Category Archives: Security Tools

Crickets from Chirp Systems in Smart Lock Key Leak

April 15, 2024

The U.S. government is warning that smart locks securing entry to an estimated 50,000 dwellings nationwide contain hard-coded credentials that can be used to remotely open any of the locks. The lock’s maker Chirp Systems remains unresponsive, even though it was first notified about the critical weakness in March 2021. Meanwhile, Chirp’s parent company, RealPage, Inc., is being sued by multiple U.S. states for allegedly colluding with landlords to illegally raise rents.

Patch Tuesday, March 2024 Edition

March 12, 2024

15 Comments

Apple and Microsoft recently released software updates to fix dozens of security holes in their operating systems. Microsoft today patched at least 60 vulnerabilities in its Windows OS. Meanwhile, Apple’s new macOS Sonoma addresses at least 68 security weaknesses, and its latest updates for iOS fixes two zero-day flaws.

Fat Patch Tuesday, February 2024 Edition

February 13, 2024

13 Comments

Microsoft Corp. today pushed software updates to plug more than 70 security holes in its Windows operating systems and related products, including two zero-day vulnerabilities that are already being exploited in active attacks.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, November 2023 Edition

November 14, 2023

16 Comments

Microsoft today released updates to fix more than five dozen security holes in its Windows operating systems and related software, including three “zero day” vulnerabilities that Microsoft warns are already being exploited in active attacks.

Patch Tuesday, October 2023 Edition

October 10, 2023

22 Comments

Microsoft today issued security updates for more than 100 newly-discovered vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and related software, including four flaws that are already being exploited. In addition, Apple recently released emergency updates to quash a pair of zero-day bugs in iOS.

Tourists Give Themselves Away by Looking Up. So Do Most Network Intruders.

August 22, 2023

36 Comments

In large metropolitan areas, tourists are often easy to spot because they’re far more inclined than locals to gaze upward at the surrounding skyscrapers. Security experts say this same tourist dynamic is a dead giveaway in virtually all computer intrusions that lead to devastating attacks like ransomware, and that more organizations should set simple virtual tripwires that sound the alarm when authorized users and devices are spotted exhibiting this behavior.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, August 2023 Edition

August 8, 2023

16 Comments

Microsoft Corp. today issued software updates to plug more than 70 security holes in its Windows operating systems and related products, including a patch that addresses multiple zero-day vulnerabilities currently being exploited in the wild.

Apple & Microsoft Patch Tuesday, July 2023 Edition

July 11, 2023

12 Comments

Microsoft Corp. today released software updates to quash 130 security bugs in its Windows operating systems and related software, including at least five flaws that are already seeing active exploitation. Meanwhile, Apple customers have their own zero-day woes again this month: On Monday, Apple issued (and then quickly pulled) an emergency update to fix a zero-day vulnerability that is being exploited on MacOS and iOS devices.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, June 2023 Edition

June 13, 2023

29 Comments

Microsoft Corp. today released software updates to fix dozens of security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and other software. This month’s relatively light patch load has another added bonus for system administrators everywhere: It appears to be the first Patch Tuesday since March 2022 that isn’t marred by the active exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft’s products.