The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) in Victoria, Australia has decided to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help
Triple Zero call takers (000) identify the incidence of a heart attack on the phone without wasting much time.
According to Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, the state government’s coffers will grant $1.36m to Ambulance Victoria for designing and implementing the Cardiac Arrest Project in collaboration with Monash University.

Furthermore, an additional $350,000 will be given to Ambulance Victoria from the safer care Victoria innovation fund to start offering SMS and video calling facility under the project Tele-HELP for mental health-related emergency callers.
As per the details shared by the ministry, the AI technology will run in the background all the time and monitor every incoming emergency call to identify similar patterns of sound, keywords, and language for detecting cardiac arrest symptoms.
The government states that the system will instantly alert the ESTA triple zero call takers after which a high-priority ambulance will be dispatched and “talk bystanders through CPR or defibrillation.”

Through this project, the government aims to save 185 more lives per year. In incidents involving heart attacks “every second counts,” Mikakos explained, and AI will help paramedics provide medical help quickly to reduce the likelihood of brain damage and death.

Facebook recently finally rolled out the Off-Facebook Activity tool that it has been working on since August 2019.
The tool can help you limit Facebook’s tracking of your activities, something that the social network has received immense criticism for, and determine how far you can allow it to monitor your activities on other websites. You can also decide what information you want to be associated with your Facebook account.
What Off-Facebook Activity actually does is that it turns off storing and sharing of data sent to Facebook by third-party apps and websites that Facebook users access. This is how Facebook manages to keep a tab on all your activities. Even if you use a Ring Doorbell app, this would be recorded by Facebook.
The volume and magnitude of the data collected by Facebook is immense. And, it is indeed a great idea to rebuild the lost trust of Facebook users by allowing them to Clear History, a term Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has associated with the new feature.
For your information, third-party apps and websites use the Pixel and Software development kit (SDK) from Facebook to store information about all your activities and the devices you use. This information is regularly shared with the social network, which uses it to bombard your computer and mobile screens with targeted ads.
Therefore, if you wonder how Facebook started displaying ads related to the product you just checked out on Amazon or eBay, this is how it is done.
Off-Facebook Activity is a welcome change from Facebook and can be seen as a step towards upholding consumer privacy, something that the company so far has compromised upon to a great extent. This tool is part of a multi-step strategy to address these issues. As explained by Zuckerberg:

“Other businesses send us information about your activity on their sites and we use that information to show you ads that are relevant to you. Now you can see a summary of that information and clear it from your account if you want to.”


You can find this tool in your Facebook Settings menu under the Your Facebook Information option. There you will find several options including Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity that allows you to determine the information you want individual sites and apps to share with Facebook.
Settings >> Your Facebook Information >> Off-Facebook Activity >> Manage Future Activity >> Turn the toggle *off* and disable Future Off-Facebook Activity.
The Clear History option wipes all the information Facebook has stored so far about you and Manage Future Activity lets you choose what sort of information you want Facebook to collect and store about you.

Cybercriminals are always looking out for ways to capitalize on anything that can generate instant clicks or trick users into downloading malicious malware. It could be trending news or natural disasters . This time around, crooks have chosen none other than the entertainment industry’s biggest and most anticipated event- the Oscars.
Reportedly, cybercriminals are using Oscar movie nominations as bait to lure users into downloading malware.

According to a press release by Kaspersky Labs security researchers, there are hundreds of phishing and malware-infected websites ready to distribute malicious software. The malware is hidden in files claiming to be “free downloads” of movies nominated for Oscar’s best picture award for the year 2020.
As it always happens with phishing scams, unsuspecting users are tricked into providing personal and sensitive information including credit card details to download a free version of Oscar-nominated movies such as Joker.
The event is due to be held on February 9, 2020, and this seems to be a perfect time and opportunity for scammers to make money from the hype generated for Oscar-nominated movies.
See: California man may get 6 months in prison for uploading Deadpool on Facebook
Kaspersky identified that Joker is the most widely used movie for tricking users into handing out financial details and downloading malware.
One of such scams targeting Oscar-nominated Ford vs Ferrari movie.
As per Anton Ivanov , malware analyst at Kaspersky, scammers don’t really care about the dates on which a movie premiers because they aren’t distributing actual movie but malicious software using the movie name as bait.
1 1917
2 Ford v Ferarri
3 Jojo Rabbit
4 Joker
5 Little Women
6 Marriage story
7 Once upon a time in Hollywood
8 Parasite
9 The Irishman
To stay protected you must never download any file from illegitimate or unknown streaming platforms and only use the legal streaming website to eliminate the risk of infecting your device or revealing bank details. In this regard, you can rely on services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu.
Furthermore, always research a bit about the website you are going to select a movie or video from before hitting that download button. Last but not the least, do remember that if something seems too good to be true, it actually isn’t worth your time or effort.

Coronavirus emergency is being used to spreads dangerous Emotet trojan

Coronavirus emergency is being used to spreads dangerous Emotet trojan.

We have seen cybercriminals exploiting global events such as theFootball World Cup, Christmas or disasters like missing Malaysia Plane (MH-370) to spread malware or misguide masses. But, this time, Coronavirus, a global health emergency is being used by crooks to not only spread malware butsiphon off sensitive and personal data from unsuspected users.

Cybersecurity firms IBM X-Force and Kaspersky have identified a new campaign in which botnet-driven, malware-infected emails are being sent to unsuspected users. What makes it utterly disgusting is the fact that scammers are using coronavirus theme to trick the recipient into opening it.

Reportedly, these emails contain attachments, which are promoted as notices containing details of coronavirus infection prevention measures.

It is indeed ironic that scammers are using the name of coronavirus to distribute another malware widely known as the Emotet Trojan. Previously, the Emotet malware was distributed through corporate-style payment invoices and notification emails only, but this time around the impact of the campaign will surely be higher given the global nature of coronavirus infection scare. 

IBM X-Force observed that a majority of these emails are written in the Japanese language, which suggests that the attackers are deliberately targeting users from locations most affected by coronavirus outbreak. 

The subject line of the emails contains a Japanese language word that means notification, and displays the current date to generate an environment of urgency. Furthermore, the emails are disguised as infection prevention information sent by a Japan-based disability welfare service provider.

Here’s what the email looks like:

Screenshot and translation credit: IBM X-Force

 In a blog post, IBM X-Force team wrote that:

“The text briefly states that there have been reports of coronavirus patients in the Gifu prefecture in Japan and urges the reader to view the attached document.”

There are several versions of the email, all having the same language but highly different Japanese prefectures such as in some it is Osaka while in some Tottori is mentioned. The email ends with a footer displaying an authentic mailing address, fax and phone number of the targeted prefectures’ relevant health authority. 

Apart from using the coronavirus theme, the rest of the campaign strategy is rather mundane. When the recipient opens the attached document, an MS Office 365message appears asking the user to enable content in case the document opens in a protected view.

If the document opens with macros enabled, a hidden VBA macro script enables PowerShell to activate the Emotet executable and download the malware. It is the same technique used in all the previous Emotet email campaigns, said IBM X-Force researchers. 

However, Kaspersky states that the Emotet malware campaign is just one of the many campaigns utilizing the coronavirus scare to attract unsuspecting users. They have identified 10 different documents aiming to infect devices using coronavirus theme.

“The discovered malicious files were masked under the guise of .PDF, .MP4, .DOC files about the coronavirus [containing] video instructions on how to protect yourself from the virus, updates on the threat and even virus-detection procedures.” But, actually delivering Trojans and worms that can destroy, block, copy or modify data or interrupt computer/network operations, explained Kaspersky researchers.

Coronavirus originated in China’s Wuhan province and rapidlytransformed into a global health crisis. Apparently, scammers and cybercrooks have nothing to do with the planet as they consider it a wonderful opportunity to infect a few devices. Users must not click on such emails or download attachments to protect their device.

https://uccinfo.blog/2020/01/31/ucc-highlights-january-2020/?fbclid=IwAR3UHshF_SbPhtEaBNkRbkwdIvABsgsdoqk4XxajETCcQtm_aZqx1PnW5hk

On 28/1/2020 it was reported that avast was stealing user data and selling it...Are you safe?

The anti-virus giant Avast has announced shutting down one of its subsidiaries called Jumpshot after the company was found stealing user data and selling it for big bucks.
On January 28th, 2020 based on the investigation by PCMag and Vice, Avast was secretly stealing browsing data from millions of its customers and selling it to third-parties. Some of its active buyers included Google, Pepsi, IBM, Yelp, Microsoft, TripAdvisor, and Unilever, etc.
Avast’s data collection worked or still works in such a way that the software collects all of your browsing data which is then accessed by Jumpshot. The latter in return takes it and uses it as a part of what makes up its product offerings.

An example of it is Avast’s “All Clicks Feed” which lets companies access your behavior on the internet and any clicks you make on any particular range of domains. Reportedly, Avast sold user data to one of its New York-based customer for a hefty sum of $2,075,000.

How Jumpshot functioned – Image credit: Motherboard

However, in a blog post published on 30th January Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek apologized to their customers and announced shutting down Jumpshot.

“Protecting people is Avast’s top priority and must be embedded in everything we do in our business and in our products. Anything to the contrary is unacceptable.  For these reasons, I – together with our board of directors – have decided to terminate the Jumpshot data collection and wind down Jumpshot’s operations, with immediate effect,” wrote Vlcek in his blog post.

Vlcek also maintained that Jumpshot did not break GDPR rules and committed themselves to 100% GDPR compliance.
“Jumpshot has operated as an independent company from the very beginning, with its own management and board of directors, building their products and services via the data feed coming from the Avast antivirus products,” Vlcek added.
“During all those years, both Avast and Jumpshot acted fully within legal bounds – and we very much welcomed the introduction of GDPR in the European Union in May 2018, as it was a rigorous legal framework addressing how companies should treat customer data. Both Avast and Jumpshot committed themselves to 100% GDPR compliance. “

This is not the first time when Avast made headlines for stealing customer data. In December last year, Google banned Avast security extensions including AVG security over data snooping.
Nevertheless, the damage for Avast is done and it may be too late to apologize or shutting down Jumpshot. As a customer, the main purpose of using anti-virus software is to protect our data from online crooks, malicious hackers and cybercriminals and Avast has turned out to be all three. 

The cyber security status of top 100 airports,where is ENTEBBE?

New research from web security company Web finds that 97 out of 100 the world’s largest airports have security risks related to vulnerable web and mobile applications, misconfigured public cloud, Dark Web exposure or code repositories leaks.

The 2020 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) urged the consideration of emerging cybersecurity challenges in the aviation industry, addressed in its “Advancing Cyber Resilience in Aviation: An Industry Analysis” report.

To shed some light on the current state of aviation transportation security, ImmuniWeb decided to conduct research on cybersecurity, compliance and privacy of the world’s largest airports.

Key findings

Top 3 Most Secure Airports:

During the research, ImmuniWeb identified three international airports that successfully passed all the tests without a single major issue being detected:

— Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (EU)
— Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (EU)
— Dublin Airport (EU)

Main Website Security:

Application weaknesses and software vulnerabilities continue to be the most common means by which cyber criminals carry out external attacks says Forrester in its recent research.

Regrettably, only 3 main (“www.”) websites of the airports received the best possible “A+” grade, 15 got an “A” grade:

As many as 24 of the main websites had a failing “F” grade, meaning that they had outdated software with known and exploitable security vulnerabilities in CMS (e.g. WordPress) and/or web component (e.g. jQuery). Some of the websites even had several vulnerable components as detailed below:

— 97% of the websites contain outdated web software
— 24% of the websites contain known and exploitable vulnerabilities
— 76% and 73% of the websites are not compliant with GDPR and PCI DSS respectively
— 24% of the websites have no SSL encryption or use obsolete SSLv3
— 55% of the websites are protected by a WAF

Mobile Application Security:

During this research, we found and tested 36 official mobile applications belonging to the airports. In total, 530 security and privacy issues were identified, including 288 mobile security flaws (15 per application on average). We found that:

— 100% of the mobile apps contain at least 5 external software frameworks
— 100% of the mobile apps contain at least 2 vulnerabilities
— 15 security or privacy issues are detected per app on average
— 33.7% of the mobile apps outgoing traffic has no encryption

Dark Web Exposure, Code Repositories and Cloud:

Compared to the Fortune 500 companies’ exposure, global airports are doing fairly well. For the purpose of this research, ImmuniWeb leveraged its award-winning AI technology to distil findings from the Dark Web marketplaces and other locations, notably to remove duplicates, fakes and irrelevant findings.

After purification of the results, the research team found that 66 out of the 100 airports are exposed on the Dark Web in one way or another. 13 airports have leaks or exposures of a critical risk:

— 66% of the airports are exposed on the Dark Web
— 72 out of 325 exposures are of a critical or high risk indicating a serious breach
— 87% of the airports have data leaks on public code repositories
— 503 out of 3184 leaks are of a critical or high risk potentially enabling a breach
— 3% of the airports have unprotected public cloud with sensitive data

Ilia Kolochenko, CEO & Founder of ImmuniWeb, comments: “Given how many people and organizations entrust their data and lives to international airports every day, these findings are quite alarming. Being a frequent flyer, I frankly prefer to travel via the airports that do care about their cybersecurity. Cybercriminals may well consider attacking the unwitting air hubs to conduct chain attacks of travellers or cargo traffic, as well as aiming attacks at the airports directly to disrupt critical national infrastructure.

Today, when our digital infrastructure is extremely intricate and intertwined with numerous third-parties, holistic visibility of your digital assets and attack surface is pivotal to ensure the success of your cybersecurity program. Without it, all your efforts and spending are unfortunately vain.”

How to Reduce the Risks

— Implement a continuous security monitoring system with anomaly detection to spot intrusions, phishing and password re-use attacks.

— Run a continuous discovery and inventory of your digital assets, visualize your external attack surface and risk exposure with an Attack Surface Management (ASM) solution enhanced with Dark Web and code repositories monitoring.

— Implement a holistic, DevSecOps-enabled application security program to test and remediate your web and mobile applications, APIs and OSS in a timely manner

— Implement a third-party risk management program encompassing continuous monitoring of your vendors and suppliers going beyond a paper-based questionnaire.

— Invest in security awareness of your personnel, explain the risks of using professional emails on third-party resources, gamify anti-phishing training and reward the best learners.

Protect your phone number to protect your identity

Protect Your Phone Number and Protect Your Identity

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Back in the day, a phone number was simply a piece of contact information, a way for your friends and family to call you. Nowadays, companies use phone numbers to identify you or prove who you are by texting security codes or calling for verification.

Think about the many ways you use your phone number. You include it when you sign up on websites or log into an app. You give it to your favorite store as part of their loyalty program and share it to receive text alerts from your bank. You use it when you need to reset a password or login to your accounts using two-factor authentication.

That also means that with your phone number and some other information, like your birthday or address, bad guys have a better chance of impersonating you and getting to your personal data and accounts.

Here are a few ways to secure your phone number to protect your identity from the bad guys.

• Don’t overshare your mobile phone number. Don’t share your phone number online (social media, comments sections , untrusted apps, etc.) or provide it to strangers.
• Think about where your number is used. Keep a running list of the companies and accounts that use your phone number to prove who you are.
• Consider using a landline number. For situations where a phone number is an identifier for discounts and loyalty rewards, like grocery stores, consider using a landline or other non-mobile number.
• Unsubscribe from text alerts. Text messages from companies, like your airline or bank, can be convenient. But sometimes there are other ways they can contact you. Some companies have apps so you can receive updates without including your phone number.
• Set up an extra layer of protection for your wireless account. For example, AT&T customers can add a passcode to their account. 
• Secure your mobile device. Lock your phone when it’s not in use and avoid bad apps. 

Aside from the risk for identity theft, giving out your phone number can lead to spam calls, phone scams or unsafe text messages that have links to malware.

Bottom line: it’s important to secure both your personal information and your mobile number. The next time an app, a company or a stranger asks for your mobile number, take a moment to decide whether you really need to give it out.

What's the way forward with ever changingtechnology?

With technology advancing as quickly as it is, it seems like it’s always time for a new smartphone, tablet or other gadget. When you get it, you probably can’t wait to turn it on and see what it can do. But as you set up your new device, that’s the perfect time to set up your safety features to better protect yourself from the bad guys.

Here are a few tips to get started.

Set Up Strong Personal Security

Depending on the kind of device, there are multiple ways to lock and unlock it, including passcode, fingerprint, pattern-based lock or facial recognition. Use a long passcode number or a passphrase to strengthen the security. Short codes are easier to break. The pattern-based lock is less secure because scammers can trace the trail your fingers leave on the screen.

Adjust the time it takes before your phone to automatically lock. The shorter, the better – this helps prevent a bad guy from picking up an unattended phone and getting past your lock screen.

Most phones come with the option for encryption. Enable this feature. The device will then translate your data and information into a secret code that is hard for fraudsters to see.

Keep Your Phone Updated

Many people think the newest smartphones always include the latest operating systems. However, some phone-makers roll out updates within weeks after launching a new device. It’s important to update your operating system and apps regularly to make sure you have the latest security features.

Download Trusted Apps

Bad guys often create apps that promise one thing, but also steal passwords, get your personal information and potentially take over your phone. Make sure you only install trustworthy apps, and download a security protection apps.

Make sure your old device is ready to say “goodbye.”

When you turn in your old device, make sure you don’t trade in all your personal information, too. 

Also, remember to back-up your data often. If you ever lose your phone or its contents, you’ll still have another place where your photos, files and contacts are stored.

Fear over sharing of intelligence info as Huawei takes on 5G network implementions in UK,

While Boris Johnson previously argued that Huawei’s work on the British 5G network won’t affect ties between London and Washington, Mike Pompeo warned that the US takes a dim view of the Chinese company’s involvement.

The United Kingdom’s decision to allow Huawei to have a role in the country’s 5G networks does not affect Britain’s ability to securely share intelligence data, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 29 January.

Previously, Johnson himself dismissed concerns that Huawei’s involvement could negatively impact London’s cooperation with Washington.

This development comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who arrived in London just ahead of Brexit, announced his intent to explain to British officials the alleged dangers of relying on Huawei to roll out the UK’s next-generation 5G network, a move which he claimed would create a “real risk” to security.

"Our view of Huawei is putting it in your system creates real risk. This is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party with a legal requirement to hand over information to the Chinese Community Party," Pompeo said. "We'll evaluate what the United Kingdom did.... But our view is we should have Western systems with Western rules and American information should only pass across a trusted network. We'll make sure we do that."

US officials have long maintained that Huawei has been engaging in surveillance activities on behalf of the Chinese government; said allegations, however, have been vehemently denied by the Chinese authorities.

Two satellites may collide, leaving debris that may interfere orbiting of other satellites in the LEO

IRAS satellite

Close encounters of a third kind may not be as exciting as they sound. It was recently reported that two American defunct satellites in low Earth orbit could potentially crash into each other this evening. If this crash occurs it could result in hundreds of pieces of debris that could interfere with the paths of other satellites.

The NASA Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the United States Naval Research Lab’s Gravity Gradient Stabilization Experiment (GGSE-4) will fly by each other this evening. The two satellites will be between 43 feet to 285 feet around 6:39pm EST nearly 600 miles above Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both satellites are traveling at around 32,000 mph.

There is a 1 in 1,000 chance that the satellites will collide. At first glance, the crash appears to be very unlikely. However, Dr. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics remarked, “We start getting worried when it's 1 in 10,000, so 1 in 1,000 is unusual and it might actually be a lot worse than that.”

Depiction of Low Earth Orbit debris, image via NASA

The GGSE-4 only weighs 190 lbs, but the IRAS weighs a whopping 2,400 lbs. Their collision would result in at least a few hundred pieces of debris that would remain in orbit. The debris could interfere with other, larger satellites that are still in commission.

NASA’s IRAS was originally launched on January 25, 1983 to survey the sky at infrared wavelengths. Its mission only lasted ten months, but during that time it was able to capture images of the Milky Way’s core and other interesting discoveries. The GGSE-4 was launched in 1967 and was part of a United States intelligence mission. Its mission included intercepting radar emissions from Soviet Union vessels. It was decommissioned in the 1970s and part of its mission was declassified in 2005.

Since both satellites are now defunct, there is no way to communicate with them. All anyone can do at this point is to wait and see. Many astronomers are concerned about the number of satellites in orbit. The number of collisions and amount of debris will likely increase as companies such as SpaceX continue to launch satellites into orbit. Dr. McDowell further stated that, “If we're going to allow this large number of satellites, then we have to require more investment in the tracking and the sort of traffic control of them.” Perhaps the threat of this collision will encourage government programs and companies to further analyze how to control their satellites once they are in orbit.