This Week’s Quick Bytes on IT Security News and Updates

2,900 Online Banking Infections Hit India in the Second Quarter of 2013
Reportedly, the second quarter of 2013 witnessed a whopping 1,45,000 online banking infections globally. 2% of this figure, which comes to 2,900, appears to have occurred in India. Security analysts were able to detect a malware that redirects customers to phishing sites, where they unknowingly give away their sensitive banking information. This infection is not only limited to well-known banks but smaller banks as well. Read this post talking about safe online banking tips.

Bug in Facebook helps Hackers to Discard Posted Photos
Indian researcher Arun Kumar’s work has been received well by Facebook, and awarded a bug bounty of $12,500. Arun discovered a bug in the social platform; the bug is considered “critical”. It exploits the Facebook Support Dashboard. This tool can be used by users to remove any photos they have posted on Facebook. In this process, a link is generated by administrators. Clicking this link deletes the image. However, there are certain parameters in this link, which can be modified. And if done so, hackers can get access to the photo removal link. Read the entire news here.

Tweeters, are you revealing your Physical Location?
About 15 million odd tweets were run through an analysis. It was revealed that 6 percent of tweeters are okay with the social platform broadcasting their physical location, with every tweet. Even users who have opted for location tagging, also expose their location information every time they leave a tweet. This analysis, which was carried out for a week, showed that the location was shown to an accuracy of street level. The problem that might occur with broadcasting one’s physical location, is the risk of letting criminals mine all such data, and use it for criminal activities.

USA Bombing Syria – So says Fake, Malicious CNN Mail
Hackers are now using the events happening in Syria, as their new pawn to trick the online mass. A fake CNN email has been let loose on the street, talking about USA bombing Syria. The email displays an image, accompanied by a small description about how the United States has started dropping bombs in Syria. This is followed by a “full story” link. Anyone who clicks this link would be taken to a website that hosts a Trojan horse. The malware infects the victim’s website by exploiting vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Java. Readers are advised to stay cautious against any unsolicited emails, especially ones with “breaking news” stories.

What’s on the Platter of Chinese Cyberspies? – America’s Small Enterprises
Looks like China is frequently making the headlines, but mostly for the wrong reasons. News are up that cyberspies of the country are targeting small enterprises in the United States; these include food joints, educational institutions, churches, and medical centers to name a few. But that’s the less interesting part. Chinese hackers are targeting such businesses not for their data or money, but for using them to hit other big targets. By taking this approach, Chinese hackers can blanket their source of attack. They use such small business as their decoy to put investigators off their scent. (source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com)

Guess who died in another Death Hoax? Miley Cyrus
Here’s another scam alert for our readers, especially fans of Miley Cyrus. An online death hoax about the singer’s suicide has spilled all over Facebook and Twitter, and probably all other social sites by now. The message breaking this news, states that the artist has recorded a video message before she committed the suicide. How thoughtful of the lady eh? Clicking any links on such messages may get your Facebook account compromised by hackers who spew such online scams. And this account will be used to spam much more of such hoaxes to others.

Rajiv Singha