Minister in charge of Japan's cybersecurity doesn't use a computer

Japan is reeling from the revelation that their cybersecurity chief has never used a computer.

It may be time to search for a replacement.

Source: BBC

Malware families take aim at Black Friday

E-commerce companies are going to have to stay on the lookout during the Black Friday sale season. A group of malware families is aiming to steal from innocent shoppers.

Some of these malware families include Betabot, Chthonic, Gootkit2, Gozi, IcedID, Panda, TinyNuke, SpyEye, and Zeus. They are currently targetting over 60 merchant sites.

Source: Threat Post

More trouble for Facebook

A group of Facebook detractors have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The maximum fine could reach $1.2 trillion.

They are already under investigation by the Irish Data Protection Committee, who could also fine them up to $1.6 billion.

There looks to be no end to Facebook's woes, and executives may be looking forward to the end of a trouble 2018 - one that included the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the hack suffered by 30 million users

Source: CNET

Hackers find vulnerabilities in iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9, and Xiaomi Mi6

Hackers attending a TrendMicro event in Tokyo took it upon themselves to break into some of the world's most popular smartphones for prize money.

Such events help show that smartphones continue to be vulnerable, despite claims by manufacturers.

Source: The Hacker News

New Apple chip increases microphone security

Apple has also announced that its new T2 security chips increase security around device microphones.

This aims to stifle malware by cutting off microphone access on a hardware level whenever a device is closed.