Thank you and goodbye to the Chrome Cleanup Tool (Google Online Security Blog)

Actualités, Sécurité
Posted by Jasika Bawa, Chrome Security Team Starting in Chrome 111 we will begin to turn down the Chrome Cleanup Tool, an application distributed to Chrome users on Windows to help find and remove unwanted software (UwS). Origin story The Chrome Cleanup Tool was introduced in 2015 to help users recover from unexpected settings changes, and to detect and remove unwanted software. To date, it has performed more than 80 million cleanups, helping to pave the way for a cleaner, safer web. A changing landscape In recent years, several factors have led us to reevaluate the need for this application to keep Chrome users on Windows safe. First, the user perspective – Chrome user complaints about UwS have continued to fall over the years, averaging out to around 3% of…
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Sued by Meta, Freenom Halts Domain Registrations (Krebs on Security)

Actualités, Sécurité
The domain name registrar Freenom, whose free domain names have long been a draw for spammers and phishers, has stopped allowing new domain name registrations. The move comes just days after the Dutch registrar was sued by Meta, which alleges the company ignores abuse complaints about phishing websites while monetizing traffic to those abusive domains. Freenom’s website features a message saying it is not currently allowing new registrations. Freenom is the domain name registry service provider for five so-called “country code top level domains” (ccTLDs), including .cf for the Central African Republic; .ga for Gabon; .gq for Equatorial Guinea; .ml for Mali; and .tk for Tokelau. Freenom has always waived the registration fees for domains in these country-code domains, presumably as a way to encourage users to pay for related…
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Highlights from the New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy (Krebs on Security)

Actualités, Sécurité
The Biden administration today issued its vision for beefing up the nation’s collective cybersecurity posture, including calls for legislation establishing liability for software products and services that are sold with little regard for security. The White House’s new national cybersecurity strategy also envisions a more active role by cloud providers and the U.S. military in disrupting cybercriminal infrastructure, and it names China as the single biggest cyber threat to U.S. interests. The strategy says the White House will work with Congress and the private sector to develop legislation that would prevent companies from disavowing responsibility for the security of their software products or services. Coupled with this stick would be a carrot: An as-yet-undefined “safe harbor framework” that would lay out what these companies could do to demonstrate that they…
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Google Trust Services now offers TLS certificates for Google Domains customers (Google Online Security Blog)

Actualités, Sécurité
Andy Warner, Google Trust Services, and Carl Krauss, Product Manager, Google Domains We’re excited to announce changes that make getting Google Trust Services TLS certificates easier for Google Domains customers. With this integration, all Google Domains customers will be able to acquire public certificates for their websites at no additional cost, whether the site runs on a Google service or uses another provider. Additionally, Google Domains is now making an API available to allow for DNS-01 challenges with Google Domains DNS servers to issue and renew certificates automatically. Like the existing Google Cloud integration, Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) protocol is used to enable seamless automatic lifecycle management of TLS certificates.  These certificates are issued by the same Certificate Authority (CA) Google uses for its own sites, so they are widely supported…
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8 ways to secure Chrome browser for Google Workspace users (Google Online Security Blog)

Actualités, Sécurité
Posted by Kiran Nair, Product Manager, Chrome Browser Your journey towards keeping your Google Workspace users and data safe, starts with bringing your Chrome browsers under Cloud Management at no additional cost. Chrome Browser Cloud Management is a single destination for applying Chrome Browser policies and security controls across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. You also get deep visibility into your browser fleet including which browsers are out of date, which extensions your users are using and bringing insight to potential security blindspots in your enterprise. Managing Chrome from the cloud allows Google Workspace admins to enforce enterprise protections and policies to the whole browser on fully managed devices, which no longer requires a user to sign into Chrome to have policies enforced. You can also enforce policies that…
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Hackers Claim They Breached T-Mobile More Than 100 Times in 2022 (Krebs on Security)

Actualités, Sécurité
Image: Shutterstock.com Three different cybercriminal groups claimed access to internal networks at communications giant T-Mobile in more than 100 separate incidents throughout 2022, new data suggests. In each case, the goal of the attackers was the same: Phish T-Mobile employees for access to internal company tools, and then convert that access into a cybercrime service that could be hired to divert any T-Mobile user’s text messages and phone calls to another device. The conclusions above are based on an extensive analysis of Telegram chat logs from three distinct cybercrime groups or actors that have been identified by security researchers as particularly active in and effective at “SIM-swapping,” which involves temporarily seizing control over a target’s mobile phone number. Countless websites and online services use SMS text messages for both password…
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Our commitment to fighting invalid traffic on Connected TV (Google Online Security Blog)

Actualités, Sécurité
Posted by Michael Spaulding, Senior Product Manager, Ad Traffic Quality Connected TV (CTV) has not only transformed the entertainment world, it has also created a vibrant new platform for digital advertising. However, as with any innovative space, there are challenges that arise, including the emergence of bad actors aiming to siphon money away from advertisers and publishers through fraudulent or invalid ad traffic. Invalid traffic is an evolving challenge that has the potential to affect the integrity and health of digital advertising on CTV. However, there are steps the industry can take to combat invalid traffic and foster a clean, trustworthy, and sustainable ecosystem. Information sharing and following best practices Every player across the digital advertising ecosystem has the opportunity to help reduce the risk of CTV ad fraud. It…
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When Low-Tech Hacks Cause High-Impact Breaches (Krebs on Security)

Actualités, Sécurité
Web hosting giant GoDaddy made headlines this month when it disclosed that a multi-year breach allowed intruders to steal company source code, siphon customer and employee login credentials, and foist malware on customer websites. Media coverage understandably focused on GoDaddy’s admission that it suffered three different cyberattacks over as many years at the hands of the same hacking group.  But it’s worth revisiting how this group typically got in to targeted companies: By calling employees and tricking them into navigating to a phishing website. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), GoDaddy said it determined that the same “sophisticated threat actor group” was responsible for three separate intrusions, including: -March 2020: A spear-phishing attack on a GoDaddy employee compromised the hosting login credentials of approximately 28,000…
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Who’s Behind the Botnet-Based Service BHProxies? (Krebs on Security)

Actualités, Sécurité
A security firm has discovered that a six-year-old crafty botnet known as Mylobot appears to be powering a residential proxy service called BHProxies, which offers paying customers the ability to route their web traffic anonymously through compromised computers. Here’s a closer look at Mylobot, and a deep dive into who may be responsible for operating the BHProxies service. The BHProxies website. First identified in 2017 by the security firm Deep Instinct, Mylobot employs a number of fairly sophisticated methods to remain undetected on infected hosts, such as running exclusively in the computer’s temporary memory, and waiting 14 days before attempting to contact the botnet’s command and control servers. Last year, researchers at Minerva Labs spotted the botnet being used to blast out sextortion scams. But according to a new report…
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Moving Connected Device Security Standards Forward (Google Online Security Blog)

Actualités, Sécurité
Posted by Eugene Liderman, Director of Mobile Security Strategy, Google As Mobile World Congress approaches, we have the opportunity to have deep and meaningful conversations across the industry about the present and future of connected device security. Ahead of the event, we wanted to take a moment to recognize and share additional details on the notable progress being made to form harmonized connected device security standards and certification initiatives that provide users with better transparency about how their sensitive data is protected. Supporting the GSMA Working Party for Mobile Device Security Transparency We’re pleased to support and participate in the recently announced GSMA working party, which will develop a first-of-its-kind smartphone security certification program. The program will leverage the Consumer Mobile Device Protection Profile (CMD PP) specification released by ETSI,…
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