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This week our news feed includes security patches, a cybercriminal and some new research reports. Here's our round-up.
1. A research done by Veracode revealed that nearly 70% of applications being used today have at least one open-source security flaw. The study examined 351,000 external libraries in 85,000 applications. It concluded that even though these libraries allow developers to move faster by quickly adding basic functionalities, they also contain a large number of flaws that can be taken advantage of by malicious actors.
2. Apple released new security updates this week patching over 50 vulnerabilities impacting macOS and Safari. Some of those vulnerabilities could result in denial of service, leak of private information, the elevation of privileges and remote code execution. It is strongly recommended that users download and install the new update to protect their endpoint.
3. A research done by BlueVoyant revealed that nearly a fifth of Law Firms show signs of compromise. This research comes out only a week after a high profile law firm in New York got hacked with the attackers threatening to reveal the personal information of clients like Madonna and US President Donald Trump. With malicious hackers targetting law firms with an increasingly alarming rate, their cybersecurity must come as a priority in the future.
4. On other news, the United Kingdom's anti-cybercrime agency is running ads to help steer young users away from cybercrime and towards using their curiosity and skills for good. Moreover, as noted from KrebsonSecurity in an NCA report published in 2017, it was found that 61 per cent of cybercrime suspects began their criminal activity before the age of 16. The importance of informing young people on the danger of cybercrime is crucial, and that signifies the value of measures like the aforementioned.
5. A New Yorker has been charged with hacking, trafficking in stolen credit card and laundering money with bitcoin and he can be jailed for up to 20 years. The suspect was arrested last March after undercover agents linked him to two bitcoin wallets used in transactions totalling $94 million.
