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Chromium-based browser maker Brave has introduced a new feature called De-AMP which allows users to bypass Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages framework (AMP) to allow them to instead visit websites directly. Brave was scathing in its assessment of Google’s AMP framework, claiming in a blog post released on Tuesday that the framework is “harmful to privacy” and “helps Google further monopolize and control the direction of the web”. “An ethical web must be a user-first web, where users are in control of their browsing, and are aware of who they are communicating with. AMP (along with Google’s upcoming, actual name still to come, ‘AMP 2.0’) is incompatible with a user-first Web. De-AMP adds to the long list of Brave features that put users first on the Web,” Brave said in the post.”Where possible, De-AMP will rewrite links and URLs to prevent users from visiting AMP pages altogether. And in cases where that is not possible, Brave will watch as pages are being fetched and redirect users away from AMP pages before the page is even rendered, preventing AMP/Google code from being loaded and executed.”Brave announced that the De-AMP feature is now available in its Nightly and Beta versions and will soon be enabled in the upcoming 1.38 Desktop and Android versions before being released on iOS.Google claims on its website that the purpose of AMP is to enhance website performance in order to create “user-first experiences”.This is not the first time the privacy browser maker has gone after Google, with Brave previously accusing the search engine giant of breaching one of the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s principles surrounding consent for data collection, whilst a coalition of 10 US states filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020 alleging the company used the AMP framework to throttle advertisements.”Google’s internal documents belie the public image of brainy Google engineers having fun at their sunny Mountain View campus while trying to make the world a better place. Rather, to cement its dominance across online display markets, Google has repeatedly and brazenly violated antitrust and consumer protection laws,” the coalition said in its legal complaint [PDF] at the time.

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Following the conclusion of its investigation into a January security breach, Okta on Wednesday said the incident was “significantly smaller” in scope than previously thought. The breach, in which hackers were able to access the laptop of a third-party customer support engineer, lasted just 25 minutes and impacted just two active customer tenants. The incident occurred on January 21, when the Lapsus$ hacking group had remote access to a laptop of a Sitel customer support engineer. The breach came to light on March 22, when the hacking group published screenshots of Okta’s systems.Based on the final forensic report of an unnamed “globally recognized cybersecurity firm,” the group had control of a single workstation, used by a Sitel support engineer with access to Okta resources. During the 25 minutes when they had control of the workstation, the threat actor accessed two active customer tenants within the SuperUser application. They also viewed limited additional information in certain other applications like Slack and Jira that cannot be used to perform actions in Okta customer tenants.Okta said the threat actor was unable to successfully perform any configuration changes, MFA or password resets, or customer support “impersonation” events. They were also unable to authenticate directly to any Okta accounts.”While the overall impact of the compromise has been determined to be significantly smaller than we initially scoped, we recognize the broad toll this kind of compromise can have on our customers and their trust in Okta,” Okta Chief Security Officer David Bradbury wrote in Wednesday’s blog post. After the screenshots appeared on March 22, Okta disclosed that as many as 366 customers were affected. Of course, there were questions as to why customers did not know about the incident sooner. About a week later, the company explained that it didn’t inform customers earlier because it “did not know the extent of the Sitel issue… We didn’t recognize that there was a risk to Okta and our customers.”Now that their investigation is over, Okta has given customers access to the final forensic report, as well as Okta’s “Security Action Plan.” The company said Wednesday that it’s taking various steps to improve its audit procedures and security assurances for sub-processors. For instance, it will require that sub-processors who provide Support Services on Okta’s behalf adopt “Zero Trust” security architectures. Okta has also terminated its relationship with Sykes/Sitel.Additionally, Okta will now directly manage all devices of third parties that access its customer support tools. More

Duck Duck Go started out as a privacy-focused search engine. It obviously had (and still has) seriously stiff competition with Google. But the company behind the search engine wasn’t content with just offering that one service and soon began building a web browser. Said web browser was built, from the ground up, to be just as privacy-centric as the search engine. The first platform to receive the Duck Duck Go browser was Android and although I don’t use it as my go-to mobile browser, there is one feature that I’ve grown to absolutely depend on. That feature is called App Tracking Protection and it blocks third-party trackers that lurk in the apps you’ve installed. That’s right, tracking doesn’t just occur within a web browser, but also happens within any of those apps you’ve installed. 

In today’s world of constant privacy invasions and security threats, you’ll want to block any type of tracking you can. Since installing Duck Duck Go and enabling App Tracking Protection, I get a fairly steady stream of tracker blocking when an app isn’t in use or even when an app hasn’t been opened for weeks or months. Here’s an example: Within the past 5 hours, Duck Duck Go App Tracking Protection has blocked the following:4 Tracking attempts from the Uber app (haven’t used the app since last November 2021).38 Tracking attempts from the NYTimes app (haven’t opened the app today).30 Tracking attempts from my banking app (which I did use this morning).Duck Duck Go blocked every one of those attempts, without me having to do anything. With those tracking attempts blocked, the apps (and the companies behind them) cannot track my behavior either when I’m using the app or not using it. And given that companies often track you via apps they don’t even own, the need for such privacy protection is amplified. You too can enjoy such privacy. There is one caveat, however. The App Tracking Protection is currently in beta, so you have to request an invite to the program to enable the feature. But once your invite has been accepted, you can enable App Tracking Protection and enjoy the added privacy.Let’s install Duck Duck Go on Android and get the App Tracking Protection feature enabled.Installing Duck Duck Go on AndroidThe process for installing Duck Duck Go is simple. Just follow these steps:Open the Google Play Store on your Android device.Search for Duck Duck Go.Locate and tap the entry by DuckDuckGoTap InstallAllow the installation to completeOnce the installation is finished, you should find the Duck Duck Go app in your App Drawer. Tap the launcher to open the app.How to enable App Tracking ProtectionWith the app open, tap the menu (three vertical buttons in the top right) and tap Settings from the popup menu. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings menu and tap App Tracking Protection. When prompted, tap Join the Private Waitlist to be added to the mailing list. You shouldn’t have to wait too long before you’re accepted. Close the app and wait a few minutes before reopening. Once you’ve been accepted to the beta program, go back to the Settings menu and tap App Tracking Protection. You should now see the On/Off slider associated with App Tracking Protection (Figure A).Figure AApp Tracking Protection has been enabled on my Pixel 6 Pro.At this point, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the added protection Duck Duck Go offers. You’ll get notifications every time an app tracker is blocked and you’ll be surprised at how often that happens.

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Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system already disables by default SMB (Server Message Block) version 1, the 30-year-old file-sharing protocol. Now the company is doing the same with Windows 11 Home Dev Channel test builds, announced officials on April 19. SMB1 is considered outdated and not secure. However, some users with very old equipment may be in for a surprise if their Windows 11 laptops can’t connect to an old networked hard drive, as officials said in a blog post about the SMB1 phase out plan. “There is no edition of Windows 11 Insider that has any part of SMB1 enabled by default anymore. At the next major release of Windows 11, that will be the default behavior as well,” said Ned Pyle, Principal Program Manager. “Like always, this doesn’t affect in-place upgrades of machines where you were already using SMB1. SMB1 is not gone here, an admin can still intentionally reinstall it,” Pyle added. Pyle said that Microsoft next will be removing the SMB1 binaries, and that both Windows and Windows Server will no longer include the drivers and DLLs of SMB1. Microsoft will provide an out-of-band, unsupported install package for users that still need to connect to old factory machinery, medical gear, consumer NAS and other equipment that still requires SMB1, however.Speaking of Windows 10, Microsoft also announced this week that Windows 10 version 21H2 (the November Update) is now considered ready for broad deployment and will be available to everyone via Windows Update. Anyone with a device that has been deemed compatible for various reasons by Microsoft or which isn’t set up to defer feature updates will be offered 21H2. The update can be manually installed by checking for Windows Updates as of April 15.

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Google has released patches for two security flaws in Chrome, of which one was being exploited in the wild. The zero day is tracked as CVE-2022-1364, a high severity flaw reported to the Chrome team by Clément Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis Group on. Google hasn’t revealed any details about it in the blogpost besides that it was a type confusion in Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. “Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2022-1364 exists in the wild,” the company says. The fixes are contained in the Chrome stable channel release 100.0.4896.127 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It will roll out over the coming days or weeks, according to Google.The US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency advised users to update their software and said “This version addresses a vulnerability that an attacker could exploit to take control of an affected system. This vulnerability has been detected in exploits in the wild.” Google fixed 14 Chrome zero-day flaws in 2021, up from seven in 2020. Google argued that the uptick in Chrome zero-days might be alarming for some, but it may also indicate the company is getting better at catching and fixing them. One reason for hackers focusing on Chrome is because of the demise of Adobe Flash Player, previously a big target. This February, Google also patched the Chrome zero day CVE-2022-0609 and in March it patched another bug, CVE-2022-1096 that was being exploited in the wild. Google linked the use of CVE-2022-0609 to multiple hacking groups associated with North Korean state-based hacking group Lazarus. Google TAG researchers said they believed different North Korean hacking groups were sharing the same software supply chain, so used the same exploit kit. The group had targeted US organizations in news media, tech, cryptocurrency and fintech sectors, according to Google.  More

The US government has detailed how North Korean state-sponsored attackers have been hacking cryptocurrency firms using phishing, malware and exploits to steal funds and initiate fraudulent blockchain transactions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory to warn all businesses in cryptocurrency to watch out for attacks from North Korean state-sponsored hackers. 

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Last week, the US Treasury Department linked the massive $600 million heist from the Ronin blockchain network to Lazarus hackers. SEE: Windows 11 security: How to protect your home and small business PCsThe new joint alert mostly concerns the work of Lazarus Group, also known as APT38, and follows multiple alerts since 2020 about the group’s crypto-stealing malware. “As of April 2022, North Korea’s Lazarus Group actors have targeted various firms, entities, and exchanges in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry using spearphishing campaigns and malware to steal cryptocurrency,” the alert from the FBI’s Internet Crime Center (IC3) states. “These actors will likely continue exploiting vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency technology firms, gaming companies, and exchanges to generate and launder funds to support the North Korean regime.”The alert flags that Lazarus attacks often begin with spear-phising messages targeting employees of cryptocurrency firms, often those working in system administration or software development/IT operations or DevOps roles. “The messages often mimic a recruitment effort and offer high-paying jobs to entice the recipients to download malware-laced cryptocurrency applications,” the agencies said, with the aim of tricking the target into downloading ‘TraderTraitor’, the FBI’s name for a malware-laced version of several cryptocurrency applications.  SEE: Clueless hackers spent months inside a network and nobody noticed. But then a ransomware gang turned upTraderTraitor is a set of malicious applications written in JavaScript, with a Node.js runtime also using Electron, to create apps that work across Windows and macOS. The attackers use a variety of open-source crypto-trading and price-prediction projects to package their malware. It runs a bogus “update” process that downloads and executes a malicious payload. “Observed payloads include updated macOS and Windows variants of Manuscrypt, a custom remote access trojan (RAT), that collects system information and has the ability to execute arbitrary commands and download additional payloads,” IC3 notes. “Post-compromise activity is tailored specifically to the victim’s environment and at times has been completed within a week of the initial intrusion.”The IC3 alert lists several new cryptocurrency-related Electron applications containing binaries signed with now-revoked Apple Developer Team certificates. Hackers from North Korea stole around $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021 through at least seven attacks, according to blockchain analysis firm, Cainalysis.  More

Microsoft has announced new “scenario-based” awards for its Dynamics and Power Platform Bounty Program and the Microsoft 365 Bounty Program. Microsoft says the scenario-based awards are designed to encourage researchers to focus their work on “vulnerabilities that have the highest potential impact on customer privacy and security”.

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The new scenario-based awards are on top of existing general awards for security bugs, such as remote code execution and elevation of privilege bugs in products – and amount to up to $26,000 on offer in new awards. SEE: Windows 11 security: How to protect your home and small business PCsThe new scenario-based award for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform is a cross-tenant information disclosure bug, which carries a maximum award of $20,000. Microsoft has patched similar bugs to this affecting some Azure APIs and another similar cross-tenant information disclosure bug affecting the Azure Automation service in March.   Microsoft is also adding bonuses of between 15-30% on top of the general Microsoft 365 bounty for Office 365 products and Microsoft Account pages for Outlook, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Skype, and more. The Microsoft 365 bounty highest general award is $20,000 for a critical remote code execution flaw. The new high-impact scenarios award a 30% bonus for remote code execution (RCE) through untrusted input (CWE-94 “Improper Control of Generation of Code” (‘Code Injection’)); and 30% for for RCE through untrusted input (CWE-502 “Deserialization of Untrusted Data”). There are also 20% awards for unauthorized cross-tenant and cross-identity sensitive data leakage for both (CWE-200 “Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor”) and (CWE-488 “Exposure of Data Element to Wrong Session”). Finally, there’s a 15% award for “Confused Deputy” vulnerabilities that can be used in a practical attack that accesses resources in a way that bypasses authentication (CWE-918 “Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)”). Microsoft offered similar scenario-based awards for its Teams bug bounty last year on top of its general awards in that program. in December, it also added six scenario-based awards of up to $60,000 for high-impact bugs to its Azure bounty. More

Lenovo has patched a trio of bugs that could be abused to perform UEFI attacks.

Discovered by ESET researcher Martin Smolár, the vulnerabilities, assigned as CVE-2021-3970, CVE-2021-3971, and CVE-2021-3972, could be exploited to “deploy and successfully execute UEFI malware either in the form of SPI flash implants like LoJax or ESP implants like ESPecter” in the Lenovo Notebook BIOS.In UEFI cyberattacks, malicious operations are loaded on a compromised device at an early stage of the boot process. This means that malware can tamper with configuration data, establish persistence, and may be able to bypass security measures that are only loaded at the OS stage. On Tuesday, ESET said the vulnerabilities impact “more than one hundred different consumer laptop models with millions of users worldwide” and were caused by drivers only meant to be used during Lenovo’s product development stage. The impacted product list includes IdeaPads, Legion gaming devices, and both Flex and Yoga laptops. The first vulnerability, CVE-2021-3970, impacts the SW SMI handler function. This SMM memory corruption issue, caused by improper input validation, permits attackers to read/write into SMRAM, which, in turn, could allow malicious code with SMM privileges to execute — and for SPI flash implants to be deployed.”SMM is a highly privileged execution mode of x86 processors […],” the researchers explained. “SMM code is written within the context of the system firmware and is usually used for various tasks including advanced power management, execution of OEM proprietary code, and secure firmware updates. It provides an independent execution environment completely invisible to the running operating system.”The other two vulnerabilities, CVE-2021-3971 and CVE-2021-3972, relate to drivers named SecureBackDoor and SecureBackDoorPeim. Lenovo has described the first security flaw as a “potential vulnerability by a driver used during older manufacturing processes on some consumer Lenovo Notebook devices that was mistakenly included in the BIOS image could allow an attacker with elevated privileges to modify [the] firmware protection region by modifying an NVRAM variable.” The second issue is a “potential vulnerability by a driver used during [the] manufacturing process on some consumer Lenovo Notebook devices that was mistakenly not deactivated [and] may allow an attacker with elevated privileges to modify secure boot setting[s] by modifying an NVRAM variable.”The drivers, when they are queried by Lenovo software, could be compromised to disable flash protections and UEFI Secure Boot. Attackers with a high enough privilege level can exploit CVE-2021-3971 to change UEFI firmware settings, and CVE-2021-3972 requires tampering with NVRAM variables to deploy malicious implants.ESET reported the three vulnerabilities to Lenovo on October 11, 2021. The security flaws were triaged and confirmed in November. Patches have now been released, leading to April’s public disclosure.It is recommended that users patch their firmware immediately. Lenovo has published an advisory and alternative mitigation options for users who can’t accept fixes at this time. However, not every device on the list will be updated with fixes as legacy products. When it comes to out-of-support devices, ESET recommends using TPM-aware full-disk encryption software to make information inaccessible if UEFI Secure Boot configurations are tampered with.”All of the real-world UEFI threats discovered in the last years — LoJax, MosaicRegressor, MoonBounce, ESPecter, FinSpy — needed to bypass or disable the security mechanisms in some way in order to be deployed and executed,” Smolár commented. “Our discovery demonstrates that in some cases, deployment of the UEFI threats might not be as difficult as expected, and the larger amount of real-world UEFI threats discovered in the last years suggests that adversaries are aware of this.” Previous and related coverage Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0 More