It’s a coin toss whether or not that Internet of Things device you depend on is secure. Those unacceptable 50/50 odds come from a survey by IOActive where technology professionals were asked about the security of connected devices from thermostats, security cameras to alarm systems. Those numbers may be hard to swallow, but recent headlines...

Networked printers have always posed an interesting attack vector, mostly for academics looking for vulnerabilities, and vandals sending garbage to the print bin. Microsoft, today, however patched a legitimate vulnerability that an attacker could abuse to attack corporate and home networks. MS16-087, one of a half-dozen critical security bulletins published today by Microsoft, patches a...

Browser makers and other tech companies have gone to great pains to beef up weak crypto libraries, in particular those that are exposed to fallback attacks such as POODLE. Attackers exploiting these vulnerabilities are able to dial back the encryption protecting communication to SSLv2 and SSLv3, for example, forcing servers to fall back to these...

Threatpost editor Mike Mimoso talks to Chris Valasek, Security Lead, Uber ATC, about the talk he and Charlie Miller gave at RSA, hacking cars, the challenges around getting manufacturers to patch vulnerabilities in vehicles, IoT, and more. [embedded content]

More than a quarter million homes protected by SimpliSafe wireless security systems are vulnerable to hackers who can deactivate the alarm anytime, according to IOActive, a Seattle-based security consulting firm. IOActive published a proof of concept report on Wednesday that outlines how it disarmed SimpliSafe’s wireless home security systems. The hack, according IOActive researcher Andrew Zonenberg,...

Mike Mimoso and Chris Brook recap last week’s Security Analyst Summit — including lots of IoT and critical infrastructure talk, how a researcher hacked his hospital, news on APTs like Metel and Poseidon, and more. Download: Reflecting_on_SAS_2016.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves

TENERIFE, Spain–When it comes to the internet of things, it isn’t Wi-Fi that scares Chris Rouland, it’s the whole wireless spectrum, constantly being updated with new and poorly secured protocols. Since these protocols can be reverse engineered so easily, he stressed the modern-day equivalent of the Melissa worm, but for IoT devices could be imminent. Rouland, the...

Mike Mimoso and Chris Brook discuss the news of the week, including internet-connected teddy bears, the latest on the Going Dark debate, and whether or not there’s a backdoor in Socat. They also preview next week’s Security Analyst Summit in Tenerife, Spain. Download: Threatpost_News_Wrap_February_5_2016.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves

As more devices are connected to the Internet, not only are vulnerabilities introduced into those networked things, but also some glaring holes are exposed in organizations’ ability to receive and triage bug reports. Researchers at Rapid7 today disclosed details on a pair of vulnerabilities in toys and interactive platforms aimed at children. The two vulnerabilities...

Connecting a webcam to your home or office network might seem like a harmless thing, but researchers have figured out how to turn that connected device into a backdoor. Researchers at Vectra Networks today released a report demonstrating how a $30 D-Link webcam can be abused by attackers and turned into a medium for sending...