What happens when a (dumb) vendor cannot separate test and production environment - Nothing much , just a bunch of freaked-out customers

Many owners of Samsung smartphones have received an odd notification but the message  simply disappeared when they clicked on it. Samsung explains "This notification was confirmed as a message sent unintentionally during internal testing and there is no effect on your device"

https://www.grahamcluley.com/samsung-find-my-mobile-notification/

"SimJacker" vulnerability - Allows remote attackers to compromise targeted mobile phones and spy on victims just by sending an SMS.

The vulnerability resides in a particular piece of software, called the S@T Browser (a dynamic SIM toolkit), embedded on most SIM cards that is widely being used by mobile operators in at least 30 countries and can be exploited regardless of which handsets victims are using.

https://thehackernews.com/2019/09/simjacker-mobile-hacking.html

MDM is good - what happens if the MDM platform is compromised? - Attackers can deploy malicious applications remotely (hard but possible with Social Engineering).

According to the researchers, the attackers behind the campaign used the MDM service to remotely install modified versions of legitimate apps onto target iPhones, which were designed to secretly spy on users, and steal their real-time location, contacts, photos, SMS and private messages from chat applications.

Since each step of the enrollment process requires user interaction, such as installing a certificate authority on the iPhone, it is not yet clear how attackers managed to enroll 13 targeted iPhones into their MDM service.

However, researchers at Cisco's Talos threat intelligence unit, who discovered the campaign, believe that the attackers likely used either a social engineering mechanism, like a fake tech support-style call, or physical access to the targeted devices.

https://thehackernews.com/2018/07/mobile-device-management-hacking.html

where would you want to spend your security dollars based on the following:

The Wandera’s Phishing Report 2018 shows 
(1) iOS users are 18x more likely to be phished than to download malware,
(2) 4000 new mobile phishing websites are launched every day.
(3) 57% of all Internet traffic coming from mobile devices.
(4) 170% increase of SMS phishing
      and
       A 102% increase in social app phishing from 2017 to 2018.
(5) The average iOS user has 14 different accounts on their work phone.
(6) 90% of cyberattacks start with a phishing attack
(7) Users are 3x more likely to fall for phishing on mobile than desktop.





Applications where mobile phishing attacks originate

• Messaging (17.3%)
• Social media (16.4%)
• Dating (6.2%)
• Gaming (11.3%)
• Email (15.4%)

Top 5 apps for messenger phishing
1. Messenger (inbuilt iOS/Android)
2. WhatsApp
3. Facebook Messenger
4. LINE
5. Viber

Top 10 brands targeted by phishing attacks

1. Facebook
2. Apple
3. Google
4. Amazon
5. Paypal
6. Government sites
7. Microsoft
8. Fox News
9. Dropbox
10. Whatsapp.

Top 5 TLDs that host phishing attacks

• .com
• .ga
• .tk
• .ml
• .cf

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/05/08/ios-phishing-malware/

IMPORTANT - Let's say you are smart and you use your phone for 2 step SMS authentication but, you can still be vulnerable because of "Number Port-out Scams"

“You may not know this has happened until you notice your mobile device has lost service,”. “Then, you may notice loss of access to important accounts as the attacker changes passwords, steals your money, and gains access to other pieces of your personal information.”

Identity thieves can   “port” your mobile number out to another provider.Once in control of the mobile number, thieves can request any second factor that is sent to the newly activated device, such as a one-time code sent via text message or or an automated call that reads the one-time code aloud

Fraudsters can call a customer service specialist at a mobile provider and pose as the target, providing the mark’s static identifiers like name, date of birth, social security number and other information. Often this is enough to have a target’s calls temporarily forwarded to another number, or ported to a different provider’s network.


https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/02/how-to-fight-mobile-number-port-out-scams/

Does your phone support 4G LTE - What can hackers do - Nothing much just Spy, Track, Spoof and Spam

A new research paper  recently published by researchers at Purdue University and the University of Iowa details 10 new cyber attacks against the 4G LTE

1. Authentication Synchronization Failure Attack
2. Traceability Attack
3. Numb Attack
4. Authentication Relay Attack
5. Detach/Downgrade Attack
6. Paging Channel Hijacking Attack
7. Stealthy Kicking-off Attack
8. Panic Attack
9. Energy Depletion Attack
10. Linkability Attack

https://thehackernews.com/2018/03/4g-lte-network-hacking.html

Security flaw that could allow remote access (iPhone, Android and others). iOS 11 not affected

According to a report from Google Project Zero, a security flaw has been found in iPhones and other devices that use Broadcom Wi-Fi chips. The weakness allows a hacker to remotely take over the device knowing only the MAC address or network-port ID. Since the MAC address of a connected device is easily obtained, it is considered a serious threat

iPhones aren't the only devices at risk. Beniamini has confirmed that Apple TV, Android phones (including the S7 Edge), select routers and smart TVs are also "at risk."


For Mor Info:
https://www.techspot.com/news/71146-security-flaw-found-broadcom-chipset-allows-hackers-hijack.html

iOS Feature (not bug) - Turning Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Control Center Doesn’t Actually Turn Off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

From the Article:

To be clear, and to be fair, this behavior is exactly what Apple wants. In its own documentation, the company says that "in iOS 11 and later, when you toggle the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth buttons in Control Center, your device will immediately disconnect from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth accessories. Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will continue to be available." That is because Apple wants the iPhone to be able to continue using AirDrop, AirPlay, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, Location Services, and other features, according to the documentation.

For More Info
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evpz7a/turn-off-wi-fi-and-bluetooth-apple-ios-11

SpyDealer - Not a movie name , It is an Android Malware

From the Article:

SpyDealer has many capabilities, including:

• Exfiltrate private data from more than 40 popular apps including: WeChat, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Line, Viber, QQ, Tango, Telegram, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Android Native Browser, Firefox Browser, Oupeng Brower, QQ Mail, NetEase Mail, Taobao, and Baidu Net Disk
• Abuses the Android Accessibility Service feature to steal sensitive messages from popular communication and social apps such as WeChat, Skype, Viber, QQ
• Takes advantage of the commercial rooting app “Baidu Easy Root” to gain root privilege and maintain persistence on the compromised device
• Harvests an exhaustive list of personal information including phone number, IMEI, IMSI, SMS, MMS, contacts, accounts, phone call history, location, and connected Wi-Fi information
• Automatically answer incoming phone calls from a specific number
• Remote control of the device via UDP, TCP and SMS channels
• Spy on the compromised user by:
• Recording the phone call and the surrounding audio & video.
• Taking photos via both the front and rear camera
• Monitoring the compromised device’s location
• Taking screenshots

More here:

https://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2017/07/unit42-spydealer-android-trojan-spying-40-apps/

If you are a TENCENT customer , you may want to read this

Customers of Tencent, China's biggest technology company, need to be on the lookout for ransomware attackers who would love nothing more than to infect their Android devices.


https://www.grahamcluley.com/tencent-users-beware-theres-a-mobile-ransomware-coming-after-you/

Interesting Idea - Add Duress Code to prevent forced unlocking of devices

From the Article:

A key observation from these cases is that the police can compel you to hand over a fingerprint, but cannot order you to tell the police which finger is used to unlock the device. This would be tantamount to ordering you to provide a passcode.

In the short term, Apple and Google can take steps to alleviate this threat by adding duress codes into their access control mechanisms. For instance, scanning anything but your right index finger might force a password-only lock.

In the long term, we need to rethink deploying deniability as a set of strategies for helping users evade coercion in general. What is similarly important is that all devices must have some sort of deniability baked-in, full stop





For more details:
http://www.mit.edu/~specter/articles/17/deniability1.html

Your Mobile Device knows more about you than you know about yourself so, do you wipe it carefully before getting rid of it?

Information stored on Mobile devices can include can information

• Where you live, work, and places you frequently visit
• The contact details for everyone in your address book and applications, including family, friends, and coworkers
• Call history, including inbound, outbound, and missed calls
• SMS (texting), voice, and multimedia messages
• Chat sessions within applications like secure chat, games, and social media
• Location history based on GPS coordinates or cell tower history
• Web browsing history, search history, cookies, and cached pages
• Personal photos, videos, audio recordings, and emails
• Stored passwords and access to personal accounts, such as your online bank or email
• Access to photos, files, or information stored in the Cloud
• Any health-related information, including your age, heart rate, blood pressure, or diet

How do you get rid of this before disposing?

Check Below

https://securingthehuman.sans.org/newsletters/ouch/issues/OUCH-201612_en.pdf

How to secure your tablet

Old but Gold article

From the doc:

Here are some simple steps for you to consider as you continue to use your tablet

1. Keep your tablet operating system and apps current and running their latest version. Many tablets now automatically update your apps, a feature we encourage you to enable
2. Do not jailbreak or hack into your own tablet. This will bypass and render a tremendous number of security controls useless, making your tablet far more vulnerable to attacks
3. Only download apps you need, and only download them from trusted sources. For iPads, this is simple as only downloading apps from iTunes. These apps are screened by Apple before they are made available. For  Google, we recommend you limit your apps to those found on Google Play. While you can download apps from  other sites, they are usually not vetted and could be created with malicious intent. Finally, regardless of where you got your app, we recommend you remove it from your tablet once you no longer need or actively use it
4. When installing a new app, make sure you review and set the privacy options, just like you did when initially configuring your new tablet. Be careful of what information you allow the app to access, or what you allow the app to do with that information. For example, does the app you just downloaded really need access to all of your contacts
5. Be sure to install or configure software that allows you to remotely track, lock or erase your tablet in case it is ever lost or stolen

Download the PDF here

https://securingthehuman.sans.org/newsletters/ouch/issues/OUCH-201312_en.pdf

Lesson that we could learn from someone who lost her phone

Plain common sense but, we  all ignore it many times

1. Use a password manager
2. Enable two-factor authentication
3. Get into your accounts immediately after a theft and reset your passwords
4. Clear your remembered devices
5. Make sure you have security software on your Android to help with locating your device and remotely wiping it
6. If you have an iPhone make sure "Find My iPhone" is enabled
7. Keep a backup device enabled
8. Have passwords handy, if possible, and try to change them over secure Wi-Fi connections
9. Use a VPN

And.... iPhone users can now password protect their "notes" (iOS 9.3 onwards)


CLICK HERE FORE MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS USER
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/20/11265552/find-stolen-android-phone-track-samsung-galaxy-mexico

From Fitbit to Sickbit in 1O Seconds. This sickbit could also make other computers sick.

Good news is that it is supposed to be a Proof Of Concept. (Do you feel safe?)


From the article:

A vulnerability in FitBit fitness trackers first reported to the vendor in March could still be exploited by the person you sit next to on a park bench while catching your breath

This malware can be delivered 10 seconds after devices connect, making even fleeting proximity a problem. Testing the success of the hack takes about a minute, although it is unnecessary for the compromise.

For more info:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/21/fitbit_hack/

Quad-core phones better than Octa-Core?

This is common knowledge for those who have followed server technology. Adding more processors does not mean increase in performance.

From the article:

As cores shut off, overall performance rises, particularly at the dual-core mode. With most of the chip offline, performance jumps. One potential conclusion that would explain these results is that applications are poorly threaded, which prevents them from taking advantage of higher core counts. But the fact that performance increases at the two core mark suggests something more fundamental at work — the chips in question are hitting their thermal trip points unless more cores are shut down.

As things stand, there are some benefits to quad-core devices and virtually no gains from octa-core. In a few cases, moving to more cores actually makes things worse.

For more info:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/209760-that-eight-core-smartphone-isnt-as-fast-as-you-think-it-is?

600 million Samsung devices could be vulnerable

Security - What is it ?, who needs it?

From the article:

NowSecure estimates that 600 million devices could be vulnerable, including the Samsung Galaxy S5 on Verizon and the S4 Mini on AT&T. Newer devices are also still affected, despite patches pushed out by Samsung. 

The Swift keyboard updates (generally language pack updates) are sent over HTTP, and therefore an attacker with network access is able to access the update and inject a malicious app or tamper with other resources on the phone, giving him access to email, contacts, images and other personal data stored on the phone. A more sophisticated actor could also eavesdrop on phone calls or steal text messages from the device.

(More bad news)

“To date, we’re not seeing devices patched,” Hoog said. “Samsung said the Galaxy 6 running on Android 5 (Lollipop) were not vulnerable. On a pure whim, we spent $1,000 on new devices last week in order to verify and we were surprised to see the vulnerability still there. Even though it’s been patched since March by Samsung, it has not made it to new devices.” 

For more details:

https://threatpost.com/samsungs-swift-keyboard-update-mechanism-exposes-600m-devices/113348

Detailed review of iOS 8

There have been many short blogs but this one goes into a few fine details.




http://www.anandtech.com/show/8321/the-ios-8-review/

BYOD - You thought you knew it all, how about 7.1 Billion mobile subscription (did you expect this)

It is normal to expect a disconnect between what we know and what is real.

Sometimes , there is a big disconnect.



Follow this link for additional details and get ready to get surprised:

http://www.darkreading.com/cloud/infographic-with-byod-mobile-is-the-new-desktop/a/d-id/1297436?image_number=1

Firefox OS - Now available on 7 devices in 15 countries

Not the greatest of news but something good about my favorite company



The link below has more information:-

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/17/firefox_os_global_expansion/