Month: October 2024

Today’s organizations face a daunting challenge: effectively and at scale detecting and preventing web scraping attacks. These attacks, which involve automated data extraction from websites, can have far-reaching consequences, ranging from increased infrastructure costs to the loss of sensitive information and intellectual property. 

Web scraping attacks pose a unique challenge due to their versatility and adaptability. Unlike other forms of automated abuse, such as account takeover or denial of inventory attacks, web scraping can target any application or endpoint within a domain. This breadth of potential targets makes detection and mitigation particularly challenging,  mainly when traditional approaches rely on application instrumentation, adding complexity and delay to development workflows. 

Key Challenges in Prevention 

Scraping attacks have the potential to occur throughout an organization’s domain, unlike other automated forms of business logic abuse that tend to target specific applications and related endpoints. For instance, while account takeover/credential stuffing attacks focus on applications requiring user credentials and denial of inventory attacks concentrate on checkout applications and their API requests, scraping aims at a broader range of endpoints. This wide-reaching nature of scraping makes prevention a challenge.  

Ensuring effective detection and mitigation of web scraper attacks requires a comprehensive approach that covers all public-facing applications, including those with dynamically generated URIs. However, attempting to prevent scraping using a bot mitigation tool that necessitates application instrumentation can present significant obstacles. Injecting an agent into every web application and endpoint within the domain can lead to delays and complexities in the application development and deployment workflow. If the URI is dynamically generated, adding an agent may further impede page load times, exacerbating the processing burden. 

Scraping attacks rely on HTTP GET requests, automated attacks initiated by sending straightforward HTTP GET requests to targeted URIs. Since HTTP GET requests typically constitute 99% of all transactions on a standard domain, any bot mitigation strategy must be capable of processing all such transactions. However, this presents challenges in both scalability and efficacy, given that most bot mitigation approaches struggle to handle the entirety of site/domain traffic. Additionally, the emphasis on utilizing HTTP POST for sending device fingerprinting logic means these traditional management approaches often overlook most attack signals originating from HTTP GET requests. 

Lastly, scraping attacks exploit application APIs and endpoints, which are increasingly pivotal in transitioning toward a faster, more iterative application development workflow. These API endpoints provide access to the same information users access via rich web-based interfaces, catering to mobile customers, partners, and aggregators. In the face of resistance from web applications, scraping attacks seamlessly pivot to utilizing API endpoints to achieve their objectives. However, first-generation bot mitigation tools encounter a significant challenge in thwarting scraping attacks targeting these API endpoints. Unlike web pages or software development kits (SDKs), API endpoints lack a tangible surface for installing agents. Since API consumers often operate as bots, integrating JavaScript or a Mobile SDK proves exceedingly challenging. 

Getting Ahead 

Organizations must adopt a strategic approach to defense to effectively combat web scraping attacks. Rather than relying solely on traditional bot mitigation tools, which may struggle to keep pace with evolving attack techniques, a comprehensive strategy centered around API security is essential.  

Organizations can detect and prevent even the most sophisticated scraping attacks by leveraging behavioral fingerprinting and machine learning without intrusive application instrumentation. Invest in solutions that offer holistic coverage across all public-facing applications, including web, mobile, and API-based endpoints. By utilizing tools that continuously monitor and analyze incoming traffic, security teams can efficiently identify patterns indicative of scraping activity, enabling proactive intervention to mitigate potential threats before they escalate. 

The Benefits of Proactive Defense 

The threat of web scraping attacks is real and pervasive but not insurmountable. Organizations can fortify their defenses with API-centric security solutions to future-proof their infrastructure against emerging threats and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly digitized landscape. Organizations can mitigate the financial and reputational risks associated with scraping attacks, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure uninterrupted business continuity by adopting a proactive stance towards web scraping prevention.  

The post The Hidden Threat of Web Scraping and How to Fight Back appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Ransomware attacks are increasingly common, and falling victim to one can be a terrifying experience. If you find yourself in this situation, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to respond effectively.

1. Stay Calm and Assess the Situation  

• Don’t panic. Take a moment to assess what’s happening. Identify which files or systems have been affected.

 • Note the ransom message. Document the details, including the ransom amount, payment methods, and any deadlines provided.

2. Disconnect from the Network

• Immediately isolate the infected device to prevent the ransomware from spreading to other computers or devices on your network.
 

• Disconnect from Wi-Fi and unplug any Ethernet cables.

3. Do Not Pay the Ransom
   

• Paying the ransom does not guarantee that you will regain access to your files. It can also encourage further attacks.
   

• Law enforcement agencies generally advise against paying the ransom.

4. Identify the Ransomware
   

• Try to identify the specific type of ransomware by researching the ransom note or using online resources. Websites like ID Ransomware can help you determine the variant.
   

• Knowing the ransomware type can assist in finding possible decryption tools.

5. Report the Incident
   

• Report the attack to local law enforcement and any relevant authorities. In the U.S., you can contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

• If your organization is involved, notify your IT department or security team immediately.

6. Consult Security Professionals
   

• Engage cybersecurity experts who can help analyze the situation, recover data, and improve your defenses against future attacks.

7. Restore from Backups

• If you have backups of your data, begin the process of restoring them. Ensure that backups are clean and unaffected by the ransomware before restoring.

• Regularly test your backup systems to ensure they function properly in emergencies.

8. Remove the Ransomware

• Use reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to scan and remove the ransomware from your system.

• Make sure the removal process is thorough to prevent reinfection.

9. Change Passwords
   

• After addressing the ransomware, change all passwords, especially those related to sensitive accounts. This helps prevent unauthorized access.

10. Implement Preventative Measures
   

• Update Software: Regularly update your operating system and applications to patch vulnerabilities.

• Educate Users: Train employees on recognizing phishing attempts and other attack vectors.

• Regular Backups: Maintain frequent, automated backups to minimize data loss in future incidents.

11. Monitor Systems and Data
   

• Keep an eye on your systems for any unusual activity post-recovery.

 • Implement monitoring solutions to detect potential threats in real-time.

Conclusion

Dealing with a ransomware attack is challenging, but following these steps can help mitigate damage and facilitate recovery. Always prioritize prevention through education and robust cybersecurity practices to minimize the risk of future attacks.

The post What to Do If Hit by Ransomware appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Google may be facing some eye-wateringly high fines from Russian courts, and while we’ll likely never see those paid, parent company Alphabet sure has a lot of money sitting around at the moment. Today the company shares just how well it’s been doing, with the release of some very favorable Q3 2024 financial figures.

Overall, revenue is up 15% year-to-year from 2023, hitting $88.27 billion. Alphabet shares that YouTube ad revenue is up nearly a billion dollars alone, coming in at $8.92 billion. Between that and subscriptions, CEO Sundar Pichai tells us that over the past year, YouTube’s brought in over $50 billion, setting a new record for itself in the process.

One of the best tools to transfer files between your Android phone and your Windows PC is Quick Share. It’s easy to set up, easy to use, and transfers files really quickly. However, one major issue with the Quick Share for Windows client is that it transfers files really slowly if your Windows PC isn’t on the same Wi-Fi network as your Android phone. At least, that’s how things used to be, because Google quietly fixed this problem some time back.

When Google launched Quick Share for Windows back in 2023, it stressed that both your Android phone and your Windows PC need to be connected to the same network in order to get the best file transfer speeds. If not, then Quick Share would transfer files over a Bluetooth connection, which is dramatically slower than a Wi-Fi connection. For example, when I tried to transfer a 5.4GB file from my Android phone to my Windows PC over a Bluetooth connection, the transfer rate hovered around 60KB/s, meaning it would take close to a day to complete the transfer.

Google has been on an AI kick all year long, and it feels like it’s never a few weeks before we’re hearing about the latest work on Gemini, whether that’s Nano, Live, or one of its many Extensions. Now a new report attempts to predict when the next generation of Gemini will be ready to make its debut.

Earlier today we checked out a report from The Verge claiming that OpenAI is getting ready to introduce its next big model in December. Apparently this could be a very busy month for the industry, as the site now claims that Google could be preparing Gemini 2.0 for December, as well (via 9to5Google).

Apple has been teasing the release of its upcoming M4 MacBooks, which we should learn more about in the coming week. We’ll have to wait and see what those are all about, but one thing is for sure: most of you can live very happily with an M3 or even an M2 processor. If you’re looking to save some cash and get one of the industry’s best laptops, the M2 and M3 MacBook Airs are on a fire sale right now. You can get the Apple MacBook Air M3 for just $849.99. Alternatively, the Apple MacBook Air M2 is down to a mere $699.99.

Buy the Apple MacBook Air M3 for only $849.99

OnePlus is a smartphone brand that’s well-known for offering great bang for your buck, which makes it tempting to buy some of their devices as gifts to give to friends or family members. Since OnePlus devices run on Android, anyone you give them to should be able to use them without many issues, thanks to the abundance of built-in accessibility options. To make their phones and tablets even easier to use by the elderly or people with visual impairments, OnePlus is introducing a new feature called Simple Mode in Oxygen OS 15.

Located under Settings > Accessibility & convenience in Oxygen OS 15, Simple Mode makes text and icons larger, simplifies the home screen and Settings, and boosts the ringtone and notification volume streams to the maximum level.