In the wake of news that the FBI has arrested a LulzSec hacker on charges related to attacks against Sony Pictures, a new team of hackers is making headlines. Team GhostShell has published over a million hacked records, and it promises there’s more to come.
The new attacks are part of “Project HellFire." Project HellFire is intended as a form of online protest against banks and politicians, and as retaliation for arrested hackers. Team GhostShell says, “We are also letting everyone know that more releases, collaborations with Anonymous and other, plus two more projects are still scheduled for this fall and winter. It's only the beginning."
Adobe Flash has long been a prime target for hackers and malware developers. The virtually ubiquitous app seems to have plenty of weaknesses, and presents attackers with an appealing method of exploiting and compromising victims. Currently, both the traditional Adobe Flash, and the Adobe Flash for Android mobile app have caught the attention of attackers.
Adobe Flash is a staple of Web browsing, and is essentially a de facto app installed on just about every Windows, Mac, and Linux PC. The mobile app has been a source of controversy between Apple and Adobe—famously excluded from Apple’s iOS mobile platform—however, Flash was trumpeted as a key selling point for rival Android devices.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized three websites for alleged copyright violations. The sites are accused of illegally distributing Android apps. When dealing with third-party mobile app sites, though, pirated apps may be the least of your worries. The more pressing concerns: your privacy and security.
One of the defining features of Android is its “openness”. In contrast to other mobile platforms, Google’s Android ecosystem allows users much more latitude in customizing the mobile device itself. It also enables users to acquire apps from a variety of sources outside of the official Google Play store.
SMS text messaging is certainly not exclusive to Apple or its iconic iPhone smartphone. But, apparently there is something unique about the way Apple delivers SMS messages that makes the iPhone particularly vulnerable to spoofing or smishing (SMS phishing) attacks.
An iOS security researcher wrote a blog post detailing the discovery. When an SMS text message is sent, part of the header information contains the actual number the message originated from. However, there is also an optional header called the UDH (User Data Header) which allows for a different Reply To address to be entered.
