When entering a bank, one is immediately struck by all the security measures—thick glass separates tellers from customers, heavy vault doors, numerous cameras, and a security guard. But how much does one notice while standing there? Perhaps it is an unlocked door in the back, a barrier easily jumped over, or seeing areas free of […]
Testing Bank Security: A Tale of Unexpected Intrusion
The ASUS Router Vulnerability: Close to something really bad
In 2013, Kyle Lovett, a senior penetration tester at Veracode, purchased an Asus router N66, highly popular among IT professionals for its impressive hardware. However, upon setting it up, he discovered several significant security flaws. The default username and password were set to ‘admin’ and users were not prompted to change them. The router also […]
The Dark Reality of Red Rooms
Deep in the black underbelly of the internet, when the lights come down on legality and ethics, is a chilling legend that can even scare old-time web surfers: Red Rooms. It is rumored to be a place in the deep web where digital theaters stage horrible acts of violence and depravity in real time for […]
Night of Fallen Firewall: The haunting of TalkTalk
In the dead of night, a digital terror unfolded. TalkTalk, a titan of the telecom industry, slumbered like a forgotten castle. Its once robust firewalls flickered, unwitting of the shadowy figures creeping through the forgotten backdoors of its system. Hackers, hungry for data like starved wolves, gnawed at TalkTalk’s defenses, their movements unseen in the […]
The DigiNotar Incident and Global Browser Security Response
In Iran, a man attempts to check his email, but encounters a strange warning when he tries to access Gmail. A prompt from his browser warns him of an “Invalid Server Certificate,” blocking his access. Suspecting foul play, he turns to a VPN for assistance, successfully connecting to Gmail through the encrypted network. Concerned about […]