News in the Hardware category

CERT Warns Users to Stop Using Two Netgear Router Models Due to Security Flaw

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), an organization within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has published a security alert yesterday, warning owners of Netgear R6400 and R7000 models against using their routers for the time being, because of a severe security flaw.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 10, 2016
- 04:02 AM
- 4
Researchers Point Out "Theoretical" Security Flaws in AMD's Upcoming Zen CPU

The security protocol that governs how virtual machines share data on a host system powered by AMD Zen processors has been found to be insecure, at least in theory, by Felicitas Hetzelt and Robert Buhren, two scientists at the Security in Telecommunications Department at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 09, 2016
- 05:55 AM
- 2
ISP Asks Security Researcher for Help in Regaining Control over 15,000 Routers

Around six months ago, an Internet service provider (ISP) doing business in the Middle East was forced to ask a security researcher for help in order to regain access to over 15,000 routers it was about to lose control of.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 07, 2016
- 02:31 PM
- 1
Hundreds of Thousands of Unpatchable IP Cameras Affected by Two Zero-Days

Hundreds of thousands of IP cameras from several vendors are affected by two zero-day vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to hijack the device, use it as a pivot point for other attacks, or spy on the camera's owner.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 06, 2016
- 07:30 PM
- 1
Backdoor Found in 80 Sony Surveillance Camera Models

Sony has released firmware updates that remove a remotely exploitable backdoor account from 80 models of IP and security cameras.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 06, 2016
- 07:25 AM
- 0
Sysadmin Gets Two Years in Prison for Sabotaging ISP

A judge in New York has sentenced Dariusz J. Prugar, 32, of Syracuse, New York, to two years in prison for hacking his former employee, Pa Online, an internet service provider (ISP) formerly located in Enola, Pennsylvania.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 04, 2016
- 07:00 AM
- 0
900,000 Routers Knocked Offline in Germany amid Rumors of Cyber-Attack

For two days now, over 900,000 routers belonging to Deutsche Telekom users in Germany have been knocked offline following a supposed cyber-attack.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 28, 2016
- 10:47 AM
- 0
New Battery Will Let Phones Charge in Seconds, Last Over a Week

A new battery technology developed in the US will take seconds to charge, last over a week, and survive 30,000 recharge cycles, 20 times more than regular Lithium-ion batteries deployed today.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 23, 2016
- 06:00 PM
- 3
Headphones Can Be Used to Record Nearby Audio and Spy on You

Malware can alter local motherboard or sound card settings and turn your headphones or speakers into covert microphones, allowing attackers to record sound from computers that you previously thought to be safe.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 23, 2016
- 05:42 AM
- 1
Office Depot Accused of Running a Real-World Tech Support Scam

Office Depot employees have been selling unnecessary tech repair services after telling customers that their laptops and computers were infected with malware, reporters from Seattle TV station KIRO 7 said this week after being tipped off by a former employee.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 20, 2016
- 08:30 AM
- 6
PoisonTap Can Hijack Web Traffic and Install Backdoors on Password-Protected PCs

Hardware hacker Samy Kamkar has released a new tool called PoisonTap that is capable of a plethora of malicious actions, all of which work even against password-protected computers on which an attacker can't access the desktop.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 16, 2016
- 10:41 AM
- 5
Smartphone WiFi Signals Can Leak Your Keystrokes, Passwords, and PINs

The way users move fingers across a phone's touchscreen alters the WiFi signals transmitted by a mobile phone, causing interruptions that an attacker can intercept, analyze, and reverse engineer to accurately guess what the user has typed on his phone or in password input fields.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 11, 2016
- 04:30 PM
- 0
Scientists Working on a CPU That Can Detect Malware at the Hardware Level

Researchers are working on a new CPU chip design that will extend the fight against malware at the hardware level in an attempt to bolster computers, mobiles, and other devices against the rising wave of security threats.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 11, 2016
- 09:00 AM
- 0
Vanderbilt Researchers Create High-Performance Batteries from Scrap Metal

Researchers from Vanderbilt University have discovered that they can use a combination of common metals found in scrapyards and every household to create fully-working batteries that provide decent voltage and last through thousands of recharging cycles.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- November 03, 2016
- 01:10 PM
- 0
HP accused of Sabotaging Non-HP Ink Cartridges

123inkt, a Dutch reseller of printer ink cartridges, has accused HP of intentionally sabotaging non-HP ink cartridges via a failure date, pre-programmed in the firmware of some HP laser ink printers.
- Lawrence Abrams
- September 19, 2016
- 10:20 PM
- 12
Researcher Bypasses iPhone Passcode Using the Technique the FBI Said Doesn't Work

A researcher from the University of Cambridge has proven the FBI wrong after Bureau officials said the technique known as NAND mirroring wouldn't work in hacking the San Bernardino's iPhone.
- Lawrence Abrams
- September 17, 2016
- 10:15 AM
- 2
US 911 Emergency Services Can Be Shut Down by DDoS Attacks From Mobile Botnets

Research published last week by the Cyber-Security Research Center at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel reveals that it only takes about 6,000 smartphones infected with malware to launch a DDoS attack capable of shutting down 911 emergency services in a US state.
- Lawrence Abrams
- September 15, 2016
- 07:25 PM
- 0
Shocking! USB Killer Uses Electrical Charge to Fry Vulnerable Devices

A commercial device known as USB Kill 2.0 allegedly has the ability to fry a number of electrical devices by sending an electrical charge to a public-facing USB port. Using a standard USB port, USB Killer will charge itself with electricity and then discharge to fry the device it is plugged into.
- David Bisson
- September 09, 2016
- 05:00 PM
- 1
Wireless Hack Threatens Locking System on Nearly All VW Cars Sold Since 1995

At the 25th Usenix Security Symposium, research will deliver a presentation that unveils two security vulnerabilities that together threaten the security of 100 million vehicles made by Volkswagen, Ford, and other well known car manufacturers.
- David Bisson
- August 11, 2016
- 01:42 PM
- 2
HP launches the Omen Windows 10 Gaming PC Line

As an indication of HPs renewed focus on gaming, HP announced a new lineup of laptops, desktops, and monitors for their Omen brand. Going forward HP will be releasing gaming systems under the Omen name with a wide range of options depending on the customer's needs.
- Lawrence Abrams
- May 26, 2016
- 11:25 AM
- 2