street chains have surged. They have urged the parliament to ensure security and transparency when launching the new ID card scheme. 

According to former UK security and intelligence coordinator and director of GCHQ David Omand, the new plan will offer benefits, but it has to be implemented carefully. 

Benefits of Digital IDs

David Omand, former UK security and intelligence coordinator and director of GCHQ, said the scheme could offer enormous benefits, but only if it is implemented securely, as state hackers will try to hack and disrupt. 

To prevent this, the system should be made securely, and GCHQ must dedicate time and resources to robust implementation. The digital IDs would be on smartphones in the GOV.UK’s wallet app and verified against a central database of citizens having the right to live and work in the UK.

Risk with Digital IDs

There is always a risk of stolen data getting leaked on the dark web. According to an investigation by Cyjax, more than 1300 government email-password combinations, addresses, and contact details were accessed by threat actors over the past year. This is what makes the Digital ID card a risk, as the privacy of citizens can be put at risk. 

The UK government, however, has ensured that these digital IDs are made with robust security, secured via state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology. 

According to PM Starmer, this offers citizens various benefits like proving their identity online and control over how data is shared and with whom.

Read more »
Technology
Cloud Data Domain Internet phishing PyPI Technology

Phishing Campaign Uses Fake PyPI Domain to Steal Login Credentials


Phishing campaign via fake domains

A highly advanced phishing campaign targeted maintainers of packages on the Python Package Index (PyPI), utilizing domain confusion methods to obtain login credentials from unsuspecting developers. The campaign leverages fake emails made to copy authentic PyPI communications and send recipients to fake domains that mimic the genuine PyPI infrastructure.

Campaign tactic

The phishing operation uses meticulously drafted emails that ask users to confirm their email address for “account maintenance and security reasons,” cautioning that accounts will be suspended if not done. 

These fake emails scare users, pushing them to make hasty decisions without confirming the authenticity of the communication. The phony emails redirect the victims to the malicious domain pypi-mirror.org, which mimics the genuine PyPI mirror but is not linked to the Python Software Foundation.

Broader scheme 

This phishing campaign highlights a series of attacks that have hit PyPi and similar other open-source repositories recently. Hackers have started changing domain names to avoid getting caught. 

Experts at PyPI said that these campaigns are part of a larger domain-confusion attack to abuse the trust relationship inside the open-source ecosystem.

The campaign uses technical deception and social engineering. When users open the malicious links, their credentials are stolen by the hackers. 

Domain confusion

The core of this campaign depends upon domain spoofing. The fake domain uses HTTPS encoding and sophisticated web design to build its authority, which tricks users who might not pay close attention while accessing these sites. The malicious sites mimic PyPI’s login page with stark reality, such as professional logos, form elements, and styling, giving users an authentic experience. 

This level of detail in the craft highlights robust planning and resource use by threat actors to increase the campaign’s effectiveness.

How to stay safe?

Users are advised to not open malicious links and pay attention while using websites, especially when putting in login details. 

“If you have already clicked on the link and provided your credentials, we recommend changing your password on PyPI immediately. Inspect your account's Security History for anything unexpected. Report suspicious activity, such as potential phishing campaigns against PyPI, to security@pypi.org,” PyPI said in the blog post.

Read more »
Technology
AI ChatGPT Cloud Gemini Google Internet Technology

Gemini in Chrome: Google Can Now Track Your Phone

Gemini in Chrome: Google Can Now Track Your Phone

Is the Gemini browser collecting user data?

A new warning for 2 billion Chrome users, Google has announced that its browser will start collecting “sensitive data” on smartphones. “Starting today, we’re rolling out Gemini in Chrome,” Google said, which will be the “biggest upgrade to Chrome in its history.” The data that can be collected includes the device ID, username, location, search history, and browsing history. 

Agentic AI and browsers

Surfshark investigated the user privacy of AI browsers after Google’s announcement and found that if you use Chrome with Gemini on your smartphone, Google can collect 24 types of data. According to Surfshark, this is bigger than any other agentic AI browsers that have been analyzed. 

For instance, Microsoft’s Edge browser, which has Copilot, only collects half the data compared to Chrome and Gemini. Even Brave, Opera, and Perplexity collect less data. With the Gemini-in-Chrome extension, however, users should be more careful. 

Now that AI is everywhere, a lot of browsers like Firefox, Chrome, and Edge allow users to integrate agentic AI extensions. Although these tools are handy, relying on them can expose your privacy and personal data to third-party companies.

There have been incidents recently where data harvesting resulted from browser extensions, even those downloaded from official stores. 

The new data collection warning comes at the same time as the Gemini upgrade this month, called “Nano Banana.” This new update will also feed on user data. 

According to Android Authority, “Google may be working on bringing Nano Banana, Gemini’s popular image editing tool, to Google Photos. We’ve uncovered a GIF for a new ‘Create’ feature in the Google Photos app, suggesting it’ll use Nano Banana inside the app. It’s unclear when the feature will roll out.”

AI browser concerns

Experts have warned that every photo you upload has a biometric fingerprint which consists of your micro-expressions, unique facial geometry, body proportions, and micro-expressions. The biometric data included device fingerprinting, behavioural biometrics, social network mapping, and GPS coordinates.

Besides this, Apple’s Safari now has anti-fingerprinting technology as the default browsing for iOS 26. However, users should only use their own browser for it to work. For instance, if you use Chrome on an Apple device, it won’t work. Another reason why Apply is advising users to use the Safari browser and not Chrome. 

Read more »
Internet
Citrix Bleed Cloud Cyber Security Data Leak Email FEMA Internet

Massive Breach Allows Hackers to Steal Employee Data from the US Federal Agencies


An incident at the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowed threat actors to steal employee data from the US Customs and Border Protection and the disaster management office. The breach has allegedly triggered the removal of dozens of Federal Emergency Management Agency technology employees.

Citrix bug leads to breach

The incident occurred on June 22, when threat actors infiltrated Citrix virtual desktop infrastructure inside FEMA via stolen login details. The data was stolen from Region 6 servers, according to NextGov. The DHS security staff were informed of the incident on July 7. A week later, an unknown hacker used a high-level access account and tried to deploy virtual networking software to retrieve details. Mitigation began on July 16. 

In September, further mitigation actions were taken, including reframing FEMA Zscaler policies and restricting access to a few websites. According to Nextgov, an internal FEMA email was found that instructed all employees to change their passwords, but no other details about the incidents were mentioned in the email. 

About FEMA firings

The FEMA employee layoffs happened on August 29, after a routine inspection of the agency’s infrastructure, which revealed a flaw that “allowed the threat actor to breach FEMA’s network and threaten the entire department and the nation as a whole,” according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The firing announcement came from DHS, which also hit FEMA’s top cybersecurity and technology officers. According to DHS, FEMA’s IT staff “resisted any efforts to fix the problem” and “lied” about the significance of flaws. “Failures included: an agency-wide lack of multi-factor authentication, use of prohibited legacy protocols, failing to fix known and critical vulnerabilities, and inadequate operational visibility,” DHS said at the time.

Lack of effort: DHS

FEMA’s IT employees “resisted any efforts to fix the problem,” avoided scheduled inspections and “lied” to officials about the scope of the cyber vulnerabilities, DHS said when Noem first announced the staff terminations last month. “Failures included: an agency-wide lack of multi-factor authentication, use of prohibited legacy protocols, failing to fix known and critical vulnerabilities, and inadequate operational visibility,” DHS also said.

About the Citrix bug

Citrix sells software that employees use for remote access of workplace apps. The flaw, named CitrixBleed 2.0, in the past has allowed threat actors to escape two-factor authentication measures. “Bleed” is a tactic that makes susceptible devices give out memory content, allowing threat actors to place pieces of data and assemble login credentials for infiltrating devices.

Read more »
Website
Advertising AI Cloud Cookie Data Internet Technology Website

The Cookie Problem. Should you Accept or Reject?


It is impossible for a user today to surf the internet without cookies, to reject or accept. A pop-up shows in our browser that asks to either “accept all” or “reject all.” In a few cases, a third option allows you to ‘manage preferences’.

The pop-ups can be annoying, and your first reaction is to remove them immediately, and you hit that “accept all” button. But is there anything else you can do?

About cookies

Cookies are small files that are saved by web pages, and they have information for personalizing user experience, particularly for the most visited websites. The cookies may remember your login details, preferred news items, or your shopping preferences based on your browsing history. Cookies also help advertisers target your browsing behaviour via targeted ads. 

Types of cookies

Session cookies: These are for temporary use, like tracking items in your shopping cart. When a browser session is inactive, the cookies are automatically deleted.

Persistent cookies: As the name suggests, these cookies are used for longer periods. For example, saving logging details for accessing emails faster. They can expire from days to years. 

About cookie options

When you are on a website, pop-ups inform you about the “essential cookies” that you can’t opt out of because if you do, you may not be able to use the website's online features, like shopping carts wouldn’t work. But in the settings, you can opt out of “non-essential cookies.”

Three types of non-essential cookies

  1. Functional cookies- Based on browsing experience. (for instance, region or language selection)
  2. Advertising cookies- Third-party cookies, which are used to track user browsing activities. These cookies can be shared with third parties and across domains and platforms that you did not visit.
  3. Analytics cookies- They give details about metrics, such as how visitors use the website

Read more »
Vietnam
AI Artificial Intelligence Cloud Cyber Attacks Internet Panama Ransomware Vietnam

Panama and Vietnam Governments Suffer Cyber Attacks, Data Leaked


Hackers stole government data from organizations in Panama and Vietnam in multiple cyber attacks that surfaced recently.

About the incident

According to Vietnam’s state news outlet, the Cyber Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) confirmed reports of a breach targeting the National Credit Information Center (CIC) that manages credit information for businesses and people, an organization run by the State Bank of Vietnam. 

Personal data leaked

Earlier reports suggested that personal information was exposed due to the attack. VNCERT is now investigating and working with various agencies and Viettel, a state-owned telecom. It said, “Initial verification results show signs of cybercrime attacks and intrusions to steal personal data. The amount of illegally acquired data is still being counted and clarified.”

VNCERT has requested citizens to avoid downloading and sharing stolen data and also threatened legal charges against people who do so.

Who was behind the attack?

The statement has come after threat actors linked to the Shiny Hunters Group and Scattered Spider cybercriminal organization took responsibility for hacking the CIC and stealing around 160 million records. 

Threat actors put up stolen data for sale on the cybercriminal platforms, giving a sneak peek of a sample that included personal information. DataBreaches.net interviewed the hackers, who said they abused a bug in end-of-life software, and didn’t offer a ransom for the stolen information.

CIC told banks that the Shiny Hunters gang was behind the incident, Bloomberg News reported.

The attackers have gained the attention of law enforcement agencies globally for various high-profile attacks in 2025, including various campaigns attacking big enterprises in the insurance, retail, and airline sectors. 

The Finance Ministry of Panama also hit

The Ministry of Economy and Finance in Panam was also hit by a cyber attack, government officials confirmed. “The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) informs the public that today it detected an incident involving malicious software at one of the offices of the Ministry,” they said in a statement. 

The INC ransomware group claimed responsibility for the incident and stole 1.5 terabytes of data, such as emails, budgets, etc., from the ministry.

Read more »
zero-day
AI Cloud Internet malware WeepSteel zero-day

Hackers Exploit Zero-Day Bug to Install Backdoors and Steal Data


Sitecore bug abused

Threat actors exploited a zero-day bug in legacy Sitecore deployments to install WeepSteel spying malware. 

The bug, tracked as CVE-2025-53690, is a ViewState deserialization flaw caused by the addition of a sample ASP.NET machine key in pre-2017 Sitecore guides. 

A few users reused this key, which allowed hackers who knew about the key to create valid, but infected '_VIEWSTATE' payloads that fooled the server into deserializing and executing them, which led to remote code execution (RCE). 

The vulnerability isn’t a bug in ASP.NET; however, it is a misconfiguration flaw due to the reuse of publicly documented keys that were never intended for production use.

About exploitation

Mandiant experts found the exploit in the wild and said that the threat actors have been exploiting the bug in various multi-stage attacks. Threat actors target the '/sitecore/blocked.Aspx' endpoint, which consists of an unauthorized ViewState field, and get RCE by exploiting CVE-2025-53690. 

The malicious payload threat actors deploy is WeepSteel, a spying backdoor that gets process, system, disk, and network details, hiding its exfiltration as standard ViewState responses. Mendiant experts found the RCE of monitoring commands on compromised systems- tasklist, ipconfig/all, whoami, and netstat-ano. 

Mandiant observed the execution of reconnaissance commands on compromised environments, including whoami, hostname, tasklist, ipconfig /all, and netstat -ano. 

In the next attack stage, the threat actors installed Earthworm (a network tunneling and reverse SOCKS proxy), Dwagent (a remote access tool), and 7-Zip, which is used to make archives of the stolen information. After this, the threat actors increased access privileges by making local administrator accounts ('asp$,' 'sawadmin'), “cached (SAM and SYSTEM hives) credentials dumping, and attempted token impersonating via GoTokenTheft,” Bleeping Computer said. 

Threat actors secured persistence by disabling password expiration, which gave them RDP access and allowed them to register Dwagent as a SYSTEM service. 

“Mandiant recommends following security best practices in ASP.NET, including implementing automated machine key rotation, enabling View State Message Authentication Code (MAC), and encrypting any plaintext secrets within the web.config file,” the company said.

Read more »
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)