- Asking questions on any search engine.
- Research public forums on the latest mobile technologies.
- Watch a YouTube video on how to make a certain delicacy.
Importance of OSINT
OSINT, in general, helps an organization keep tabs on public information. It also helps in reducing the potential attack surface and thus prevents breaches and leaks. For example, the following tasks are done with the help of OSINT.
Kali Linux vs Parrot OS: Which One Is the Best?
Linux is a well-known operating system that is known to many developers and security hackers. Many Linux distributions in the market are flexible based on the workflow if you are a hacker, bug bounty hunter, penetration tester, or security researcher.
Linux has a diverse set of distributions that are accessible, but the most famous among the distributions is the Kali Linux operating system. Kali Linux and Parrot OS are among the most favored operating system of ethical hackers and penetration testers to carry out testing and ethical hacking.
Guide to AWS Penetration Testing
Introduction
The popularity of cloud computing is undeniably on the rise and some of the factors contributing to it include scalability, efficiency, flexibility, and reduced IT costs. As the popularity rises, however, there is a worrying Cyber Security Trend that has emerged for organizations and individuals alike.
According to the 2020 Trustwave Global Security Report, the volume of attacks on cloud services has doubled in 2020 as compared to the last year. Cloud environments are now the third most targeted environment for cyber-attacks after corporate and internal networks.
Why Application Security is Still Important for Financial Services?
The financial services industry has seen a prolific rise in the use of applications in the last couple of years. Globally millions of customers already use a wide range of mobile app services, and it is estimated that the financial application industry will grow at a rate of 30% in the coming years.
In 2020 there were 26% more mobile app sessions as compared to 2019. Using applications for different financial and banking services is a rapid and convenient way to effectively manage your monetary resources like checking balance, transferring funds, paying bills, and so on.
Web Application Pen Testing Steps, Methods, and Tools
Did you know, 88% of organizations worldwide experienced phishing attempts in 2019? Lately, web application security has become a major concern for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Web application security is referred to as safeguarding of websites, web applications, and web services from existing and emerging security threats that exploit weaknesses in application source code.
11 Popular Penetration Testing Tools
Have you been searching for a penetration testing tool that would best serve your security testing requirements for web applications and networks? Do you want to compare and analyze different penetration testing tools and decide on which one(s) would be best suited for your enterprise? Or are you simply curious to know which tools are out there and what their features are?
If yes, then this blog has you covered.
The What, Why, and How of API Penetration Testing
I have come to realize and appreciate when having conversations about API Penetration Testing with colleagues and other professionals that not all understand what API is. Yes, sure it means an Application Programming Interface, and it is a software component that enables different systems/applications to interact with each other, but there is a bit more to its story...
- The most common description for API is that it acts like a messenger to send a request from an entity (a person or an application) to another application and get a response.
- The API is a system in itself; it is a toolset consisting of codes and commands that can be used across multiple applications, can be reused, and go a long way in making the lives of developers easy and productive, as they do not need to create code from scratch.
- As a system/application user, we do not need to know what the API is made of. We simply make a request of the application, wait for the API and underlying application code to do their thing, and get a response.
If we had to draw a parallel with everyday life, let’s consider the post office. The postal system is a robust system in itself; made up of rules, codes, and policies, etc. that enable to function repeatedly for all mailing purposes.
Cyber Security Threats and Measures for eCommerce Companies in 2021
Who does not shop online in this day and age to purchase products and services? Who does not want to be able to choose from a myriad of options, compare shapes, sizes, colors, and prices, all from the convenience of your home? The prevalence of online shopping today only continues to increase, and with that, the accessibility to products around the globe.
Worldwide eCommerce sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion (USD) in 2021! The Covid-19 pandemic has only increased eCommerce relevance, as it drove people to start purchasing everyday goods online and forced even non-online shoppers to move to virtual retail.
Artificial Intelligence and the Changing Cyber Security Landscape in 2021
There are many ways that artificial intelligence and machine learning can make a difference. Consider the situations below:
- Self-driving cars will significantly reduce the number of road accidents and keep commuters safe. Google Maps suggesting an optimal commute to and from work and alerting about any congestion on your route.
- Email inboxes becoming smart enough to reply to emails on behalf of a person.
- OCR software that deciphers handwritten cheques, enabling people to deposit cheques via a smartphone app. Or, a bank’s system detecting a transaction as possibly fraudulent and alerting the bank and the customer. What about investing platforms that provide financial advice to consumers by collating and learning from the best practices of investors and experts?
- Social networking sites identifying friends and family in a photo and suggesting tagging them. Chat and instant messaging apps able to prompt textual or emoji responses to a received message.
- Robotics Process Automation helping businesses increase productivity by automating everyday operations, handling exceptions, and resolving issues.
- Asking a smart personal assistant, like Google, Alexa, Siri, or Cortana to search for something on the internet, or to set an alarm or reminder. Integrating Google and Alexa into homes, shopping online, ordering food, and calling and speaking with your friends and family at the convenience of sitting anywhere in the house and not holding a smartphone.
- Amazon displays product recommendations to a shopper on the website or app even if the shopper did not specifically search for the product. Content and streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney show a viewer what other content is popular based on something they watched in the past.
What’s Common in All the Situations Mentioned Above?
All of these have Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) at play. It’s a wonder how technology has evolved, and the speed at which it has, that these accomplishments were made possible in the past decade. Application and adoption of AI increased exponentially during 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic forced people, organizations, and governments to rethink everyday tasks.
How to Keep Mobile Phones Secure
Smartphones are an inseparable part of our lives. If our phone is taken away from us for even a day, for most of us it’s like being deprived of a basic need. We store all kinds of data in our phone – contacts, photos, videos, personal data, documents; we use numerous apps for making our lives easy – banking, insurance, online shopping, stocks, real estate; we rely on our phone for communication and socialising – chatting and video calling, social media, emails, professional groups; the list is endless with what phones can be used for.
Needless to say, if one loses their phone or it gets stolen, all that data and information is at risk. If there was no screen lock on the phone, the person who has or finds the phone can do serious damage if they want to. For instance: