Even though February is the shortest month of the year, we still have plenty of top stories to share with you, keeping you in the know when it comes to the latest security news and threats. So take an inside look at our top posts from the past month!<\/p>\n
Facebook Acquires WhatsApp: Consequences for Service Users<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Facebook\u2019s acquisition of WhatsApp made major headlines because of the record $19 billion purchase. When the math is broken down, it\u2019s pretty obvious that the revenue stream WhatsApp will bring in can\u2019t cover the acquisition cost in the short or mid-term, so this raises the question about whether or not in-app ads will eventually emerge, along with accompanying privacy-intrusive monitoring tools, including message scanning (think Gmail). So is it time to seek a replacement? We don\u2019t see a reason to panic just yet. \u00a0In their posts regarding the acquisition, both Facebook\u2019s head\u00a0Mark Zuckerberg<\/a>\u00a0and WhatsApp boss\u00a0Jan Koum<\/a>\u00a0stress that WhatsApp remains a separate company with its own independent policy, and given the fact that Jan Koum is famous for his\u00a0disapproval of an ad-driven revenue model<\/a>, we don\u2019t expect ads and analytics to emerge anytime soon. There are no\u00a0new\u00a0<\/i>reasons to worry about messaging privacy either. WhatsApp has dealt with breaches in the past and presently uses receive reasonable encryption, plus service owners claim that users\u2019 messages are never stored after delivery to the recipient. Confidential data shouldn\u2019t be sent unencrypted over standard communication channels and you should be using\u00a0dedicated security tools<\/a>\u00a0to protect your data from prying eyes. The only real threat to watch for in the near future is a\u00a0wave of fake emails and messages<\/a>\u00a0urging you to \u201cconfirm your WhatsApp account\u201d or \u201copt out of Facebook ads inside WhatsApp\u201d or something similar.<\/p>\n Sochi Winter Olympics 2014: A Quick Guide to Cyberthreats<\/a><\/p>\n Events like the Winter Olympics draw cybercriminals to prey on the unsuspecting. At such times, they are likely to try to use forged webpages that pose as legitimate web-resources to try to sell fake tickets or collect private data from those willing to attend such sports events. Keep these tips in mind when visiting or participating in global events like the Winter Olympics:<\/p>\n The Mask \u2013 Unveiling the World\u2019s Most Sophisticated APT Campaign<\/a> Number of the Week: 10 Million Malicious Android Apps<\/a><\/p>\n In January, our researches found that the number of malicious Android apps had hit the 10 million mark. How could this be? The number of unofficial stores, which contain more than a million applications, are more likely to be malicious. So if you\u2019re using Google Play, the chances of getting malware are quite slim. But if you venture outside the official app channels you may find yourself infected.\u00a0Ever aware of the fact that people enjoy free apps, attackers are eager to seed their malicious applications, naming them after famous games,\u00a0banking apps<\/a>\u00a0or popular tools. The result is simple: users\u2019 private data, banking credentials and money are going straight into the\u00a0hands of criminals<\/a>. A version of the\u00a0Carberp Trojan<\/a>\u00a0is a very good example of how your money can be stolen using a malicious app.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that difficult to be safe. Just follow these expert recommendations:<\/p>\n Seven Useful Habits For A Safer Internet<\/a><\/p>\n On February 11, 2014 we celebrated the tenth annual Safer Internet Day, which serves as a reminder to people about how the Internet can be like the Wild West. So here are a couple of rules and suggest good habits you should be using to make this environment more civilized.<\/p>\n Clean Your System, Get Peace Of Mind: Kaspersky Security Scan<\/a><\/p>\n Kaspersky Security Scan<\/a>\u00a0is a free, immediately downloadable security solution that is continuously updated to detect and prevent the latest threats out there.\u00a0It checks for known malware and software vulnerabilities on your PC and advises you on your PC\u2019s security status. It also uses latest, cloud-based security information, enabling Kaspersky Security Scan to scan your PC for the very latest viruses and emerging threats.\u00a0Download it now to <\/b>check your computer easily, quickly and for free \u2013 to\u00a0keep your system safe<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even though February is the shortest month of the year, we still have plenty of top stories to share with you, keeping you in the know when it comes to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":3034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[454],"class_list":{"0":"post-3033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-security-news"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3033\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/2936\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3320\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3284\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3965\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/february-monthly-roundup\/2871\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3965\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/february-monthly-roundup\/3965\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/tag\/security-news\/","name":"security news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3033"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19006,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3033\/revisions\/19006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nDuring the company\u2019s Security Analyst Summit in the Dominican Republic, Kaspersky Lab unveiled a new threat called \u201cCareto,\u201d which is apparently Spanish for \u201cugly face\u201d or \u201cmask,\u201d though there appears to be a bit of dissension about this among Spanish speakers. A hacking group that is likely backed by an unknown national government created the threat, and has been targeting government agencies, embassies, diplomatic offices and energy companies for more than five years. Kaspersky researchers are calling this the most sophisticated\u00a0advanced persistent threat<\/a>\u00a0campaign they have ever seen. This campaign is alarming because it not only demonstrates that highly skilled attackers are learning and honing their trade, but also because the Mask has existed under the radar, silently intercepting sensitive data since 2007. Had the attackers not tried to exploit a patched vulnerability in an older version of Kaspersky product, Costin Raiu, the director of the company\u2019s Global Research and Analysis Team, said his researchers might have never found it. However, highly sophisticated APT campaigns like this one are generally designed to infect the machines of individuals with access to very specific, highly-sought after networks, in this case mostly those of government agencies and energy companies, and whoever is responsible for the campaign shut it down mere hours after Kaspersky\u2019s Global Research and Analysis Team published a preview of the APT campaign.<\/p>\n\n
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