Cybersecurity for Messaging Services & App Developers

Symantec Report: 1 in 5 Android Apps Is Malware

April 24, 2015

Symantec Report: 1 in 5 Android Apps Is Malware

Image is taken from (Thinkstock) According to Symantec’s latest Internet Security Threat Report 17% of all Android apps (nearly one million total) were actually malware in disguise.” In 2013, Symantec uncovered roughly 700,000 virus-laden apps. Well, not malware per say. They refer to these apps as "grayware" or “mad...

Apperyio launches Security API for its 200,000 app developers

April 22, 2015

Apperyio launches Security API for its 200,000 app developers

Appery.io, a leading app making platform with over 200,000 developers, has just launched a unique type of Security for apps that are built on its platform. In a partnership with Security startup MetaCert, the Security API is offered as a plug-in, making it easy for developers to protect end-users from phishing attacks. In 20...

What is a WebView?

April 22, 2015

What is a WebView?

Appery.io has just launched MetaCert's Security API as a plugin, making it easy for app developers to protect their end-users from malicious links and unwanted content insider their apps (which use a WebView). While writing my story for journalists and bloggers I thought I'd simplify my definition of 'WebView' for the purpose of...

IBM Study finds mobile app developers need to invest in security

April 17, 2015

IBM Study finds mobile app developers need to invest in security

IBM Security and the Ponemon Institute conducted research recently, unveiling an alarming state of mobile insecurity. The findings show nearly 40% of large companies, including many in the Fortune 500, aren't taking the right precautions to secure the mobile apps they build for customers. The study also found organizations are ...

Fraudsters target Nazi Android malware at Russian bank customers with phishing links

April 16, 2015

Fraudsters target Nazi Android malware at Russian bank customers with phishing links

Members of a gang of "cyber-fascist" behind Android phishing attacks have been arrested in Russia. The scam targeted customers of Russian bank Sberbank with software they called "Fifth Reich", using Nazi symbols in the management system. The cybercriminals targeted malware attacks at Android mobile devices belonging to cus...

Scams and social media

April 15, 2015

Scams and social media

With billions of smartphones and potentially many billions of Internet-connected devices of all kinds, the focus of Internet security is shifting from the desktop and the data center to the home, the pocket, the purse, and, ultimately, the infrastructure of the Internet itself. According to the Symantec Internet Security Thr...

Why Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report doesn’t add up, leaving consumers exposed to phishing attacks on mobile

April 15, 2015

Why Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report doesn’t add up, leaving consumers exposed to phishing attacks on mobile

I read an interesting post on the ComputerWorld blog by Lucian Constantin this morning - it's entitled "Web app attacks, PoS intrusions and cyberespionage top causes of data breaches". You can read the full article here. I'm writing this post to emphasize a very important point about the threat that consumers face and which, isn...

What’s missing from the 2015 McAfee Labs Threats report

April 10, 2015

What’s missing from the 2015 McAfee Labs Threats report

Millions of App Users Still Exposed to SSL Vulnerabilities Here are some of the key highlights from the report: Poor programming practices expose users to SSL/TLS vulnerabilities. Months after app vendors were notified that their apps exposed users to SSL/TLS vulnerabilities, many of those apps still remain unsecure. ...

Global EV SSL Certification Market 2015-2019 and the massive opportunity missed by security companies

April 9, 2015

Global EV SSL Certification Market 2015-2019 and the massive opportunity missed by security companies

I found this report from Research and Markets, announcing the addition of the "Global EV SSL Certification Market 2015-2019". But what it doesn't include, is the massive opportunity missed by the companies that sell EV SSL certificates. The Global EV SSL Certification market to grow at a CAGR of 32.52% over the period 2014-2...

How WebView has weakened the TCB of the Web infrastructure

April 8, 2015

Secure WebView displaying Protected by MetaCert

How WebView has weakened the TCB of the Web infrastructure

App making platforms are great. They make it easy for publishers to build native and hybrid apps. As one of the seven original founders of the W3C Mobile Web Initiative, I fully appreciate the value that these platforms bring. However, these well meaning platforms are putting consumers' personal and corporate data at risk. 1...