The infamous Pegasus spyware created by Israeli firm NSO can turn any infected smartphone into a remote microphone or camera. Here’s how to stay safe and know if you’ve been hacked.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Whether for use in cybersecurity, gaming or scientific simulation, the world needs true random numbers, but generating them is harder than one might think. But a group of Brown University physicists has developed a technique that can potentially generate millions of random digits per second by harnessing the behavior of — tiny magnetic anomalies that arise in certain two-dimensional materials.
Their research, published in Nature Communications, reveals previously unexplored dynamics of single, the researchers say. Discovered around a half-decade ago, have sparked interest in physics as a path toward next-generation computing devices that take advantage of the magnetic properties of particles — a field known as spintronics.
“There has been a lot of research into the global dynamics of, using their movements as a basis for performing computations,” said Gang Xiao, chair of the Department of Physics at Brown and senior author of the research. “But in this work, we show that purely random fluctuations in the size of can be useful as well. In this case, we show that we can use those fluctuations to generate random numbers, potentially as many as 10 million digits per second.”
Malware families are making use of PrivateLoader’s pay-per-install service in order to expand their victim list.
A detailed examination of a Pay-per-install (PPI) malware service called PrivateLoader has revealed its crucial role in the delivery of a variety of malware such as SmokeLoader, RedLine Stealer, Vidar, Raccoon, and GCleaner since at least May 2021.
Tom HlavacSustainable would be a home built of hempcrete, with a greenhouse capable of growing enough food for the family, a small henhouse, and a few bee hives. And a septic system capable of producing fertilizer.
No need for megacorporate involvement. Somethi… See more.
Tom HlavacIf Musk could catalyze adoption of hempcrete and mass produce 3D printers for that, he would do more if value than everything he has done before.
Continue reading “Feds arrest married couple, seize $3.6 billion in hacked bitcoin funds” »
The Medusa Android banking Trojan is seeing increased infection rates as it targets more geographic regions to steal online credentials and perform financial fraud.
Today, researchers at ThreatFabric have published a new report detailing the latest tricks employed by the Medusa malware and how it continues to evolve with new features.
The American hacker — who goes by the handle P4x — told Wired he was one of the victims of a cyberattack last year on Western security researchers carried out by North Korean spies. He said he was frustrated that he was a target and that the US appeared to have a lacking response.
He said the hackers tried to snatch hacking tools and information on software vulnerabilities but he was able to stop them before they could get anything worthwhile. Nonetheless, there was a feeling of resentment, he told Wired.
“It felt like the right thing to do here,” P4x told Wired, adding: “If they don’t see we have teeth, it’s just going to keep coming.
Despite the arrests and wider ransomware crackdowns in Russia, the Trickbot group has not exactly gone into hiding. Toward the end of last year, the group boosted its operations, says Limor Kessem, an executive security advisor at IBM Security. “They’re trying to infect as many people as possible by contracting out the infection,” she says. Since the start of 2022, the IBM security team has seen Trickbot increase its efforts to evade security protections and conceal its activity. The FBI also formally linked the use of the Diavol ransomware to Trickbot at the beginning of the year. “Trickbot doesn’t seem to be targeting very specifically; I think what they have is numerous affiliates working with them, and whoever brings the most money is welcome to stay,” Limor says.
Holden too says he has seen evidence that Trickbot is ramping up its operations. “Last year they invested more than $20 million into their infrastructure and growth of their organization,” he explains, citing internal messages he has seen. This money, he says, is being spent on everything Trickbot does. “Staffing, technology, communications, development, extortion” are all getting extra investment, he says. The move points to a future where—after the takedown of REvil—the Trickbot group may become the primary Russia-linked cybercrime gang. “You expand in the hope of getting that money back in spades,” Holden says. “It’s not like they are planning to close the shop. It’s not like they are planning to downsize or run and hide.”
Older Apple computers can often be something of a collector’s item, with the oldest fetching an enormously high price in auctions. The ones from the late ’80s and early ’90s don’t sell for quite as much yet, but it’s possible that museums and collectors of the future will one day be clamoring for those as well. For that reason, it’s generally frowned upon to hack or modify original hardware. Luckily, this replica of an Apple Macintosh didn’t harm any original hardware yet still manages to run software on bare metal.
The computer is built around a single-board computer, but this SBC isn’t like the modern ARM machines that have become so ubiquitous. It’s a 133MHz AMD 486 which means that it can run FreeDOS and all of the classic DOS PC games of that era without emulation. In order to run Apple’s legacy operating system, however, it does require the use of the vMac emulator, but the 486 is quite capable of handling the extra layer of abstraction. The computer also sports a real SoundBlaster ISA sound card, uses a microSD card for its hard drive, and uses an 800×600 LCD screen.
As a replica, this computer is remarkably faithful to the original and even though it doesn’t ship with a Motorola 68,000 it’s still fun to find retro PC gamers that are able to run their games on original hardware rather than emulation. It reminds us of another retro 486 that is capable of running old games on new hardware without an emulator as well.
This authenticator app is designed to install bank info-stealing malware that could wipe you out.
We’re all used to swapping RAM in our desktops and laptops. What about a GPU, though? [dosdude1] teaches us that soldered-on RAM is merely a frontier to be conquered. Of course, there’s gotta be a good reason to undertake such an effort – in his case, he couldn’t find the specific type of Nvidia GT640 that could be flashed with an Apple BIOS to have his Xserve machine output the Apple boot screen properly. All he could find were 1GB versions, and the Apple BIOS could only be flashed onto a 2GB version. Getting 2GB worth of DDR chips on Aliexpress was way too tempting!
The video goes through the entire replacement process, to the point where you could repeat it yourself — as long as you have access to a preheater, which is a must for reworking relatively large PCBs, as well as a set of regular tools for replacing BGA chips. In the end, the card booted up, and, flashed with a new BIOS, successfully displayed the Apple bootup logo that would normally be missing without the special Apple VBIOS sauce. If you ever want to try such a repair, now you have one less excuse — and, with the GT640 being a relatively old card, you don’t even risk all that much!
Continue reading “GPU RAM Upgrades Are Closer Than You Think” »
