Andrew found seven Apple alternatives to use if you don’t want your data shared with the FBI, including Bitwarden, Cryptomator, and more.
Security
Security Friday, Kernel Extensions – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-27
Dave Hamilton and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Security Friday news, and the new kernel extension alert popping up in the latest MacOS 10.15 update.
A Bug Existing Since iOS 13.3.1 Interferes With VPNs Encrypting Traffic
There’s a bug that’s been in iOS since version 13.3.1 that prevents VPNs from encrypting network traffic and could leak some of your data.
Cellebrite Releases Report of Digital Intelligence Trends 2020
Forensics company Cellebrite, mainly known for its iPhone hacking capabilities, released a report of top digital intelligence trends for 2020. One thing that stuck out at me:
…over 70 percent of officers are still asking witnesses and victims to surrender their devices…However, most people do not want to have their primary communication device taken away for an indefinite period. To combat this issue, 67 percent of agency management believe that mobility technology is important or very important to the agency’s long-term digital evidence strategy and 72 percent of investigators believe it is important to conduct in-the-field extractions of this data.
In other words, it sounds to me like LE wants the capability to extract data from devices on site, instead of sending it to a lab. Fast action is important for LE, but it may also be too fast for people to think about those pesky rights they have before handing their phone over.
Grayshift Increases Price as it Struggles to Hack iPhones
iOS forensics company Grayshift was forced to raise its prices last year, noting that “Forensic Access to iOS continues to increase in difficulty and complexity.”
“I think it’s going to get harder and harder to find these kinds of unlocking flaws, because Apple does control the entire stack,” Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and former Facebook chief security officer, previously told Motherboard. “I think a couple more hardware revisions of understanding the ways that these unlocks are happening and [Apple is] going to make it extremely difficult. Which then will bring this debate back…”
It’s a complex issue. On one hand it’s good news for Apple customers. On the other hand, it makes the government is fight tooth and nail to take away our security.
Financial Companies Expose 425 GB of Data in Insecure Database
Researchers found an insecure database thought to have belonged to Advantage Capital Funding and Argus Capital Funding. It contained over 500,000 records of personal and professional information.
Shadowserver Keeps the Web Safe. Now it Needs Help
A small nonprofit organization called Shadowserver helps keep the web safe. It scans almost the entire internet to create activity reports for network operators. It also hosts a database of 1.2 billion malware samples, freely accessible to everyone. But it needs to raise money to stay in operation.
For more than 15 years, Shadowserver has been funded by Cisco as an independent organization. But thanks to budget restructuring, the group now has to go out on its own. Rather than seek a new benefactor, founder Richard Perlotto says the goal is for Shadowserver to become a fully community-funded alliance that doesn’t rely on any one contributor to survive. The group needs to raise $400,000 in the next few weeks to survive the transition, and then it will still need $1.7 million more to make it through 2020…
I had never heard of Shadowserver but it’s clear the organization is important. You can become a sponsor to donate money here.
Security Friday, WWDC 2020 – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-13
Charlotte Henry and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the new look for WWDC and Security Friday’s headlines and tips.
56 Apps Spy on Your Clipboard and Apple Doesn’t Care
Researchers found 56 apps that are spying on the iOS clipboard/pasteboard, like TikTok, New York Times, Fruit Ninja, and more. There are undoubtedly many more apps engaging in this behavior. And as I wrote in February, Apple doesn’t think it’s a problem.
We found that many apps quietly read any text found in the pasteboard every time the app is opened. Text left in the pasteboard could be as simple as a shopping list, or could be something more sensitive: passwords, account numbers, etc.
Sneak Peek: Here’s How a NordVPN Server Works
TechRadar Pro teamed up with NordVPN to give people an idea of what exactly goes on inside of a VPN server. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a technology ever-growing in popularity.
The session revealed that NordVPN’s Linux servers are configured with various tools that enhance security, privacy, and authentication. FreeRADIUS is used for authentication, while the squid proxy software is also used. SaltStack is used for correct server configuration, controlling the infrastructure.