ByNitish Singh-May 3 2018.992 Figure 1 Researched picture Courtesy of Lojack Security found a malware that hijacks Lojack anti-theft program. The malware is suspected of having ties with Fancy Bear, a Russian cyber-espionage organization. A reportFancy Bear operations are filed by security researchers with Asert Lab of Arbor Networks. Because of the architecture of the program it lets the software communicate with malicious servers rather than legitimate ones. The LoJack Agent uses single byte Xor keys to secure its C2 Urls. According to Asert Lab researchers the device blindly trusts the quality of the configuration. Once an attacker alters the Xor key value the malicious double agent becomes operational. .993 Figure 2 Picture Courtesy of Defense One Several anti-virus software packages did not detect the malicious executable that was sneaked into LoJack installations and even though they did mark it as a “Risk Tool” rather than a virus. With the executable capable of hiding malicious code in plain sight it can be easily used to offer hackers remote backdoor features. Hulu recently sported an interactive ad that allowed users to buy remote-control movie tickets. Hulu vide president Peter Naylor called it “transactional advertising” and claims it’s the future of television ads. BrightLine’s Jacqueline Corbelli Ceo the organization that helped Hulu develop the ad unit seconded Naylor and said more Tv networks follow similar principles. Hulu also supports interactive s with their remote control to enable subscribers to purchase movie tickets. The streaming service recently released video previews for the new Tomb Raider game, enabling viewers to buy movie tickets at a nearby theater. It has been dubbed “transactional advertising” by Peter Naylor, senior vice president of ad sales for Hulu. Interested audiences have the option to switch to a new page and test the modes in which the movie will be played as well as the closest cinema hall. Once they have chosen when and where they will watch the film, they will send a link to their email address or phones that will allow them to pay and book their tickets. Figure 1 Picture Courtesy of Hulu This is definitely a creative move in the TV advertising market. Naylor talks about how the “game is evolving,” and we need to adapt. Younger viewers who can miss advertisements will be irritated by the TV experience’s duty to screen commercials. Jp Richards, executive vice president of Warner Bros. (the company behind the new “Tomb Raider”), seconded Naylor to suggest we need to find new ways to communicate with this younger generation of traditional TV cord cutters. Before Hulu, several businesses tried these immersive ad formats with their faces. However it does come with its own range of difficulties to render such “transactional ads.” For such a commercial to operate on Comcast, the technical criteria will often differ with that of DirecTv or Cox. So even if major advertisers wanted to run an interactive ad they would have to conform to each cable or satellite distributor’s different requirements. But since streaming services have access to a much wider geographic scope, such interactive advertisements could just be around the corner with the trend. BrightLine, the company that helped Hulu create this new ad unit, had its statement from Jacqueline Corbelli, “This is the first step in a much wider strategy and market approach to getting the transaction closer to the audience,” adding that more TV networks follow similar principles. Telegram Experiences DdoS Attack and Accuses Chinese State Hackers
ByBill Toulas-June 13, 2019.996 Yesterday, due to a DdoS attack, the Telegram encrypted contact service was shortened briefly. The platform’s Ceo suspects Chinese hackers, and claims the state supports them. Telegram revealed the reason for the service disruption they endured yesterday through the following Tweet and with a funny “whopper lemmings” joke for the DdoS attack (distributed denial of service). Millions of Telegram users lost the encrypted messaging service for a short period of time, since the attack was evidently too effective to manage. However, the company informed customers that their data was secure as only their network was overwhelmed by the DdoS attack and could not possibly cause a breach. We are currently experiencing a powerful DdoS attack in the Americas by Telegram users and some users from other countries can experience connection problems. Telegram Messenger (@telegram) 12 June 2019 Telegram Ceo Pavel Durov reported that a large majority of the actors ‘ Ip addresses originated in China. Coincidentally the time of the attacks was the same as with the demonstrations in Hong Kong. Of course, this can’t be an accident as private and encrypted chat apps like Telegram are commonly used by protestors who want to plan their next move, so it’s quite likely that Chinese state hackers organized the DdoS attack. This can not be said with certainty, of course, nor can it be proved right now, but the signs and previous experience make it possibility the most probable. Hong Kong is a special administrative area at the edge of an autonomous zone functioning as China. It has its own judicial powers in its own country, and its own legislative council. The region used to be a British colony until 1997 and it should maintain its independence by 2047 according to the terms of the handover. However, the Chinese government no longer supports this level of autonomy, as it seems that they have lobbied for a new law that would allow Hong Kong people to be extradited to the mainland. It caused great fear in Hong Kong, and is seen as a challenge to its citizens ‘ civil liberties. And millions of people protest in the streets right now in what is the biggest social unrest in the territory’s history.