News & Reviews:   cybersecurity

Encrypted messaging service Signal has revealed that the personal data of its users may have been compromised after its verification services provider, Twilio Inc fell victim to a phishing attack. In a blogpost yesterday, Signal said that the phone number of 1900 users could have been revealed by the incident.

For developers, getting apps approved for the Apple App Store can be tedious. It's not as bad for the Google Play Store, but that also means it's not as secure. In fact, Google had to remove a few apps for security reasons recently.

It pays to be careful of URLs you click on, even if it supposedly leads to well-known websites. As a fact, malware is often spread via websites impersonating other well-known ones. Recently, ESET found new ones mimicking the Microsoft Store and Spotify.

With 5G connectivity underway for Malaysia by the end of 2021 (according to our PM), the Malaysian Government has also announced that they will be launching the first 5G CyberSecurity Testing Laboratory. Malaysia will be the first in the Southeast Asia country to do so and it will be a joint effort with CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), Huawei Malaysia and Celcom.

Last month, a group of hackers known as Anonymous Malaysia sent out a warning video to the Malaysia Government for their weak cybersecurity infrastructure. This prompted the authorities to respond and ever since then, we didn't hear anything about them until today. In this latest news, it seems that the police have arrest 11 men who are suspects of the group.

Cybersecurity is so important these days, but some platforms just can't do it well. It's worse when financial sites are the ones with poor security, as the consequences can be dire. This was proven when it was found that E-Pay Malaysia got hacked.

Recently, WhatsApp updated its privacy policy to mention the sharing of data with Facebook. What's annoying is that you have to agree to it, or risk getting locked out of the app for good. Now there is even a rumour that phone numbers of WhatsApp users are being exposed online.

When it comes to hackers, many of them dare to attack any organisation. The only question is whether there's enough challenge or value in the attempt. And it seemed that some hacker believed there to be value in hacking into the Malaysian Armed Forces' (ATM) networks.

When it comes to security, smartphone brands like Apple and Samsung have been claiming that they value it and will be doing the most to protect their customers. Although there has been no big issue for both mentioned companies regarding security threats, it is still nice to see that brand which mainly focuses on cybersecurity like Kaspersky taking on the challenge to make a smartphone that can never be hacked.

Cybersecurity is important but it's not always easy to track all the online accounts that we have, right? Thankfully, Google is taking additional steps to make sure that its system checks in with you and not the other way around. The company has beefing up its security and privacy protections recently, which is detailed in the Safety Center.