Application and platform security
Applications and platform security is the basis of preventing vulnerabilities and attacks. Learn the latest about applications attacks, secure software development, patch management, OS security, virtualization, open source security, API security, web app and server security and more.
Top Stories
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News
19 May 2025
New GitHub Copilot agent edges into DevOps
The GitHub Copilot coding agent can take on toilsome tasks such as bug fixes and code reviews with its own GitHub Actions pull requests. Continue Reading
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News
16 May 2025
News brief: Patch critical SAP, Samsung and chat app flaws now
Check out the latest security news from the Informa TechTarget team. Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2023
Prisma Cloud analytics, automation boost DevSecOps speed
Prisma Cloud's Darwin update looks to address DevSecOps communication and velocity lags with centralized analytics and by ditching tickets for automated pull requests. Continue Reading
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Definition
17 Oct 2023
Secure Sockets Layer certificate (SSL certificate)
A Secure Sockets Layer certificate (SSL certificate) is a small data file installed on a web server that allows for a secure, encrypted connection between the server and a web browser. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Oct 2023
Allowlisting vs. blocklisting: Benefits and challenges
Allowlisting and blocklisting are key components of access control. Learn the benefits and challenges of each approach and why a combination of the two is often the best strategy. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2023
Microsoft tackles three zero-days for October Patch Tuesday
The company releases fixes for several products affected by the HTTP/2 "Rapid Reset" vulnerability to help curb widespread Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks. Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2023
Critical Atlassian Confluence zero-day flaw under attack
Collaboration software vendor Atlassian urged customers with affected versions of Confluence Data Center and Server to apply patches for CVE-2023-22515 immediately. Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2023
Docker Scout GA leads 'local plus cloud' push
Docker Scout replaces open source Docker Scan with an event-driven vulnerability management system in a bid to boost the vendor's value beyond developers' local laptops. Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2023
Spyware vendor exploiting kernel flaw in Arm Mali GPU drivers
Arm Mali GPUs affected by CVE-2023-4211, which was discovered by Google researchers, include a wide range of Android phones as well as ChromeOS devices such as Chromebooks. Continue Reading
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Definition
03 Oct 2023
security posture
Security posture refers to an organization's overall cybersecurity strength and how well it can predict, prevent and respond to ever-changing cyberthreats. Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2023
Openwall patches 3 of 6 Exim zero-day flaws
The Openwall Project urged users to upgrade to the latest version of Exim, but there have been timely patching struggles with the message transfer agent software in the past. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Sep 2023
How to use Wireshark to sniff and scan network traffic
Wireshark continues to be a critical tool for security practitioners. Learning how to use it to scan network traffic should be on every security pro's to-do list. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2023
Clop MoveIt Transfer attacks affect over 2,000 organizations
According to research by security vendor Emsisoft, 2,095 organizations and 62,054,613 individuals have been affected by the Clop gang's attacks on MoveIt Transfer customers. Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2023
Apple issues emergency patches for 3 zero-day bugs
Apple said CVE-2023-41992, CVE-2023-41991 and CVE-2023-41993 -- all reported by Citizen Lab and Google researchers -- might have been exploited against versions of iOS before 16.7. Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 Sep 2023
What to consider when creating a SaaS security strategy
Securing SaaS applications is more important and confusing than ever. Consider visibility, UX and workflow when creating a SaaS security strategy and adopting tools. Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2023
CloudBees scales its Jenkins CI, previews SaaS platform
About a year after acquiring ReleaseIQ, CloudBees prepares the fruits of its integration for launch and adds long-awaited scale-out to its commercial version of Jenkins. Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2023
Developer platform Retool breached in vishing attack
A successful vishing attack against a Retool employee led to account takeovers of 27 cloud customers, but the company is pointing the finger at Google. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Sep 2023
Generative AI emerges for DevSecOps, with some qualms
New and developing tools use natural language processing to assist DevSecOps workflows, but concerns linger among developers about security risks as well. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
Microsoft solves two zero-days for September Patch Tuesday
Microsoft addresses 62 vulnerabilities this month, including a Microsoft Word flaw and a Windows bug that have both been exploited in the wild. Continue Reading
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Podcast
12 Sep 2023
Risk & Repeat: Big questions remain on Storm-0558 attacks
Microsoft revealed that Storm-0558 threat actors stole a consumer signing key from its corporate network, but many questions about the breach and subsequent attacks remain. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
Cisco Full-Stack Observability draws on channel clout
Cisco's latest tie-in between app security and observability doesn't break new ground, but the vendor can use its network security cachet and partners to woo enterprise buyers. Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
How Storm-0558 hackers stole an MSA key from Microsoft
Microsoft detailed a series of errors that led to a consumer account signing key accidentally being included in a crash dump that was later accessed by Storm-0558 actors. Continue Reading
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News
06 Sep 2023
Okta: 4 customers compromised in social engineering attacks
Okta said a threat actor convinced IT personnel at several customers to reset MFA factors for highly privileged users, though it's unclear how they accomplished that task. Continue Reading
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Podcast
30 Aug 2023
Risk & Repeat: Digging into Microsoft security criticisms
Executives, researchers and former employees told TechTarget Editorial about issues with Microsoft security practices, including patch bypasses, poor transparency and more. Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Microsoft Teams attack exposes collab platform security gaps
Criminal and state-sponsored hackers are ramping up cyberattacks on instant messaging platforms and other workplace collaboration tools. Meanwhile, enterprises' readiness lags. Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Mandiant reveals new backdoors used in Barracuda ESG attacks
Further investigations show threat actors were prepared for Barracuda Networks' remediation efforts, including an action notice to replace all compromised devices. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Aug 2023
Better API security needed as companies modernize apps
As developers build more complex applications, the widespread use of APIs is creating significant security challenges for organizations, according to a new survey from ESG. Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2023
FBI: Suspected Chinese actors continue Barracuda ESG attacks
The alert comes after Barracuda Networks issued an advisory stating that patches for CVE-2023-2868 were insufficient and all affected ESG devices need to be replaced. Continue Reading
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Definition
23 Aug 2023
BYOI (bring your own identity)
BYOI (bring your own identity) is an approach to digital authentication in which an end user's username and password are managed by a third party. BYOI is increasingly being used for website authentication. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2023
Ivanti issues fix for third zero-day flaw exploited in the wild
CVE-2023-38035 is the latest Ivanti zero-day vulnerability to be exploited in the wild. The vendor has released a series of remediation recommendations. Continue Reading
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News
21 Aug 2023
Vendors criticize Microsoft for repeated security failings
Microsoft is facing frustration for numerous security issues, including problematic transparency, numerous patch bypasses and inconsistent communication practices. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Aug 2023
Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM)
The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) is a conceptual framework that outlines activities for the recovery and discovery of digital data. Continue Reading
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News
17 Aug 2023
CISA, vendors warn Citrix ShareFile flaw under attack
A vulnerability in the managed file transfer product that enterprises use is being actively exploited two months after Citrix released a fix. Continue Reading
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Definition
11 Aug 2023
message authentication code (MAC)
A message authentication code (MAC) is a cryptographic checksum applied to a message in network communication to guarantee its integrity and authenticity. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
Palo Alto: SugarCRM zero-day reveals growing cloud threats
Recent incident response investigations reveal that attackers are becoming more advanced when it comes to the cloud, but there are steps enterprises can take to mitigate risks. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
Trend Micro discloses 'silent threat' flaws in Azure ML
During a Black Hat 2023 session, Trend Micro researchers discussed several vulnerabilities they discovered in Azure Machine Learning that allow sensitive information disclosure. Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2023
Onapsis researchers detail new SAP security threats
At Black Hat 2023, Onapsis researchers demonstrated how attackers could chain a series of SAP vulnerabilities impacting the P4 protocol to gain root access to a target network. Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2023
Several Exchange Server flaws fixed on August Patch Tuesday
Microsoft addresses 74 vulnerabilities this month with the on-premises email server platform returning to the spotlight with corrections to close six security holes. Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2023
Tenable launches LLM-powered ExposureAI product
ExposureAI will be integrated into Tenable One, the vendor's encompassing exposure management platform, and is the latest cybersecurity produce to employ large language models. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Aug 2023
crisis management
Crisis management is the application of strategies designed to help an organization deal with a sudden and significant negative event, while maintaining business continuity. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Aug 2023
5 steps to ensure HIPAA compliance on mobile devices
IT must implement several measures to comply with HIPAA, and mobile devices can add further complexity to this process. Follow these important steps for mobile HIPAA compliance. Continue Reading
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Definition
08 Aug 2023
Google Play Protect
Google Play Protect is a malware protection and detection service built into Android devices that use Google Mobile Services. Continue Reading
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Definition
01 Aug 2023
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) of 1986 is United States legislation that imposes criminal penalties on individuals who intentionally access a protected computer without proper authorization or whose access exceeds their authorization. Continue Reading
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Definition
28 Jul 2023
national identity card
A national identity card is a portable document, typically a plasticized card with digitally embedded information, that is used to verify aspects of a person's identity. Continue Reading
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Opinion
26 Jul 2023
Security hygiene and posture management: A work in progress
Security hygiene and posture management may be the bedrock of cybersecurity, but new research shows it is still decentralized and complex in most organizations. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jul 2023
How to avoid LinkedIn phishing attacks in the enterprise
Organizations and users need to be vigilant about spotting LinkedIn phishing attacks by bad actors on the large business social media platform. Learn how to foil the attempts. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2023
Thoma Bravo sells Imperva to Thales Group for $3.6B
With the acquisition, Thales looks to expand its Digital Security and Identity business with an increased focus on protecting web applications and API. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 Jul 2023
5 steps to approach BYOD compliance policies
It can be difficult to ensure BYOD endpoints are compliant because IT can't configure them before they ship to users. Admins must enforce specific policies to make up for this. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2023
Mandiant: JumpCloud breach led to supply chain attack
Mandiant researchers attribute the supply chain attack to a North Korean threat actor that abused JumpCloud's commands framework to gain access to a downstream customer. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Jul 2023
API keys: Weaknesses and security best practices
API keys are not a replacement for API security. They only offer a first step in authentication -- and they require additional security measures to keep them protected. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Jul 2023
Enterprise communication security a growing risk, priority
Enterprise Strategy Group's Dave Gruber discusses survey results on security threats related to the use of email and other communication and collaboration tools. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2023
Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw exploited in the wild
Critical remote code execution flaw CVE-2023-3519 was one of three vulnerabilities in Citrix's NetScaler ADC and Gateway. Customers are urged to patch their instances. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2023
Multiple Adobe ColdFusion flaws exploited in the wild
One of the Adobe ColdFusion flaws exploited in the wild, CVE-2023-38203, was a zero-day bug that security vendor Project Discovery inadvertently published. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2023
Orca: Google Cloud design flaw enables supply chain attacks
Orca Security says threat actors can use a design flaw in Google Cloud Build's default permissions to gain access to Artifact Registry code repositories and poison software. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2023
XSS zero-day flaw in Zimbra Collaboration Suite under attack
A manual workaround is currently available for a cross-site scripting vulnerability in Zimbra Collaboration Suite, though a patch won't be available until later this month. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jul 2023
Russia-based actor exploited unpatched Office zero day
Microsoft investigated an ongoing phishing campaign that leverages Word documents to deliver malicious attachments to targeted organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Jul 2023
IaC security scanning tools, features and use cases
Infrastructure-as-code templates help organizations track cloud assets and other important items. Proper IaC scanning can help companies avoid potential security pitfalls. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2023
Microsoft repairs 5 zero-days for July Patch Tuesday
The company addressed 130 vulnerabilities and provided additional instructions to fully resolve several bugs, which will require extra attention from IT this month. Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Jul 2023
Top developer relations trends for building stronger teams
Learn about enterprise trends for optimizing software engineering practices, including developer relations, API use, community building and incorporating security into development. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jul 2023
TPG Capital acquires Forcepoint's government unit for $2.45B
Forcepoint's Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure unit will operate independently under TPG, while the commercial business will remain at Francisco Partners. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jul 2023
JumpCloud invalidates API keys in response to ongoing incident
The cloud provider did not give any details about the incident that prompted a mandatory API key rotation, which might have caused service disruptions for customers. Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Jun 2023
AI helps humans speed app modernization, improve security
Enterprises are looking at AI-driven approaches to help human teams modernize and accelerate application development to refactor or build new apps and beef up cybersecurity. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2023
DDoS attacks surging behind new techniques, geopolitical goals
A rise in massive DDoS attacks, some of which target the application layer and cause significant disruptions, might require new defense strategies from cybersecurity vendors. Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2023
Censys finds hundreds of exposed devices in federal orgs
Censys found exposed instances of Progress Software's MoveIt Transfer and Barracuda Networks' Email Security Gateway appliances during its analysis of FCEB agency networks. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jun 2023
How API gateways improve API security
API gateways keep APIs secure by providing rate limiting, DDoS protection and more. Learn more about these benefits, along with API gateway security best practices. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2023
Critical VMware Aria Operations bug under active exploitation
Reports of exploitation for a critical command injection flaw in VMware Aria Operations for Networks came roughly a week after a researcher published a proof-of-concept for it. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Jun 2023
Implement zero trust to improve API security
Not all organizations have an API security strategy in place. Using zero trust in API security is one way to protect APIs and reduce their changes of being attacked. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Jun 2023
Blockchain security: Everything you should know for safe use
Despite its reputation, blockchain is subject to many of the same vulnerabilities as other software. It helps to have a clear idea of its inherent strengths and weaknesses. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2023
Attackers discovering exposed cloud assets within minutes
Cloud security vendor Orca Security used honeypots to learn more about how threat actors compromise cloud resources such as misconfigured AWS S3 buckets and GitHub repositories. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Microsoft: DDoS attacks caused M365, Azure disruptions
Microsoft confirmed widespread service disruptions earlier this month were caused by layer 7 DDoS attacks by a threat group it identified as Storm-1359. Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Jun 2023
App development trends and their security implications
Enterprise Strategy Group analysts look at how organizations are modernizing software development processes and how security teams can support the growth and scale. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2023
U.S. government agencies breached via MoveIt Transfer flaw
CISA Director Jen Easterly said 'several' U.S. agencies suffered intrusions via their MoveIt Transfer instances, but have not seen significant effects from the attacks. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2023
State governments among victims of MoveIT Transfer breach
The Clop ransomware gang, which claimed responsibility for multiple data breaches tied to the MoveIT Transfer flaw, said it would delete data stolen from government agencies. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2023
June Patch Tuesday settles two Exchange Server bugs
Microsoft's plans for upcoming security hardening in Kerberos and Netlogon protocols will have admins busy with testing over the next several weeks. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2023
AWS launches EC2 Instance Connect Endpoint, Verified Permissions
At re:Inforce 2023, AWS launched a new service that allows customers to connect to their EC2 instances through SSH and RDP connections, removing the need for a public IP address. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2023
Mandiant: New VMware ESXi zero-day used by Chinese APT
VMware said the ESXi flaw was 'low severity' despite being under active exploitation because it requires the attacker to already have gained root access on the target's system. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2023
MoveIT Transfer attacks highlight SQL injection risks
Security vendors say SQL injection flaws, like the zero-day vulnerability recently disclosed by Progress Software, can be challenging for companies to identify and resolve. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Jun 2023
logon (or login)
In computing, a logon is a procedure that enables an entity to access a secure system such as an operating system, application, service, website or other resource. Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2023
Barracuda: Replace vulnerable ESG devices 'immediately'
Customers with email security gateway appliances affected by a recent zero-day flaw, CVE-2023-2868, are being urged to replace devices, even if the hardware has been patched. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Jun 2023
6 blockchain use cases for cybersecurity
Is blockchain secure by design, or should blockchains be designed for security? Learn more through these six security and privacy use cases for blockchain. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Jun 2023
Low-code/no-code use cases for security
Low-code/no-code development approaches have their fair share of security issues, but that doesn't mean they can't be used to benefit the security industry, too. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2023
Mitiga warns free Google Drive license lacks logging visibility
The ability to view logs is critical for enterprises to detect and attribute malicious activity. Mitiga said the Google Drive issue allows data exfiltration without a trace. Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2023
Barracuda zero-day bug exploited months prior to discovery
Barracuda said a zero-day flaw used to target its email security gateway appliance customers is a remote command injection vulnerability exploited since at least October 2022. Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2023
Many Gigabyte PC models affected by major supply chain issue
Eclypsium researchers say the insecure implementation of PC hardware manufacturer Gigabyte's App Center could potentially result in supply chain attacks. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 May 2023
Smart contract benefits and best practices for security
While smart contracts promise enormous benefits in the enterprise, they also present opportunities for cybercriminals. Explore best practices to keep them secure. Continue Reading
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News
24 May 2023
Barracuda discloses zero-day flaw affecting ESG appliances
Barracuda Networks said threat actors exploited the zero-day to gain 'unauthorized access to a subset of email gateway appliances,' though it did not say how many. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 May 2023
How to use Wfuzz to find web application vulnerabilities
By learning how to use Wfuzz for web application fuzz testing, bug bounty hunters can automate vulnerability discovery. Learn more in this excerpt from 'Bug Bounty Bootcamp.' Continue Reading
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Guest Post
22 May 2023
Follow a 6-phase roadmap to secure cyber-physical systems
Cyber-physical systems help bridge the digital world with the physical world, but they introduce cybersecurity risks that must be addressed. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 May 2023
API security
Application program interface (API) security refers to policies and procedures that protect APIs against malicious attacks and vulnerabilities. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 May 2023
SBOMs and security: What IT and DevOps need to know
By integrating software bill of materials creation into the software development lifecycle, IT and DevOps teams can build more secure and maintainable applications. Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2023
CrowdStrike warns of rise in VMware ESXi hypervisor attacks
As enterprise adoption of virtualization technology increases, CrowdStrike has observed a rise in ransomware attacks on servers running VMware's ESXi bare-metal hypervisors. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 May 2023
5 SBOM tools to start securing the software supply chain
Organizations can use these SBOM tools to help secure their software supply chain by understanding the components of their deployed software and applications. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2023
Akamai bypasses mitigation for critical Microsoft Outlook flaw
Enterprises might remain vulnerable to a critical Outlook flaw that Microsoft patched in March, as an Akamai researcher uncovered a way to bypass remediation efforts. Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2023
Light May Patch Tuesday will weigh heavily on Windows admins
A zero-day that targets the Secure Boot feature will require extensive work from sysadmins to protect Windows systems from the Black Lotus bootkit. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 May 2023
passkey
A passkey is an alternative method of user authentication that eliminates the need for usernames and passwords. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 May 2023
hypervisor security
Hypervisor security is the process of ensuring the hypervisor -- the software that enables virtualization -- is secure throughout its lifecycle. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 May 2023
Protestware explained: Everything you need to know
Developers use protestware technology to drive points home; some arrives as messages of defiance, others with malicious intent. Continue Reading
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News
04 May 2023
Cybersecurity execs ponder software liability implementation
Reactions to the Biden Administration's push for legislation enforcing software liability were mostly positive, but questions remain regarding implementation. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2023
Google rolls out passkeys in service of passwordless future
Google referred to its new passkey option, which features facial recognition, fingerprint and PIN-based authentication, as 'the beginning of the end of the password.' Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2023
CrowdStrike focuses on ChromeOS security, rising cloud threats
Raj Rajamani, CrowdStrike's chief product officer of data, identity, cloud and endpoint security, said ChromeOS devices are gaining increasing adoption in the enterprise space. Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 May 2023
Risk & Repeat: Security industry bets on AI at RSA Conference
This podcast episode covers the focus on AI-powered security products and uses at RSA Conference 2023 in San Francisco last week, as well as other trends at the show. Continue Reading
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News
01 May 2023
1Password execs outline shift to passwordless authentication
1Password CEO Jeff Shiner and Anna Pobletts, head of passwordless, discuss the power of passkeys, the adoption challenges ahead, and the threat of generative AI attacks. Continue Reading