Cyber Defense Advisors

News

  • by
  • September 12, 2024

Ireland’s Watchdog Launches Inquiry into Google’s AI Data Practices in Europe

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has announced that it has commenced a “Cross-Border statutory inquiry” into Google’s foundational artificial intelligence (AI) model to determine whether the tech giant has adhered to data protection regulations in the region when processing the personal data of European users. “The statutory inquiry concerns the question of whether Google […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 12, 2024

Smashing Security podcast #384: A room with a view, AI music shenanigans, and a cocaine bear

It’s a case of algorithm and blues as we look into an AI music scam, Ukraine believes it has caught a spy high in the sky, and a cocaine-fuelled bear goes on the rampage. All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the “Smashing Security” podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 12, 2024

WordPress Mandates Two-Factor Authentication for Plugin and Theme Developers

WordPress.org has announced a new account security measure that will require accounts with capabilities to update plugins and themes to activate two-factor authentication (2FA) mandatorily. The enforcement is expected to come into effect starting October 1, 2024. “Accounts with commit access can push updates and changes to plugins and themes used by millions of WordPress […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

Quad7 Botnet Expands to Target SOHO Routers and VPN Appliances

The operators of the mysterious Quad7 botnet are actively evolving by compromising several brands of SOHO routers and VPN appliances by leveraging a combination of both known and unknown security flaws. Targets include devices from TP-LINK, Zyxel, Asus, Axentra, D-Link, and NETGEAR, according to a new report by French cybersecurity company Sekoia. “The Quad7 botnet […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

DragonRank Black Hat SEO Campaign Targeting IIS Servers Across Asia and Europe

A “simplified Chinese-speaking actor” has been linked to a new campaign that has targeted multiple countries in Asia and Europe with the end goal of performing search engine optimization (SEO) rank manipulation. The black hat SEO cluster has been codenamed DragonRank by Cisco Talos, with victimology footprint scattered across Thailand, India, Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

Singapore Police Arrest Six Hackers Linked to Global Cybercrime Syndicate

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has announced the arrest of five Chinese nationals and one Singaporean man for their alleged involvement in illicit cyber activities in the country. The development comes after a group of about 160 law enforcement officials conducted a series of raids on September 9, 2024, simultaneously at several locations. The six […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Reward Modeling of Generative AI Systems

New research evaluating the effectiveness of reward modeling during Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF): “SEAL: Systematic Error Analysis for Value ALignment.” The paper introduces quantitative metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of modeling and aligning human values: Abstract: Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) aims to align language models (LMs) with human values by training […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

Why Is It So Challenging to Go Passwordless?

Imagine a world where you never have to remember another password. Seems like a dream come true for both end users and IT teams, right? But as the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” If your organization is like many, you may be contemplating a move to […]

Cyber News
  • by
  • September 11, 2024

Hacker pleads guilty after arriving on plane from Ukraine with a laptop crammed full of stolen credit card details

Graham CLULEY September 11, 2024 Promo Protect all your devices, without slowing them down. Free 30-day trial A man from New York City has admitted to computer hacking and associated crimes after being caught with a laptop containing hundreds of thousands of stolen payment card details. 32-year-old Vitalii Antonenko pleaded guilty in a Boston court […]

Cyber News