The last 12 months have seen a 50% increase in the number of confidential records exposed when compared to the same period of time in 2018, with 2.3 Billion of them getting out. The largest source of these records was the United States, and the source of all these records was a misconfigured server. Time and time again we’ve seen headlines where someone leaves a server without encryption, a password, or otherwise open to the entirety of the internet. Researchers and cyber defence groups are constantly prowling around for this sort of liability and are quick to report the issue to the owner as quickly as possible.
However, defence groups can’t be everywhere at once and it’s a safe bet that any leak reported by a defense group has already been exploited by a malicious entity. Human error is the greatest weakness in any defence strategy and there’s only so much that training can do. Employees need to be educated on what the risks are and why taking care matters. Technology can double-check any work done but those features have to be enabled for them to matter. Consider enforcing a strict review policy before any server configurations go live.
Source: Over 2.3 billion sensitive business data were exposed online in the last 12 months
Notepad, an app that comes with every copy of Windows is vulnerable to a memory corrupting bug that allows a malicious entity to open up remote shell access. This is the opening move on an attack against a device, and a useful tool since by default any device using Windows is vulnerable. The bug was found by a Google researcher and has been reported to Microsoft. Currently details are scarce as Google has a strict 90-day ban on providing the details for any exploits they uncover. If Microsoft patches the issue before the 90-day window then Google may allow details of the exploit to be released early.
Source: Researcher Exploits Microsoft’s Notepad to ‘Pop a Shell’
Apple has pushed several patches for security vulnerabilities found in its Apple AirPort Base Station. Before the patches, it was possible to launch Denial of Service attacks, stop the device’s memory from being wiped, execute remote code, and force the device to accept outside IPv4 packets. These are major security risks as the AirPort is part of an IoT system with access to a user’s phone. Many people use their phones as a repository for their information and as devices grow more connected and convenience placed ahead of security, your phone may become as or more valuable than your home computer.
Source: Apple patches AirPort Base Station Firmware
