Security: Telegram, Bounties and More
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Telegram zero-day let hackers spread backdoor and cryptocurrency-mining malware
A zero-day vulnerability in Telegram Messenger allowed attackers to spread a new form of malware with abilities ranging from creating a backdoor trojan to mining cryptocurrency.
The attacks take advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability in the Telegram Desktop app for Windows and were spotted being used in the wild by Kaspersky Lab.
Researchers believe the Russian cybercriminal group exploiting the zero-day were the only ones aware of the vulnerability and have been using it to distribute malware since March 2017 -- although it's unknown how long the vulnerability had existed before that date.
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More Than 4,000 Government Websites Infected With Covert Cryptocurrency Miner
The rise of cryptocurrency mining software like Coinhive has been a decidedly double-edged sword. While many websites have begun exploring cryptocurrency mining as a way to generate some additional revenue, several have run into problems if they fail to warn visitors that their CPU cycles are being co-opted in such a fashion. That has resulted in numerous websites like The Pirate Bay being forced to back away from the software after poor implementation (and zero transparency) resulted in frustrated users who say the software gobbled upwards of 85% of their available CPU processing power without their knowledge or consent.
But websites that don't inform users this mining is happening are just one part of an emerging problem. Hackers have also taken to using malware to embed the mining software into websites whose owners aren't aware that their sites have been hijacked to make somebody else an extra buck. Politifact was one of several websites that recently had to admit its website was compromised with cryptocurrency-mining malware without their knowledge. Showtime was also forced to acknowledge (barely) that websites on two different Showtime domains had been compromised and infected with Coinhive-embedded malware.
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Why Bug Bounties Matter
Bugs exist in software. That's a fact, not a controversial statement. The challenge (and controversy) lies in how different organizations find the bugs in their software.
One way for organizations to find bugs is with a bug bounty program. Bug bounties are not a panacea or cure-all for finding and eliminating software flaws, but they can play an important role.
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Shell Scripting and Security
The internet ain't what it used to be back in the old days. I remember being online back when it was known as ARPAnet actually—back when it was just universities and a handful of corporations interconnected. Bad guys sneaking onto your computer? We were living in blissful ignorance then.
Today the online world is quite a bit different, and a quick glimpse at the news demonstrates that it's not just global, but that bad actors, as they say in security circles, are online and have access to your system too. The idea that any device that's online is vulnerable is more true now than at any previous time in computing history.
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Security updates for Tuesday
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Open Source Security Podcast: Episode 82 - RSA, TLS, Chrome HTTP, and PCI
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