Distributed Linux Testing Platform KernelCI Secures Funding and Long-Term Sustainability as New Linux Foundation Project – PRNewswire

LYON, France, Oct. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Open Source Summit Europe --The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the KernelCI testing platform is becoming a Linux Foundation project underwritten by BayLibre, Civil Infrastructure Platform, Collabora, Foundries.io, Google, Microsoft, Red Hat. As a Linux Foundation project, KernelCI will accelerate its work to test Linux on the largest variety of hardware platforms.

The Linux kernel is developed by a large, collaborative open source community working together to continuously improve the software. Conversely, Linux kernel testing is often fragmented since it is largely done in private silos with little collaboration on the testing software or methodologies. KernelCI is a community-based open source distributed test automation system focused on upstream kernel development. It was originally started in 2014 as a side project by a few engineers who were doing the testing at home and in their spare time. A variety of hardware labs contributed to the work over time, but until now there was no sustainable structure in place for open governance and contribution, or expanded access for the developers to hardware.

"Testing is traditionally done only on the most common hardware. But because Linux runs on more hardware than any other operating system, it's important to also test it on all that hardware. The Linux Foundation's support is enabling us to expand the great work we started five years ago and sets us up for a bright future with a growing community," said Kevin Hilman, co-founder of embedded Linux consultancy BayLibre and co-founder of the KernelCI project.

"KernelCI represents the passion and diligence we see among developers all over the world. The individuals who have given their nights and weekends to this work deserve our gratitude and support, and we're excited to be able to host this work at the Linux Foundation," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation.

The primary goal of KernelCI is to use an open testing philosophy to improve the quality, stability and long-term maintenance of the Linux kernel. Expected improvements to the platform under the Linux Foundation include improved LTS kernel testing and validation; consolidation of existing testing initiatives; quality-of-life improvements to the current service; expanded compute resources; and increased pool of hardware to be tested. In the long-term, members expect to modernize the architecture; test software beyond the Linux kernel; and define testing standards and engage in cross-project collaboration.

For more information or to contribute to this work, please visit: https://kernelci.org/

Comments Civil Infrastructure Platform "The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) aims to maintain Linux for decades and more. In times of ever-changing, dynamic software like the Linux kernel, this very challenging task is unthinkable without advanced testing strategies and infrastructure that can also navigate the intricacies of real hardware," said Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Mauerer, Senior Research Scientist at Siemens Corporate Technology and member of the CIP Technical Steering Committee."The CIP project has long since relied on KernelCI for distributed, heterogeneous testing, and we are excited to see the development of KernelCI advance as a Linux Foundation project."

Collabora "Provided how crucial Linux has become to society, achieving comprehensive test coverage of the Linux kernel is essential. By applying the open source philosophy to testing, the KernelCI distributed architecture enables the whole kernel community to collaborate around a single upstream CI system. Becoming part of the Linux Foundation shines the light on the progress we have made with KernelCI and enables the project to become an integral part of the Linux kernel development workflow," said Guy Lunardi, VP Business Development at Open Source software consultancy and leading KernelCI contributor Collabora.

Foundries.io "At Foundries.io, we believe the latest software is the most secure software. That is why it is important to have a unified continuous integration project dedicated to the Linux kernel, which focuses on a broad range of architectures and hardware." said Tyler Baker, CTO, Foundries.io. "This enables us and our customers to run the latest software with confidence. As co-founders of KernelCI, we are excited to help expand the reach of the project through continued contributions and guidance."

Microsoft "At Microsoft, we believe in making Linux the best platform it can be for customers," said KY Srinivasan, general manager, Azure. "By securing funding and long-term sustainability for the KernelCI Testing platform, we're collaborating together to harden Linux for the broader Linux community."

Red Hat "Red Hat invests in upstream projects like KernelCI to further scale the fundamental open source advantage offered by the 'Bazaar.' By facilitating engagement between Linux communities and partners earlier and more frequently, we're helping to enable rapid innovation while bringing the benefits of open technologies to the enterprise through the thousands of projects that comprise Red Hat Enterprise Linux."

About the Linux Foundation Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us atlinuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page:www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact Jennifer Cloer reTHINKit Media 503-867-2304 jennifer@rethinkitmedia.com

SOURCE The Linux Foundation

http://www.linuxfoundation.org

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Distributed Linux Testing Platform KernelCI Secures Funding and Long-Term Sustainability as New Linux Foundation Project - PRNewswire

Global encryption software market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 16.38% over the forecast period from 2019-2025 – Salamanca Press

The report on the global encryption software market provides qualitative and quantitative analysis for the period from 2017 to 2025.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05806461/?utm_source=PRN

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The report predicts the global encryption software market to grow with a CAGR of 16.38% over the forecast period from 2019-2025. The study on encryption software market covers the analysis of the leading geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW for the period of 2017 to 2025.

The report on encryption software market is a comprehensive study and presentation of drivers, restraints, opportunities, demand factors, market size, forecasts, and trends in the global encryption software market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Moreover, the report is a collective presentation of primary and secondary research findings.

Porter's five forces model in the report provides insights into the competitive rivalry, supplier and buyer positions in the market and opportunities for the new entrants in the global encryption software market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Further, IGR- Growth Matrix gave in the report brings an insight into the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.

Report Findings1) Drivers Growing number of cyber-attack cases across the world Increasing adoption of the cloud-based technologies2) Restraints Availability of pirated encryption software3) Opportunities Increasing awareness and demand for integrated data protection solutions

Research Methodology

A) Primary ResearchOur primary research involves extensive interviews and analysis of the opinions provided by the primary respondents. The primary research starts with identifying and approaching the primary respondents, the primary respondents are approached include1. Key Opinion Leaders associated with Infinium Global Research2. Internal and External subject matter experts3. Professionals and participants from the industry

Our primary research respondents typically include1. Executives working with leading companies in the market under review2. Product/brand/marketing managers3. CXO level executives4. Regional/zonal/ country managers5. Vice President level executives.

B) Secondary ResearchSecondary research involves extensive exploring through the secondary sources of information available in both the public domain and paid sources. At Infinium Global Research, each research study is based on over 500 hours of secondary research accompanied by primary research. The information obtained through the secondary sources is validated through the crosscheck on various data sources.

The secondary sources of the data typically include1. Company reports and publications2. Government/institutional publications3. Trade and associations journals4. Databases such as WTO, OECD, World Bank, and among others.5. Websites and publications by research agencies

Segment CoveredThe global encryption software market is segmented on the basis of deployment, application, and end user.

The Global Encryption Software Market by Deployment On-premise Cloud

The Global Encryption Software Market by Application Database Encryption Disk Encryption Cloud Encryption Communication Encryption File/Folder Encryption

The Global Encryption Software Market by End User IT and Telecommunication BFSI Healthcare Aerospace and Defence Other End Users

Company Profiles Microsoft Corporation Symantec Corporation International Business Machines Corporation McAfee, LLC Thales e-Security, Inc. (Thales Group) Sophos Group plc Trend Micro Incorporated Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. ESET, spol. S r. o. Proofpoint, Inc. Other Companies

What does this report deliver?1. Comprehensive analysis of the global as well as regional markets of the encryption software market.2. Complete coverage of all the segments in the encryption software market to analyze the trends, developments in the global market and forecast of market size up to 2025.3. Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in the global encryption software market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and latest developments of the company.4. IGR- Growth Matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05806461/?utm_source=PRN

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

__________________________Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.comUS: (339)-368-6001Intl: +1 339-368-6001

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Global encryption software market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 16.38% over the forecast period from 2019-2025 - Salamanca Press

Comcast Is Lobbying Against Encryption That Could Prevent it From Learning Your Browsing History – VICE

Internet giant Comcast is lobbying U.S. lawmakers against plans to encrypt web traffic that would make it harder for internet service providers (ISPs) to determine your browsing history, according to a lobbying presentation obtained by Motherboard.

The plan, which Google intends to implement soon, would enforce the encryption of DNS data made using Chrome, meaning the sites you visit. Privacy activists have praised Google's move. But ISPs are pushing back as part of a wider lobbying effort against encrypted DNS, according to the presentation. Technologists and activists say this encryption would make it harder for ISPs to leverage data for things such as targeted advertising, as well as block some forms of censorship by authoritarian regimes.

Mozilla, which makes Firefox, is also planning a version of this encryption.

"The slides overall are extremely misleading and inaccurate, and frankly I would be somewhat embarrassed if my team had provided that slide deck to policy makers," Marshall Erwin, senior director of trust and safety at Mozilla, told Motherboard in a phone call after reviewing sections of the slide deck.

"We are trying to essentially shift the power to collect and monetize peoples' data away from ISPs and providing users with control and a set of default protections," he added, regarding Mozilla's changes.

A screenshot of the lobbying presentation. Image: Motherboard.

In the presentation, Comcast paints this type of encryption as something that will fundamentally change the internet and will centralize power under Google.

"The unilateral centralization of DNS raises serious policy issues relating to cybersecurity, privacy, antitrust, national security and law enforcement, network performance and service quality (including 5G), and other areas," Comcast said in the presentation.

"Congress should demand that Google pause and answer key questions," a section of the presentation reads. "Why is Google in such a rush?" reads another.

Google recently announced it would soon start testing the enforcement of DNS over HTTPS, or DoH. A DNS request is essentially a record of which website someone visited. Generally speaking, with DoH those requests would be harder to read for anyone intercepting the request, such as a hacker on the same Wi-Fi network, a government agency sitting on the wire, or the user's ISP.

"As part of our long standing commitment to making the web safer to use, we will be conducting an experiment to validate our implementation of DNS-over-HTTPS (aka DoH) in Chrome 78," Kenji Baheux, Chrome Product Manager, wrote in a blog post in September.

The Comcast document, which has been presented to policy makers, says that encrypting browsing data "will cause radical disruption." It also mentions raising issues for law enforcement; the slide deck does not, however, point out that DNS providers who respond to law enforcement requests can still provide relevant information to authorities.

But much of the deck pushes one fundamental premise: that Google is centralizing DNS with its DoH, creating a monopoly over the data and its security.

"If Google encrypts and centralizes DNS, ISPs and other enterprises will be precluded from seeing and resolving their users DNS," the presentation says.

Do you know anything else about ISPs and their use of data? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, OTR chat on jfcox@jabber.ccc.de, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.

That's not accurate, though. Google isn't actually forcing Chrome users to only use Google's DNS service, and so it is not centralizing the data. Google is instead configuring Chrome to use DoH connections by default if a user's DNS service supports it. A DNS service helps a web browser translate web domains into actual IP addresses to visit. Typically, ISPs will do this for customers, but Google, Cloudflare, and other cybersecurity companies also run their own DNS servers that people can use.

"One of the important points to highlight is that Google has no publicly announced plans to override the users configured DNS resolver as part of their implementation of DoH," Max Hunter, engineering director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) wrote in an email. "If Google did override the OS-configured resolver with their own, EFF would be very concerned about the potential for turnkey surveillance and censorship that level of DNS centralization would bring."

Google has no plans to centralize or change peoples DNS providers to Google by default. Any claim that we are trying to become the centralized encrypted DNS provider is inaccurate," a Google spokesperson told Motherboard in a statement.

"We're currently experimenting with new ways to enhance online privacy and security while maintaining existing content filtering and parental controls. Our proposal for DoH enables secure connections and does not change a users DNS, so all existing filters and controls remain intact. Furthermore, there is no change to how DNS providers work with law enforcement in accordance with court orders," the Google spokesperson added.

A screenshot of the lobbying presentation. Image: Motherboard.

Even the maintainers of competing web browsers aren't buying Comcast's arguments.

"What this deck is attempting to do is take advantage of a lot of anti-Google sentiment that exists right now, build on top of that an inaccurate account of exactly what we are doing to stop that deployment," Erwin from Mozilla added.

Mozilla's own plan for DoH differs somewhat to Google's. Erwin explained that Mozilla is in the process of rolling out DoH by default to a 5 percent slice of randomly selected users, with the plan to expand DoH across its user base. Mozilla is doing that in partnership with Cloudflare, which acts as the DNS resolver.

"The real one truthful point in this ISP lobbying effort is that DoH does represent a fundamental shift in the way the web works; and that's deliberate, on our part," Erwin said.

Ellen Canale, director of corporate communications at Mozilla, wrote in an email, "This is part of a pretty aggressive campaign we've seen from the ISPs to protect their control over DNS traffic and the tracking opportunities it provides them."

Last month, multiple trade groups that represent ISPs' interests wrote a letter to lawmakers urging them to call upon Google to not implement DoH. Hunter shared a copy of a letter EFF sent to Congress along with other organizations in response to the trade bodies' letter.

"Congress should support systemic adoption of DoH in order to close up one of the largest privacy gaps remaining on the Internet while furthering the cause of Internet freedom in many parts of the world in dire need of it," the EFF letter, also signed by Consumer Reports and the National Consumers League, reads.

"The slides overall are extremely misleading and inaccurate, and frankly I would be somewhat embarrassed if my team had provided that slide deck to policy makers."

Comcast, for its part, stressed it does not sell customers' browsing data.

"Where our Xfinity Internet customers go on the Internet is their business, not ours. We do not track the websites or apps our customers use through their broadband connections. Because we dont track that information, we dont use it to build a profile about our customers and have never sold that information to anyone," a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

"We are supporters of encrypting DNS and want to make sure that it is implemented in a careful, collaborative manner for the benefit of Internet customers to ensure that important parental controls, cybersecurity protections and network security features are not broken in the process," the spokesperson said in a second statement. "We believe that engagement by Google and Mozilla with other players in the Internet ecosystem would lead to a collaborative, industry-wide solution that protects everyonejust as has happened with other significant changes to Internet architecture. Any unilateral action that limits customer choice will not work."

Of course, it's worth noting that, in 2017, ISPs lobbied Congress to make it possible to sell your browsing data without your consent.

"Either, they are doing something with this data today that is not transparent to users, or they are working incredibly hard to protect a future business model," Erwin said.

Motherboard has embedded the full lobby slide deck below.

Subscribe to our new cybersecurity podcast, CYBER.

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Comcast Is Lobbying Against Encryption That Could Prevent it From Learning Your Browsing History - VICE

Seclore and Clearswift Partner to Combine the Best-of-Breed Email Security, Encryption, and Rights Management for Enterprises – PRNewswire

Seclore's Email Encryption Plus enables Clearswift customers to automatically add persistent, granular usage controls to email content and attachments.

MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Seclore, provider of the industry's first, open Data-Centric Security Platform, and Clearswift, provider of adaptive data loss prevention and email security solutions, today announced their partnership to bring next-generation email encryption solutions to enterprises.

As email remains the primary communication channel for sharing information, organizations must have control over who accesses and shares sensitive data. Often referred to as the "last-mile" problem, the challenge is heightened by growing privacy regulations. Granular and automated security of emails sent within and outside the enterprise continues to be a challenge.

With the addition of Seclore Email Encryption Plus, Clearswift customers can automatically attach persistent, granular usage controls to protect email content and attachments flowing in and out of the business, ensuring sensitive information remains under the organization's control no matter where it is sent. The automated nature of the solution eliminates the need for end-users to take action to protect emails as the action is based on the content and policy. For email recipients, the innovative browser-based solution eliminates the need to download and install agents in order to access the information.

"In addition to growing data privacy requirements, the risk of data breaches and leaks is a major concern to organizations. After considering several data-centric security offerings, we chose Seclore due to its frictionless experience, ease of integration, and regulatory compliance reporting," said Dr. Guy Bunker, CTO, Clearswift. "We are committed to offering Clearswift customers the most secure solution for sharing sensitive information through email and look forward to working with Seclore to keep our customers' information protected, revocable, and trackable, regardless of where it travels."

"Data security and privacy continue to be a top concern for any business, and we are excited to partner with Clearswift to deliver next-generation email encryption for current and future Clearswift customers worldwide," said Vishal Gupta, CEO, Seclore. "With the seamless integration of Seclore Email Encryption Plus, businesses can rest assured that outgoing, as well as incoming information shared through email, can only be utilized by approved users."

Benefits of the combined Seclore Email Encryption Plus and Clearswift Solutions, include:

To learn more about Seclore and request a product demo, visitwww.seclore.com

About Seclore:Seclore offers the market's first open, browser-based Data-Centric Security Platform, which gives organizations the agility to utilize best-of-breed solutions to discover, identify, protect, and track the usage of data wherever it goes, both within and outside of the organization's boundaries. The ability to automate the data-centric security process enables organizations to fully protect information with minimal friction and cost. Over 2000 companies in 29 countries are using Seclore to achieve their data security, governance, and compliance objectives.www.seclore.com

About Clearswift:

Clearswift is trusted by global organizations to protect critical information, giving teams the freedom to securely collaborate and drive business growth. Clearswift's unique technology supports a straightforward and 'adaptive' data loss prevention solution that avoids operational interruption and enables organizations to gain visibility and take control of their critical information 100% of the time.

http://www.clearswift.com

Contact:

Lynne CourtsVP of Global MarketingSeclore(650) 796-6970lynne.courts@seclore.com

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SOURCE Seclore

http://www.seclore.com

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Seclore and Clearswift Partner to Combine the Best-of-Breed Email Security, Encryption, and Rights Management for Enterprises - PRNewswire

A new initiative to protect university data is underway! – UM Today

October 28, 2019

Information Services and Technology (IST) is introducing a new encryption service to protect data on all IST supported Windows and MAC devices. Encryption will make your data unreadable if your device is misplaced, lost or stolen.

Encryption is a method of preventing unauthorized access to electronic data. Encryption scrambles your data and makes it accessible to only authorized parties (using a UMNETID and Password). Other means of accessing your data will be unsuccessful.

Security breaches can cause a lot of wasted time, money and stress. We are committed to keeping your data safe and for your eyes only!

IST uses the Software Centre to deploy encryption on your device. You may experience a minor slow down of your device during the brief installation of encryption. Once installed, encryption will have very little impact on you or your device.

Please note that personal devices (i.e. devices not owned by the university) are not included in this initiative.

Your department will receive notification before encryption is deployed to your area.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the IST Service Desk (204-474-8600).

IST Communications

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A new initiative to protect university data is underway! - UM Today

MedusaLocker Ransomware: Here’s What MSSPs Need to Know – MSSP Alert

by Dan Kobialka Oct 25, 2019

Cybercriminals are using MedusaLocker ransomware to encrypt the files of victims computers, according to Bleeping Computer.

MedusaLocker was discovered last month by MalwareHunterTeam. Since that time, MedusaLocker samples have been submitted to ID Ransomware, a MalwareHunterTeam website that enables end users to upload a ransom note or sample encrypted file to identify ransomware used to encrypt data.

MedusaLocker performs various startup routines to prepare a computer for encryption, Bleeping Computer reported. It ensures that Windows networks are running and mapped network drives are accessible,identifies and stops security program processes and closes all data files and makes them available for encryption.

MedusaLocker then clears Shadow Volume Copies so that they cannot be used to restore files. It next removes backups made with Windows backup and disables Windows automatic startup repair.

Finally, MedusaLocker creates a ransom note that is placed in each folder that contains encrypted files. MedusaLocker also provides two email addresses to contact for ransom payment instructions.

Hackers use MedusaLocker and other ransomware families to attack organizations across all industries, and theU.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently offered several tips to help organizations combat ransomware attacks, including:

MSSPs also can provide endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM) and other services to help organizations address ransomware attacks. Furthermore, MSSPs can provide organizations with recommendations to improve their security posture.

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MedusaLocker Ransomware: Here's What MSSPs Need to Know - MSSP Alert

A Sneaky Online Security Threat: Encrypted Malware in SSL – Hashed Out by The SSL Store – Hashed Out by The SSL Store

Unfortunately, the bad guys use encryption, too

Every time you connect to theinternet, whether its from a phone, tablet, or computer, you accept a certainlevel of risk. Hackers continue to find new ways to exploit security flaws andcompromise your device or data. You need to be on alert at all times in orderto avoid dangerous malware and other attacks that sometimes come from where youleast expect them.

When you see a padlock icon at the top of your browser, it means that youre communicating with the site you are viewing via a connection encrypted with a valid SSL/TLS certificate. But many people make the mistake of assuming that as long as an SSL certificate is present, then they are safe from all forms of attack, end of story. In this article, well explore how new types of malware are actually being hidden behind this trusted symbol.

SSL encryption is critical for any site or application that requiressensitive information to be transferred. This includes passwords, credit cardnumbers, and other financial data. SSL certificates are an excellent defensetactic against intruders whore trying to eavesdrop on your internet activity,protecting your data from criminals. Heres the thing, though: bad guys can useencryption, too. And hackers and cybercriminals are using SSL/HTTPS to hidemalicious code.

Lets hash it out.

Companies and organizationsspend a lot of money and resources on IT security solutions. One popularapproach is to combine intrusion detection systems and firewalls to monitor andanalyze all incoming traffic to your local network. The idea is for the systemto automatically detect and block cyber attacks and hacking threats before anyusers become vulnerable.

For example, lets say Bob incustomer service clicks on a link in a phishing email that leads to a URL withmalware. The organizations security systemscould detect and block this visit before Bobs machine can become infected withmalware.

However, there is an inherentloophole in how intrusion detection systems are built to operate. They involvethe scanning of network traffic to identify patterns that correspond to malwareor other malicious attacks. If the systems are unable to decode the full bodyof each incoming network request, then they remain blind to a certain portionof traffic.

For example, when youdownload a document from an external website, your firewall or intrusiondetection system can inspect the packets of data that come through the localnetwork. But if that communication is happening over an SSL connection, thenthe system cannot see through the encryption to detect what is really insidethe document.

Some newer intrusion detection solutions are introducing the concept of deep packet inspection, where the tool looks at the lower levels of each network request to understand more about its content. But not many organizations have this option available to them, which means that data passing over HTTPS could be a threat.

Another technique for detecting the presence of SSL malware is SSL inspection. This is the process of intercepting SSL/TLS-encrypted internet communication between the client and server. Interception can be executed between the sender and the receiver, and vice versa (receiver to sender). This, strangely, is the same technique used in man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, but if deployed carefully can be used to filter out malware in SSL. (The key difference between inspection and a man-in-the-middle attack is that with SSL inspection, the network administrator modifies the computers to allow inspection only by the authorized device/certificate.)

To understand how hackers encrypt malware with SSL, we need to look at the Transport Layer Security (or TLS,) which refers to the encryption process that goes on behind SSL. The latest Google numbers tell us that 93% of the internet is now encrypted. As discussed, it is designed to be locked to all outside parties, including firewalls that dont support deep packet inspection.

When it comes to SSL malware, hackers are not able to inject directly into existing streams of HTTPS content. For example, if you are shopping on Amazon and submit your credit card number to pay for a book, that information is transmitted over SSL. If a hacker tries to modify that traffic and inject malware, your browser will notice that the keys have changed and will automatically reject the request.

However, there are ways around this problem. One of the most common is for cybercriminals to get free SSL certificates for their sites that contain malware. Though legitimate SSL certificates are not expensive particularly given their importance in protecting data from theft hackers may find it easier to get a free certificate without using any financial info that could be used to track them.

Another variation on this technique for the delivery of SSL malware is for criminals to use SSL certificates on phishing sites that deliver malicious code to victims systems while looking like a legitimate websites. The hacker will send out a series of fraudulent emails that look like they are coming from a reputable sources. If users click on them, they will be directed to websites that look secure because they have free SSL certificates. At that point, the hackers can embed their malware into the encrypted traffic and try to bypass any firewall system.

These types of attack are becoming worryingly prevalent. Security Week reported in 2017 that in the first half of that year, Zscalers products blocked roughly 600,000 threats hidden in encrypted traffic every day. That number grew to 800,000 in the second half of the year, which represents an increase of 30%.

Other security analysts have also raised concerns. As Bill Conner, CEO of SonicWall, told TechRepublic earlier this year, SSL is now implicated in 4.2% of malware. That represents, he says, a 400% increase over the previous year. Thats because of the ease of finding bad SSL certificates, he continued, but also because only 5% of customers are turning on DPI, deep packet inspection for SSL.

The important thing to remember is that SSL does not guarantee safety. It simply ensures that your requests are encrypted. But the actual data being transmitted can still contain dangerous elements, including viruses and other forms of malware. Therefore, you should always be suspicious when visiting a new website. (Note: If the website in question is using an organization validation [OV] or extended validation [EV] SSL certificate, which are very hard for hackers to get, you can check their certificate details to get additional details about the organization thats running the website.)

Staying safe online requiresa consistent level of diligence. Your best bet is to take proactive steps tocontrol and protect your online privacy. Here are a few tips to protect againstSSL malware and other threats:

Dont make the mistake of blaming this on SSL. Without it, the internet would be a MUCH more dangerous place. With the current level of hacking, going anywhere online would be hazardous. You would not be able to trust that your passwords and credit card numbers were being sent safely anywhere. The larger point here is that even when an SSL connection is present, remain aware that you still can be a target thanks to malware or other threats hidden inside of SSL traffic.

No need to be afraid. Just be vigilant with your cybersecurity strategy.

As always, leave any questions or thoughts in the comments!

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A Sneaky Online Security Threat: Encrypted Malware in SSL - Hashed Out by The SSL Store - Hashed Out by The SSL Store

Here’s how to stop Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs from spying on you – Fast Company

The federal government has authorized your internet service provider to spy on you. The right was enshrined by a 2017 act of Congress that cancelled anti-spying regulations enacted by the Obama-era Federal Communications Commission. Today, your ISP can log every place you go online and use that data any way it wants, such as building user profiles for its own or other companies advertising platforms.

But ISPs most powerful spying tool is now easy to block, by encrypting whats called a DNS requesta bit of data that announces the websites you visit. Mozillas Firefox browser already offers DNS encryption as an option, and its about to turn it on by default in the coming days or weeks. This protects you not only from a snooping ISP but also from a hacker who wants to watch your surfing or even redirect you to bogus sites containing malware.

Google also plans to make DNS encryption possible in its Chrome web browser and Android operating system, although in a much slower fashion that involves coordinating with the internet service providers. Nevertheless, ISPs recently sent a letter to six House and Senate Committees asking them to stop Google from moving forward. News site Motherboard also unearthed a misleading slide deck that Comcast lobbyists are using to sway politicians.

Today, Comcast published a post announcing that it does not track the websites customers visit or the apps they use. Comcast further says that it doesnt build profiles and has never sold user information. These are all voluntary measures, however. Theres no law or regulation (at least at the national level) to prevent an ISP from doing any of this.

While the politics play out, you can take simple steps right now to secure your surfing. Heres a quick explanation of how DNS works, and how to encrypt it.

Typing Google.com into your browser means nothing to the internet, which needs a numerical IP address like 172.217.7.196 in order to find Googles web servers, which host its site. To resolve the problem, your browser first visits a domain name system (DNS) server, which maintains a lookup table of web domains and their corresponding IP addresses. By default, your computer (or phone or tablet) uses the DNS server provided by your ISP, giving the company a handy list of all the sites you visit.

The privacy solution is called DNS over HTTPS, which uses the same encryption that secures your connections to most websites. (You can spot those web addresses because they start with https and are designated by a lock icon.) Mozilla is the furthest along, introducing both the encryption technology and an encrypted DNS service provider, run by cloud computing company Cloudflare. The latter has agreed to purge any data it collects and not provide it to any other parties. Mozilla is close to signing on additional DNS providers under the same terms, says Marshall Erwin, senior director of trust and security at Mozilla.

The easiest fix is to use the Firefox browser, as the switchover to DNS over HTTPs is about to start. If you just cant wait, or you want to use another browser, heres what to do.

On the desktop

To enable DNS encryption in Firefox, click the hamburger (three horizontal line) icon on the upper right of the program window. Click Preferences > General > Network Settings, scroll to the bottom of the popup window and check the box next to Enable DNS over HTTPS.

If you prefer another browser, youll need to change the DNS settings in your computers operating system. Cloudflare offers detailed instructions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. While the instructions are straightforward, bear in mind that making a mistake here could knock your whole system offline until you figure out what you did wrong.

On mobile devices

It doesnt matter what browser you use on Android or iOS devices. Cloudflare provides a free app called 1.1.1.1 that automatically shifts all of your internet-connected apps (not just browsers) to its encrypted DNS service. The 1.1.1.1 app also provides a free virtual private network (VPN) that encrypts all your internet traffic, protecting you even more from snoops and hackers.

This article has been updated with comment from Comcast describing a policy of not tracking users via DNS. A previous version of the headline erroneously implied that Comcast was spying on users.

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Here's how to stop Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs from spying on you - Fast Company

At Propelify, Speakers Debate Pros and Cons of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain – njtechweekly.com

At the PropelifyInnovation Festival held in Hoboken on October 3, panelists discussed the prosand cons of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, including their impactson the future of commerce and society.

The participants includedAli Hassan, cofounder and CEO of CrescentCrypto Asset Management (Jersey City) and Nick Adams, cofounder and managingpartner of New York-based investment firm DifferentialVentures. David Sorin, a partner at law firm McCarter & English (East Brunswick),was the moderator.

Hassan said that bitcoinand its underlying blockchain technology give people, rather than banks andgovernments, control of how money is used.

Banks and governmentshave control over what we can do with our money. he said. Bitcoin removesthat power from the entities that control the ledger, and gives it back to thepeople. Thats the true beauty and the only real use case today of blockchaintechnology. Its the disintermediationof banking.

Adams, however, disagreedwith the idea that the replacement of the nations monetary system withcryptocurrencies has any merit. He cautioned that greater acceptance of digitalcurrency still faces an uphill battle, particularly with government regulatorybodies.

We will see World War III before the U.S. fullyadopts cryptocurrency, he said.

As for blockchain, therehas been growing support for this technology because of its transparency,security and facilitation of investment in assets that only the wealthy could typicallyafford.

Hassan said that blockchainallows more people to invest in high-priced assets, such as big real estateprojects and expensive artworks, which were usually out of their financialreach. With blockchain, the technologydivides those assets into smaller pieces that are less costly to invest in. Thistechnology is beautiful and amazing. It can do things well beyond what we canimagine.

Sorin added that his firmis currently working with an Israeli company that uses a blockchaininfrastructure that enables investment in diamonds for those who would nototherwise be able to invest in this asset class.

While Adams likes someaspects of blockchain, he warned that the technology is not yet ready to beused in place of traditional ways of valuing assets. Theres going to be a lotof pain and regulation before we get there.

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At Propelify, Speakers Debate Pros and Cons of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain - njtechweekly.com

The cryptocurrency market starts the week with strong growth across the board – FXStreet

Green shoots are everywhere in the market. Bitcoin and all major altcoins are demonstrating strong gains from 2% to 26%. Notably, NEO and TRON are the best-performing assets out of top-20 as both coins have gained over 26% on a day-to-day basis. At the time of writing, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization is registered at $253 billion from $242 billion the day before; an average daily trading volume increased to $116 billion from $99 this time on Sunday; Bitcoin's market share decreased to 68.2%.

BTC/USD topped at $9,938 during early Asian hours before retreating to $9,600 by the time of writing. Despite the retreat, the first digital coin is still 5% high from this time on Sunday, moving within a short-term bullish trend. Notably, BTC cannot sustainably break above SMA100 (Simple Moving Average) on a daily chart (currently at $9,650). Once it happens, $10,000 will come into focus. This resistance is strengthened by the recent high and the middle line of a weekly Bollinger Band on approach.Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset with the current market capitalization of $20 billion, has gained nearly 4% in recent 24 hours. At the time of writing, ETH/USD is changing hands at $185.00, off the intraday high of $190.19. Looking technically, ETH/USD a sustainable recovery above $180.00 improves the short-term picture and signals the price may continue moving upwards with the next bullish aim at $190.00.Ripples XRP has made its way above $0.3000 during early Asian hours on Monday. At the time of writing, XRP/USD is changing hands at $0.3010. The third digital coin with the current market value of $12.9 has gained $1.75 on a day-to-day basis, though the bullish breakthrough above $0.3000 still needs to be confirmed.

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The cryptocurrency market starts the week with strong growth across the board - FXStreet