The headline feature of the new Google Pixel phones is deep integration between the operating system and the Google Assistant AI. By default, the Google Assistant can be activated even when the phone is locked and the display is off, if the device hears the trusted voice say the hot word, “Ok Google”. This also has the effect of unlocking the device, meaning that anyone with a recording of the trusted voice saying “Ok Google” — or even someone with a similar voice — can easily unlock the device.
Information Security
Posts related to information security, including news, tutorials, malware analysis, and threat intelligence.
PSA: The latest Google Chrome release trips EMET’s EAF+ mitigation
When Google Chrome updated to 53.0.2785.101 on my Windows systems, I encountered an onslaught of alerts from EMET, which was killing chrome.exe processes for EAF+ violations as fast as Chrome kept trying to spawn them (each tab in Chrome is a separate process). Luckily, this problem is easily fixable.
HHS: Ransomware encryption of ePHI is a HIPAA breach
As a growing number of medical facilities are struck by ransomware, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a fact sheet describing how businesses that process electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) should defend against and respond to ransomware.
Prevent ransomware from succeeding with strategic defense-in-depth
Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for financially motivated cybercriminals. Individuals, hospitals, businesses, schools, police departments, and government agencies have all been victims of highly disruptive ransomware, resulting in ransom payments totaling at least $24 million in 2015, according to the DoJ and DHS. It doesn’t take much to start a ransomware campaign, and the returns can be extremely high. Fortunately, the steps to prevent ransomware from succeeding are equally simple and low cost.
DoJ v. Apple: It’s all about the precedent
By now, you’ve probably heard something about the ongoing legal battle between Apple and the Department of Justice. “DoJ v. Apple” coverage has been abundant, on blogs and TV news shows alike, but in case you haven’t here’s a quick recap. The FBI obtained the work iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook, who, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, murdered 14 people in a shooting rampage at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California. The government suspects that iPhone may hold critical information about the couple’s contacts in the weeks leading up to the attacks – contacts that may uncover future plots. They have a warrant, but they can’t access the data on the phone because it is using the strong encryption that comes with iOS 9 and up. Not even Apple can bypass the encryption, at least directly.