The Mai/June 2020 issue of our SWITCH Security Report is available!

Dear Reader!

A new issue of our bi-monthly SWITCH Security Report is available!

The topics covered in this report are:

  • The coronavirus: a blessing for some, a curse for others – where is IT security at with contactless payment?
  • You’ve got mail (and malware too) – serious security gap in Apple’s Mail app on iPads and iPhones now closed
  • Everything must go – ‘Shade’ hackers ‘shut down’ and publish hundreds of thousands of decryption keys
  • Swiss users targeted by cybercriminals
  • Elite targets – ETH supercomputers Euler and Leonhard (and more) hacked

The Security Report is available in both English and German.

»»  Download the English report.     »»  Download the German report.

The January/February 2019 issue of our SWITCH Security Report is available!

Dear Reader!

A new issue of our bi-monthly SWITCH Security Report is available!

The topics covered in this report are:

  • Company networks at serious risk: recent waves of malspam have been spreading the multifunctional trojan Emotet, targeting Windows devices in particular
  • Phishing, porn, data theft: rogue apps appearing as a new and harmful type of ‘non-sellers’ on Google Play and other app stores
  • Spy Time now also available for Apple devices – Serious security vulnerabilities allow outsiders to eavesdrop on FaceTime conversations and steal passwords from Keychain in MacOS
  • Alexa home alone, nuclear attack via Nest and a new password law in California – what happens when IoT gadgets run amok?

The Security Report is available in both English and German.

»»  Download the english report.      »»  Download the german report.

Did you miss our previous Security Report? Click here to go to the archive.

Rogue Mobile App

Rogue mobile apps are counterfeit apps designed to mimic trusted brands or apps with non-advertised malicious features. In both cases, the goal is that unaware users install the app in order to steal sensitive information such as credit card data or login credentials.

The common way to install apps is to use the official app store. By default, neither Android nor Apple’s iPhone allow users to install apps from unknown sources. However, this does not mean we can just trust the official app store. SWITCH-CERT has been monitoring Apple’s App Store and Google Play for some time and noticed that many rogue apps are able to sneak into Google Play especially.

Google Play

Attackers are abusing the weak app testing procedure of Google to sneak their rogue apps into Google Play. One can find counterfeit apps of Swiss brands on a regular basis. Typically, the apps reside on Google Play for some time until it is removed because of take down requests from security researchers. Until that happens, unaware users are likely to install such apps and put their data at risk.

The screenshot below shows apps found when searching for Bluewin. During the last months, Bluewin has been a common target for rogue counterfeit apps. The red circle indicates the rogue app.

Play Store result for the search key word “Bluewin”

Continue reading “Rogue Mobile App”

A new issue of our SWITCH Security Report is available!

Dear Reader!

A new issue of our bi-monthly SWITCH Security Report is available!

The topics covered in this report are:

  • An own goal and serious foul: Spanish football league’s app turns 10 million users into involuntarily spies
  • Amazon Rekognition – useful security and convenience tool or total surveillance for pennies?
  • An underestimated risk: the number of malware attacks on smartphones and tablets is exploding
  • Phishing with the stars: scammers take advantage of our celebrity obsession and the crypto craze to cause harm to users

The Security Report is available in both English and German.

»»  Download the english report.      »»  Download the german report.

A new issue of our SWITCH Security Report is available!

Dear Reader!

A new issue of our bi-monthly SWITCH Security Report is available!

The topics covered in this report are:

  • Meltdown and Spectre: security meltdown directly from the processor
  • Leaks, fakes and cryptocurrency hacks: business models of a different kind
  • Italianitá in the smartphone – state trojan monitors smartphone users
  • Kaspersky shut out of Lithuania as well
  • Strava leaks – fitness secrets of a different kind

The Security Report is available in both English and German.

»»  Download the english report.      »»  Download the german report.

Adups — The Spy in your Pocket

written by Antoine Neuenschwander

Smartphones have become inseparable companions of our everyday life. They are so cheap nowadays, you can buy commodity devices running Android OS for less than a hundred Swiss francs. Smartphones aren’t mere wireless telephony devices. They are modern computer systems equipped with a variety of sensors: cameras, microphone, GPS receiver, gyroscopes and accelerometers, etc. They also feature multiple wireless communication interfaces such as multi-generation mobile networking, 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, etc, which make them a polyvalent communication platform with a quasi permanent Internet connection. Another way of looking at it: using all the components typical smartphones are equipped with, they can be fitted as perfect bugging devices.

On November 15th 2016, Kryptowire published a blog post revealing that „several models of Android mobile devices contained a firmware that collected sensitive personal data about their users and transmitted the data to third-party servers without disclosure or the users’ consent“. The sensitive data includes unique device and user identifiers, but also contact lists, call history, installed applications, and under circumstances text messages as well as fine grained location data. The said firmware originates from Adups, a Shanghai-based company specialized in mobile and IoT technologies. It is part of their FOTA product, a commercial replacement of Google’s Over-The-Air upgrade system, which is used to deploy firmware upgrades to the devices (hence the acronym: Firmware Over The Air). The FOTA component is pre-installed on various brands and models of Android devices manufactured in China. Being installed as a system APK, the software has unrestricted access to all data on the device and cannot be uninstalled.

 

HTTP request originating from a device affected by the Adups backdoor
HTTP request originating from a device affected by the Adups backdoor

Continue reading “Adups — The Spy in your Pocket”

Swiss economy makes online security its priority

Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world. To make also the Internet a secure place in Switzerland, the Swiss online economy has started the Swiss Internet Security Alliance (SISA). The goal of the alliance is to make Switzerland the “cleanest” Internet country in the world! The organization launched an online security check today which allows internet users to clean and protect their systems.

Offering more security
The founding of the Swiss Internet Security Alliance is a sign of its members’ commitment to making the Internet a secure place in Switzerland. The association brings together expert knowledge from representatives of various sectors and promotes information-sharing amongst competitors.

Overcoming challenges together
The Swiss Internet Security Alliance focuses on its main assets – the knowledge, experience and technical expertise of its members. Its members asut, Centralway, credit suisse, cyscon Schweiz, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hostpoint, Migros Bank, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, Sunrise, Swisscard, Swisscom, SWITCH, UBS, upc cablecom and Viseca have longstanding experience in dealing with online security.  The association is open to other interested parties. More information can be found in the press release:

https://www.switch.ch/about/news/2014/sisa.html

Comprehensive security check
Upon founding the association, the Swiss Internet Security Alliance is launching a security check. The Swiss Security Check provides protection on three levels.

  1. Users with outdated or incorrectly configured software who are therefore subject to a security risk, will find this out within seconds.
  2. If there is suspicion of malware, the malware cleaner helps with the diagnosis and resolution of the problems.
  3. A cyber vaccine completes the protection and keeps electronic pests at bay.

 

The Swiss Security Check is free and can be accessed here:
http://www.swiss-isa.ch

 

Please follow @swiss_isa on Twitter!

IT-Security-Links #60

 

IT-Security-Links #58

 

IT-Security-Links #56

German:

Unser SWITCH Security-Report für Mai 2014 ist verfügbar

Die aktuelle Ausgabe unseres monatlich erscheinenden ‘SWITCHcert Reports zu aktuellen Trends im Bereich IT-Security und Privacy‘ ist soeben erschienen.

Themen diesen Monat:

  • Android prüft zukünftig kontinuierlich installierte Apps – Fake-Virenscanner ist Shooting Star in Googles App-Store
  • US-Behörde schafft vollendete Tatsachen in Sachen Netzneutralität
  • «Heartbleed» setzt Frust und Hoffnung der Open-Source-Entwickler frei
  • Dropbox will mit Hilfe von Condoleezza Rice weltweit expandieren
  • Und wie immer Links zu spannenden Präsentationen, Artikeln und Videos rund um die Themen IT-Security und -Privacy.

Zum Download (PDF):

securityreport

Haben Sie unseren vorigen Security-Report verpasst? Hier kommen Sie zum Archiv.

 

IT-Security-Links #53

 

IT-Security-Links #51

IT-Security-Links #50

IT-Security-Links #39

German: