Cyber criminals exploit Java vulnerability to hack Apple, Facebook, and Twitter
Twitter, Facebook, and Apple have all been the victim of recent attacks by hackers. While US newspapers have been fending off attacks allegedly originating in China, however, these attacks have come from a different source altogether. A criminal group in Russia or Eastern Europe is reportedly to blame, having gained access to the machines utilizing a zero-day vulnerability in Java. New revelations are coming almost daily at this point, and you can find them all right here.
Foreign hackers steal more than a terabyte of data per day in ongoing cyberwar
Two decades after computer security began generating billions by selling expertise and software designed to protect unwanted network intrusions, experts say those networks are more vulnerable than ever. Florida-based Internet security firm Team Cymru said in a report released today, shared exclusively with The Verge, that analysts there uncovered a massive overseas hacking operation that is making off with a terabyte of data per day. Some of the victims include military and academic...
After so many hacks, why won't Java just go away?
If you've been paying any attention to the security breaches hitting Apple, Facebook, Twitter, NBC, and others these past few weeks, you've probably noticed a common culprit: our poor old pockmarked friend, Java.
As a web plugin, Oracle's aging code deployment platform has practically been a revolving door for widespread malware attacks recently, and for years the general consensus has often been that its risks have outgrown its usefulness. After spending a week Java-free back in 2010, PCMag'...
Website allegedly behind hacks of Facebook, Apple, and Twitter says it's 'clean now'
The owner of iPhone developer website iPhoneDevSDK says his team has patched a security hole behind malware that infected employee computers at Facebook, making the developer site safe to visit again.
"It is clean now," said Ian Sefferman, iPhoneDevSDK's owner and operator, in an email to The Verge. Sefferman and his colleagues are still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong and how to keep their site and its 200,000 registered users secure from hackers in the future. Malware found on...
Apple, Facebook, and Twitter hacks reportedly originated in Eastern Europe
The recent attacks on Apple’s systems originated in Russia or Eastern Europe, and are linked to similar attacks on Facebook and Twitter, say new reports from Reuters and Bloomberg. The goal of the attacks is said to be company secrets and intellectual property to be sold on the black market, unlike the the state-sponsored attacks coming out of China, which have instead focused on government secrets and national infrastructure.
In all cases, employees’ computers were compromised after...
Apple and Facebook hacks traced to mobile development site, says AllThingsD
AllThingsD is reporting that the culprit behind high-profile hacks targeting Apple and Facebook is "likely" a website called iPhoneDevSDK. The site, which is a hub for iOS and mobile development discussion, was reportedly injected with malicious code according to the report. Employees at Facebook apparently visited the iPhoneDevSDK website in recent weeks, just prior to a hack that the social network made public last Friday. AllThingsD suspects the same developer resource is responsible for...
Apple releases Java update to eliminate malware threat
Apple has released a new version of Java meant to plug a vulnerability that can be exploited to install malware on user's computers. The company made an unprecedented announcement this morning, admitting that hackers had effectively infected a "small number" of its computers after employees visited a website for software developers that contained the malicious code. Apple says it isolated those computers from its network, and promised that it would release a support tool today to patch the...
Apple says it was attacked by hackers, will issue malware removal tool today
In a statement provided to The Verge, Apple says that hackers infected a "small number" of its computers in an attack that exploited a Java vulnerability. As Reuters originally reported, the company says "there was no evidence that any data left Apple," and no user information is said to have been compromised. Apple says the rare security breach utilized the same malware that was recently used to target Facebook and other companies. Despite being a high-profile target, the situation is highly...
Facebook hacked, but has found 'no evidence' that user data was compromised
As one of the largest sites on the internet, there's no doubt that Facebook is a prime target for hackers. It looks like some of those hackers were apparently successful — Facebook has just admitted that its systems were targeted last month in a "sophisticated attack." However, the company was quick to point out that "we have found no evidence that Facebook user data was compromised." It sounds like users have no need to worry at this point, but Facebook is continuing to work with its...
Twitter also hacked this week, up to 250,000 accounts may have been compromised
It's been a rough week for security breaches, and Twitter has just announced it was a victim of attacks this week as well. In a blog post, the company states that during this past week it detected "unusual access patterns" that led it to uncover unauthorized attempts to access user's data. Twitter even discovered one attack as it was happening, and was able to shut it down shortly thereafter. However, Twitter's post-mortem revealed that the perpetrators of the attack may have had access to...
