Cybersecurity

This posting is here to collect security alert news in February 2018. I post links to security vulnerability news to comments of this article.     →

EDN magazine published today that a 15-year-old Richard Skrenta on winter break from high school wrote what is considered to be the first large-scale, self-spreading personal computer virus on January 30, 1982. The Elk Cloner virus attached itself to the Apple DOS 3.3 operating system on Apple II computer and spread by floppy disk. Elk →

https://opensource.com/article/18/1/securing-linux-filesystem-tripwire?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY Linux integrity checker notifies you if malware or other events make changes to your filesystem. Tripwire works on almost all Linux distributions; you can download an open source version from Sourceforge and install it. →

https://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-unix-bsd-openssh-server-best-practices.html This page shows how to secure your OpenSSH server running on a Linux or Unix-like system to improve sshd security. Read also how to only allow ssh login using SSH keys https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-to-disable-ssh-password-login-on-linux/ →

https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2017/12/5-blockchain-trends-watch-2018?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY Few new technologies have raised as much discussion as blockchain. One reason is the controversy, concern, and perceived opportunity around blockchain-based cryptocurrencies (such as bitcoin and ether) and crowdfunding via initial coin offerings (ICOs). But what is blockchain’s role in the enterprise?  This article gives some ideas to think about. Take those trends with grain of →

https://media.ccc.de/v/34c3-9058-everything_you_want_to_know_about_x86_microcode_but_might_have_been_afraid_to_ask#t=2250 This is a quite interesting presentation on Intel CPU secrets:  Microcode is an abstraction layer on top of the physical components of a CPU and present in most general-purpose CPUs today. While it is well-known that CPUs feature a microcode update mechanism, very little is known about its inner workings given that microcode and →

https://www.twistlock.com/2017/12/27/escaping-docker-container-using-waitid-cve-2017-5123/ In 2017 alone, 434 linux kernel exploits where found, and as you have seen in this post, kernel exploits can be devastating for containerized environments. This is because containers share the same kernel as the host, thus trusting the built-in protection mechanisms alone isn’t sufficient. Make sure your kernel is always updated on all →

http://www.commitstrip.com/en/2018/01/04/reactions-to-meltdown-and-spectre-exploits/  Good one commotstrip   right on time  →

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/ A fundamental design flaw in Intel’s processor chips related to virtual memory system (Intel x86-64 hardware) allows normal user programs (even JavaScript in web browsers) to discern to some extent the layout or contents of protected kernel memory areas. It is understood the bug is present in modern Intel processors produced in the past decade. It appears a →

This posting is here to collect security alert news in January 2018. I post links to security vulnerability news to comments of this article. →