Author: Tim Erlin

It has been discovered that an updated Dridex banking malware is using a Domain Name System trick to direct victims to fake banking websites. Even if a user types in the correct domain name for a bank, the fake website is still shown in the browser. Tim Erlin, Director of IT Security and Risk Strategy for Tripwire says, “We implicitly trust that the address we type into the browser is the website we get, but DNS redirection cs that trust. There are, in fact, multiple systems involved in turning that web address into an actual destination for your requests. The…

A new type of attack called Man in the Cloud has been identified. It relies on common file synchronization services such as GoogleDrive and Dropbox. Imperva says that without using any exploits, they show how simple re-configuration of these services can turn them into a not-easily detectable attack tool. Security expert Tim Erlin gives his thoughts on the research and whether he is surprised by the findings. Tim Erlin, Director of Security and Product Management at Tripwire : Is this novel research? Are you surprised by their findings?  “There’s no doubt that the cloud is fundamentally changing the attack surface for…

Commenting on reports that the FBI has shut down the Darkode Malware Marketplace where computer hackers bought and sold stolen databases, malicious software and other products that could cripple or steal information from computers and cellphones. Tripwire cybersecurity expert Tim Erlin provided the following comments. Tim Erlin, Director of IT Security and Risk Strategy at Tripwire (www.tripwire.com): “The dismantling of Darkode represents the results of a coordinated, long running law enforcement operation. While it certainly doesn’t spell the end of the black market for stolen data and malware, it will make an impact in reducing overall threat for individuals and…

Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy at Tripwire offered the following comments and advice on an alert from The OpenSSL project team that they will be patching a high severity bug this Thursday, July 9: Tim Erlin, Director of IT Security and Risk Strategy at Tripwire: “This type of a pre-announcement is intended to give organizations a chance to prepare. A huge part of the heartburn with Heartbleed came from the scramble to identify where organizations were vulnerable and how to apply patches. In this case, a little organization can go a long way to a smoother…

A new vulnerability has been discovered in GoPro Studio, GoPro’s playback and editing tool available to millions of users. A hacker could hijack the editing tool requests sent out to the web over an unencrypted HTTP. The hacker could then send users a message offering an upgraded version of GoPro Studio and if users downloaded it, they would in reality be downloading malicious code. Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy at Tripwire says while this is not a new type of attack, just using HTTPs is not necessarily a fix for this issue. Please find the full remarks below.…

2 SSH vulnerabilities have been discovered on Cisco Virtual Appliances because the virtual machines running on VMWare and KVM virtualization platforms share a default authorized SSH key. There are already patches for these vulnerabilities. The SSH keys were initially created for customer support access. If a user were to maliciously employ these keys, they would have unlimited access and control. Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy at Tripwire, says it is hard to say what the impact would be as no one knows the number of devices deployed. Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy…

Researchers have found  a vulnerability in the energy grid with Nova-Wind Turbine human-machine (HMI) interface, which would allow remote code execution. An advisory from ICS-CERT explains that a successful exploitation of this vulnerability can cause a loss of power for all attached systems because it allows the ID to be retrieved from the browser and be changed. Tim Erlin, Director of IT Security and Risk Strategy at Tripwire commented on the expects these types of reports on industrial control systems will only increase and more attention needs to be focused on securing the grid. Tim Erlin, Director of IT Security…

The Westpac Banking Corporation has invested directly in technology security specialist QuintessenceLabs or QLabs as they are known, which is waging a high-tech war against hackers. QLabs has created quantum technology that encrypts confidential data using advanced engineering methods to create “keys” that are random and provide unhackable number combinations. The bank will use the technology to secure the devices and work of its own employees, while it investigates its use on customer data. Tim Erlin, Tripwire Director of Product Management, Security and IT Risk Strategist believes it is a sign that the banking industry will take a more active interest in both protecting its assets and investing…