Information Technology

Did you know your Android device retains your Google searches such that numerous sites and services can use that data to personalize ads and other types of recommendations? For many that’s fine and that level of personalization makes using the platform even easier. There are others, however, that view this as an invasion of privacy. Such users like to retain control over how much of their search history is saved and when it’s deleted.Fortunately, for those who like more control over their mobile platforms, Google makes it possible to not only manually delete that data but set devices to auto-delete the search cache.

I’m going to walk you through the process of both — manually deleting that search cache and configuring Android to auto-delete saved data.To do this, you’ll need an Android device that is connected to your Google account. I’ll be demonstrating on my go-to Pixel 6 Pro running Android 12 with the April security patch applied.Let’s get to work.How to manually clear the Google search cacheFrom your Android App Drawer, open the Google app. In the resulting window (Figure A), tap your profile image in the top-right corner.Figure AThe Google app running on a Pixel 6 Pro.From the resulting menu, tap Search history (Figure B).Figure BThe Google app menu makes it easy to quickly delete the last 15 minutes of your search history.If you tap Delete last 15 minutes, you’ll immediately clear anything you’ve searched for in the past fifteen minutes. If you need to delete more than that, tap Search history. In the next window (Figure C), tap Verify at the bottom of the screen.Figure CYou must first verify it’s you before continuing.To complete the verification process, you’ll be prompted for either your PIN, pattern, password, fingerprint, or face scan (depending on how you have Android configured for the unlocking process).After a successful verification, you should then see a Delete drop-down (Figure D).Figure DUpon successful verification, the Delete drop-down is made available.Tap the Delete drop-down to reveal the available options (Figure E).Figure EThe available cache delete options for Android 12 on a Pixel 6 Pro.Select the time frame for which you want to delete (today, custom, or all-time) and Android will empty the cache for that specified range. You will not be prompted to okay the deletion, it will just happen. Once deleted, that cache is gone.Auto-deletion setupIf you prefer to have things done automagically, Google has made it possible to set the cache to be auto-deleted. To do this, go back to the same place you ran the manual deletion and tap the Auto-delete (Off) entry. In the resulting window (Figure F), tap to enable Auto-delete activity older than and then, from the drop-down, select the date range to be deleted.Figure FEnabling auto-delete so you don’t have to worry about manually taking care of the process.You can choose from 3 months, 18 months, and 36 months. Once you’ve made your selection, tap Next and then tap Confirm to finish the setup.And that’s all there is to deleting your Google search cache (either manually or automatically). If you’re concerned about your online privacy, consider this a must-do. And remember, since you can only set auto-delete for a minimum of 3 months, you might want to regularly go back to the screen and manually delete your cache (to keep your Android device from saving cached items that are not more than 3 months old). More

Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft officials are using the company’s April 5 Windows hybrid work virtual event to showcase Windows 11 features they believe will be important to business users. Unsurprisingly, that means security and management capabilities, such as the new Remote Help add-on for Intune. It also means a handful of other Windows 11 features already in testers’ hands. Microsoft has not been willing to disclose how many of the combined 1.4 billion Windows 10 and 11 customers are currently running Windows 11. But some company watchers estimate as many as 80 percent of these people are still using Windows 10 — especially business customers who don’t see Windows 11’s features to be must-haves and/or don’t have PCs that meet the minimum CPU/TPU requirements.Microsoft Executive Vice President and Chief Device Officer Panos Panay highlighted a number of “experiences” coming soon to Windows 11 customers in his April 5 blog post timed for the event. Microsoft officials have been using the term “experiences” to refer to features that the team has decided to deliver ahead of the once-yearly feature update to Windows 11 (which this year will be Windows 11 22H2, expected around October). In February 2022, Microsoft rolled out the first cumulative update featuring a number of new Windows 11 experiences. Officials have declined to say when the next group of Windows 11 experiences will roll out to mainstream users.Among the Windows 11 experiences Panay and Co. touted are:Microsoft also highlighted at today’s event a number of existing and upcoming features in the Endpoint Manager/Intune system-management arena. These include Remote Help, an Intune feature akin to the “Quick Assist” remote help technology that’s already integrated with Endpoint Manager. Remote Help is meant to allow help desk professionals to view and/or take control of users’ PCs to provide assistance.

Remote Help is not free; it’s the first of the premium “add-ons” coming to Endpoint Manager. Officials said they will be introducing these individually as optional add-ons to users’ Microsoft 365 enterprise plans that include licenses for Microsoft Intune. Once there are enough of them, Microsoft plans to bundle them and make them available as a suite. Update: Remote Help is a $3.50 per user per month add-on for E3 or E5.IT can send targeted messages to employees on their Windows 11 desktops or right above the taskbar with an Organizational Messages feature — another potential boon to help desk admins. And Application Management for Edge will provide access to organizational resources from unmanaged devices, giving IT control over the conditions that access is allowed. Last year, officials said that Endpoint Manager would add management and compliance checks for Linux workstations, in addition to the other endpoints it already protects, with a preview due in early 2022.Microsoft execs also talked up today a new Windows Autopatch service that can automate updates for Windows, Microsoft Edge, and Office. Officials said they will make Windows Autopatch available to Windows Enterprise E3 subscribers for no additional cost. At press time, there were no details on what Autopatch will do, how it will work, or when it will be available. Update: Microsoft execs say this is coming in July 2022 (not clear if as a preview or generally available feature). It looks like an updated version of Windows Update for Business, scheduling updates via rings. Prerequisites: Intune, Windows 10 and 11 devices; Configuration Manager version 2010 or later and more.Last week, Microsoft announced general availability of System Center 2022 and many of its component parts: System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), System Center Orchestrator (SCORCH), and Service Manager (SM). Data Protection Manager (DPM) is coming next month.

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The FIN7 hacking group is back with a campaign that shows off a novel backdoor and other new malicious tools. FIN7 is considered a key threat actor today and has severely impacted countless financial organizations worldwide.

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This money-motivated cyberattack group, also tracked as Carbanak, specializes in Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams and point-of-sale (PoS) system intrusions. The group attempts to steal consumer payment card data and, in recent years, has continued to innovate and refine its intrusion methods. Active since at least 2015, FIN7 has a range of custom malware in its toolset, including backdoors, information stealers, the SQLRat SQL script dropper, the Loudout downloader, and has even used mailed USB drives sent to businesses in the past to infect its victims with malware. Recently, cybersecurity researchers tied FIN7 to ransomware operators, including REvil, Darkmatter, and Alphv.Despite arrests and the sentencing of high-level FIN7 members, the attack waves continue, with the latest including the “use of novel malware, incorporation of new initial access vectors, and likely shift in monetization strategies,” according to Mandiant.In a deep dive on the threat actor’s latest activities, Mandiant said that FIN7 had continued to evolve its initial intrusion methods beyond BEC scams and phishing attempts. Now, the group is also leveraging supply chains, RDP, and stolen credentials to infiltrate enterprise networks. Mandiant researchers said that a new ‘novel’ backdoor is being favored in recent attacks. Dubbed Powerplant, the PowerShell-based backdoor — also known as KillACK — is delivered via Griffon, a lightweight Java implant, and is used to maintain persistent access to a target system and steal information, including credentials. Powerplant also facilitates the deployment of other malicious modules, including the Easylook reconnaissance tool and the Birdwatch downloader. New variants of the .NET Birdwatch downloader, tracked as Crowview and Fowlgaze by the research team, are being used to grab malicious payloads via HTTP, write them to disk, and then execute them. The malware can also package and send reconnaissance information to its command-and-control (C2) server, such as network configuration data, web browser usage, running process lists, and more. Crowview is slightly different as it also includes a self-destruct mechanism, configuration changes, and unlike the original, can house a payload embedded in its code. Another backdoor malware variant, Beacon, may be used in attacks as a backup entry mechanism. Other malicious tools include the Powertrash dropper, the Termite shellcode loader, Weirdloop, Diceloader, Pillowmint, and Boatlaunch.Boatlaunch is of particular note as it is a utility used to patch existing PowerShell processes to bypass Window’s antimalware scanning software, AntiMalware Scan Interface (AMSI), and will also act as a “helper” module during intrusions, according to the cybersecurity researchers. Mandiant has also tied several campaigns together as the work of FIN7. In total, eight separate, uncategorized (UNC) threat groups have been merged into FIN7 activities, and a further 17 are suspected of links with the cybercriminal outfit. “Throughout their evolution, FIN7 has increased the speed of their operational tempo, the scope of their targeting, and even possibly their relationships with other ransomware operations in the cybercriminal underground,” Mandiant said.See alsoHave a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0 More

A cyber attack has forced arts, crafts, toys, books and stationery retailer The Works to temporarily close several stores, and caused disruption to stock resupplies and delayed deliveries of online orders. The retailer, which has over 500 stores across the UK, says it has been subjected to a “cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to its computer systems”. As a result of the cyber attack, some stores have been forced to close because of issues with tills, while replenishment of stock has been temporarily suspended. Customers who order items online are experiencing longer waits for their deliveries because of the incident. SEE: A winning strategy for cybersecurity (ZDNet special report) The retailer says customer payment details haven’t been accessed by intruders because credit and debit card details are stored securely outside of store systems by third-parties.The Works has moved to assure customers that they can “continue to shop safely” both in stores and online. Store deliveries are expected to resume “imminently” and normal online services are gradually being restored. After being alerted to the incident, the company disabled all internal and external access to its systems, including email, whilst it worked to evaluate and rectify the situation. External cybersecurity experts have been appointed to aid with the investigation into the incident and aid with recovery. “To protect customers and the business, the company has made some immediate protective changes to further strengthen its security position,” The Works said in a statement about the cybersecurity incident. “The company does not currently anticipate that this incident will have a material adverse impact on its forecasts or financial position,” it added.  MORE ON CYBERSECURITY More

Electricity, oil and gas and other critical infrastructure vital to our everyday lives is increasingly at risk from cyber attackers who know that successfully compromising industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) can enable them to disrupt or tamper with vital services. A report from cybersecurity company Dragos details ten different hacking operations which are known to have actively targeted industrial systems in North America and Europe – and it’s warned that this activity is likely to grow in the next 12 months. The list includes several state-backed hacking operations, such as Electrum – also known as Sandworm – which is linked to the Russian military, Covellite, which is linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, and Vanadinite, which is lined to APT 41, a hacking operation working on behalf of China. As more critical infrastructure is connected to the internet or accessible to staff by remote desktop protocols and VPNs, it’s increasingly becoming a target for nation-state backed hackers and cyber criminal gangs interested in breaching and examining OT networks to lay the groundwork for future campaigns. “A lot of this is increasing appetite to be in those places – typically from state-sponsored operations – where they want capability where they could have an impact in future,” Magpie Graham, principal adversary hunter and technical director at Dragos told ZDNet. After hackers enter industrial networks, it’s unlikely to have an immediate impact on the systems controlling operational processes because it could take years for attackers to understand everything – but it’s about laying the foundations for this for the future.  SEE: A winning strategy for cybersecurity (ZDNet special report) The campaigns being tracked by Dragos have a variety of aims – some are around stealing information, or there could potentially be plans to cause disruption – for example, cyber criminals looking to launch ransomware attacks. The nature of operational technology and a reliance on older software and protocols means any evidence of compromise can be missed, proving hackers with ample time to move around, understand and gain control of networks. It’s this what researchers describe as “the biggest cybersecurity weakness” facing industrial networks, because without having a full picture of what needs to be protected from cyber attacks, it’s not possible to fully defend networks from hackers. Cybersecurity weaknesses in industrial networks aren’t necessarily new, but as more threat groups become interested in infiltrating them, it could lead to significant problems. The also paper warns that activity related to cyber attacks targeting industrial infrastructure has been observed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and western cybersecurity agencies have issued warnings on the need to protect networks from attacks.In addition to having a good understanding of what’s on the network, many standard cybersecurity practices can help secure OT networks. These include applying security updates to patch known vulnerabilities in software, and applying multi-factor authentication whenever possible.  It’s hoped that by drawing attention to the hacking groups, campaigns and the risk to the industrial sector, that organisations involved will heed the warnings and apply the necessary protections to protect themselves from cyber espionage, disruptive attacks and other potential cybersecurity threats. “It can work in a more positive light, where we have seen these attacks, it can work just a reminder for organisations to protect themselves,” said Graham. According to Dragos, the most active threat groups targeting critical infrastructure are:Parasite: a group which targets utilities, aerospace and oil and gas in Europe, the Middle East and North America. Thee group uses open source tools and known vulnerabilities for initial access. Parasite is suspected to be linked to Iran.Xenotime: a group which targets oil & gas companies in Europe, the United States and Australia. It’s believed the group is linked to Russia.Magnallium: a group which initially targeted oil and gas and aircract companies in Saudi Arabia, which has expanded targeted to Europe and North America. It’s thought to be related to APT 33, a state-sponsored Iranian hacking group.Dymalloy: a group which targets electric utilities, oil and gas and other advanced industrial entities across Europe, Turkey and North America. Described as “highly aggressive”, Dymalloy looks for long-term persistence in networks and is thought to be linked to Russia.Electrum: this group is capable of developing malware that can modify and control OT procedures and Dragos researchers say this operation was responsible for Crash Override – also known as Industroyer – a malware attack on Ukraine’s power grid in December 2016. Electrum is associated with Sandworm, an offensive hacking operation that’s part of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. Allanite: a group which targets enterprise and OT networks in the UK and US elecricity sectors, as well as German industrial infrastructure and uses access to conduct reconnaissance on networks to potentially stage future disruptive events. It’s believed Allanite is linked to Russia.Chrysene: Active since at least 2017, this group has targeted industrial organisations in Europe and the Middle East, and mainly conducts intelligence gathering operations to potentially facilitate further attacks. Chrysense is suspected to be linked to Iran.Kamacite: a group which has been active since at least 2014 and believed to be responsible for cyber attacks against Ukrainian power facilities in 2015 and 2016. The group is linked to Sandworm.Covellite: a group which has targeted electric utilities in Europe, the US and East Asia using malicious attachments in phishing emails. The group is thought to be linked to the Lazarus Group, a state-backed hacking group working out of North Korea.Vanadinite: A hacking group which targets external-facing, vulnerable software in industrial organisations around the world. It’s thought to be linked to APT 41, a state-sponsored Chinese hacking operation.  MORE ON CYBERSECURITY More

Microsoft has weighed in on Spring4Shell, a recently discovered flaw in the Spring Framework for Java.Microsoft is telling customers of its Azure cloud service to patch the recently disclosed bug, a critical-rated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that’s been tagged as CVE-2022-22965 and dubbed SpringShell or Spring4Shell — a twist on the dire Log4Shell bug affecting another Java-based application logging utility.  

While there was initial debate about how serious the bug is, sleuthing by security researchers in the days afterwards after the flaw was discovered revealed that Spring4Shell was indeed a serious bug that warranted attention. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on April 1 urged all US organizations, including federal agencies, to patch it immediately. On April 4, CISA added the bug to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, which requires federal agencies to patch it within a deadline. The Spring Framework is “the most widely used lightweight open-source framework for Java,” Microsoft notes. The bug resides in the Java Development Kit (JDK) from version 9.0 and upwards if the system is also using Spring Framework versions 5.3.0 to 5.3.17, 5.2.0 to 5.2.19, and earlier versions.”In Java Development Kit (JDK) version 9.0 or later, a remote attacker can obtain an AccessLogValve object through the framework’s parameter binding feature and use malicious field values to trigger the pipeline mechanism and write to a file in an arbitrary path, if certain conditions are met,” Microsoft’s Defender threat intelligence team reports. Other conditions required for exploitation include that Apache Tomcat serves as the Servlet container, that the app is packaged as a traditional Java web archive (WAR) and deployed in a standalone Tomcat instance. However, Spring Boot is most commonly deployed as an embedded Servlet container or reactive web server, which are are not impacted. “Any system using JDK 9.0 or later and using the Spring Framework or derivative frameworks should be considered vulnerable,” Microsoft notes. Microsoft notes that the only working exploit, a proof of concept, can only be used remotely on a Tomcat server via its logging module using certain commands. An attacker can change default access logs to whatever file they want by issuing requests to it over the web. An attacker can then change the contents of a web server or application. Just like Log4Shell, Spring4Shell’s impact is felt through its inclusion in other products. Hypervisor firm VMware, for example, warned it affected its Tanzu services for virtual machines and container software. “The current exploit leverages the same mechanism as in CVE-2010-1622, bypassing the previous bug fix. Java 9 added a new technology called Java Modules,” Microsoft assesses. “An accessor was added to the Class object, called getModule(). The Module object contains a getClassLoader() accessor. Since the CVE-2010-1622 fix only prevented mapping the getClassLoader() accessor of Class objects, Spring mapped the getClassLoader() accessor of the Module object. Once again, one could reference the class loader from Spring via the class.module.classLoader parameter name prefix.”Security teams interested in researching the subject can refer to this user post on GitHub. The team behind Spring has also explained the patch and vulnerability here.  More

GitHub has introduced a new scanning feature for protecting developers from accidental secret leaks.

On April 4, the Microsoft-owned code repository said the GitHub Advanced Security suite has now been upgraded with a new push protection feature to prevent the leak of secrets that could compromise organization-owned projects.GitHub Advanced Security is a licensed business product including code scanning, supply chain attack protection, and Dependabot alerts. The new feature is an optional check for developers to use during their workflows before a git push is accepted. As of now, the scan will only check for “highly identifiable patterns” of potential leaks based on the collaborative efforts of GitHub and partner organizations, including token issuers. There are 69 patterns in total that the tool will check for as potential indicators of secret leaks. In addition, over 100 different token types are checked. These include those issued by Alibaba Cloud, Amazon, AWS, Azure, npm, Slack, and Stripe.GitHub says that over 700,000 secrets across thousands of private repositories have been detected to date. If push protection is enabled, a scan will check for high-confidence leak patterns. If a pattern flags up, the push is blocked. According to the company, there has been a low false-positive rate during testing. “If a secret is identified, developers can review and remove the secrets from their code before pushing again,” GitHub explained. “In rare cases where immediate remediation doesn’t make sense, developers can move forward by resolving the secret as a false positive, test case, or real instance to fix later.” Open security alert cases are automatically generated if instances are selected as issues to be resolved after a push. The new feature can be enabled in the suite’s user interface or via the API. “By scanning for highly identifiable secrets before they are committed, we can, together, shift security to being proactive instead of reactive and prevent secrets from leaking altogether,” GitHub commented.  Previous and related coverage Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0 More

Cyber criminals are copying legitimate smartphone applications and injecting them with malicious code to spy on users and steal personal data including bank information, passwords, photos and more.  According to cybersecurity company Pradeo’s Mobile Security Report 2022, there are more than 700 websites which operate as third-party download stores outside of the official app marketplaces. Third-party app stores mostly cater for Android smartphone users, because the open nature of Google’s ecosystem means that it’s easier to download apps from outside of Google’s Play Store. But some of these third-party sites don’t check the content of apps, and some are specifically designed to for illicit purposes, providing cyber criminals with an avenue for tricking users into downloading malicious apps containing malware. In many cases, researchers warn, crooks are making direct copies of original applications, but tamper with the code to add malicious features. Often the copied apps claim to be offering users additional features or a premium subscription, but in reality they’re just knock-offs designed to steal data from victims. Some of the popular apps being faked to help spread spyware include streaming services, VPN providers and anti-virus software. SEE: Cybersecurity: Let’s get tactical (ZDNet special report) Cyber criminals often use phishing emails to direct their victims towards malicious downloads, but many can also be found using search engines, particularly if users are specifically looking for free or cracked versions of apps. Information the crooks are after includes passwords, messages, photos, contact lists, digital wallets and more. The very nature of how people use smartphones makes them a prime target for stealing personal data which can be exploited by cyber criminals and cause ongoing problems for the victim. Downloading applications claiming to be well-known services from third-party sites can be potentially risky, particularly if the app promises to be free even though the service is usually accessed via a paid subscription. Users should always be cautious about offers like this which appear to be too good to be true, because the offer is potentially just a gimmick designed to attract downloads in order to install malware on as many phones as possible. For example the security researchers said they found hundreds of fake version of Netflix app online of varying sophistication, and which actually contained adware, spyware or malware. Another warning sign that an app might be fake: one version claimed to allow the user to watch shows which are exclusive to rival streaming service. One of the best ways to stay safe from malicious apps is to only download apps from the official app stores. Users who suspect they may have downloaded a malicious app are recommended to reset their device and to monitor their accounts for signs of suspicious activity which could be attempting to exploit stolen data. MORE ON CYBERSECURITY More