BlackBerry still enjoys a number of government smartphone contracts, but a new Android device forthcoming from Boeing might threaten that relationship. The aviation giant copped to development of a secure smartphone last year, but now the so-called “Boeing Black” has hit the FCC (via Myce), providing a little more background. Read More
This article was written on March 27, 2012 by CyberNet.
One of the capabilities I love in Google Chrome is that it can sync most of my data across all of my browsers. It does a really good job of making sure my extensions, preferences, themes, bookmarks, passwords, and more are always available to me no matter which computer I’m on. The concern you might obviously have with doing something like that is how secure is your information?
By default Google will encrypt the passwords it syncs, but that’s all they will encrypt. Things like your history, bookmarks, and everything else is all stored on their servers without being encrypted first. That’s easy to fix though! If you take a look at your sync settings in Chrome there is an option to Encrypt all synced data instead of just encrypting your passwords. There is really no reason for you to not turn it on, because the data being synced is so small in size that any kind of performance hit from doing this would be negligible.
While in the settings you can also choose to set the encryption password to be something other than the password to your Google Account. If you really want to sync your data but want the most security possible these two settings are probably things you want to change.
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Remember Kolab? Groklaw dropped its name as a secure alternative to now-shuttered Lavabit after announcing its own demise. The Swiss company is trying to capitalize on the fresh notoriety, and has announced a lite version of its MyKolab secure email service. It skips the premium version’s calendars, tasks and other frills for half the price, about $5.25/month. There’s also a new file storage option for premium customers that offers 1GB of cloud space. Uploaded files can not only be viewed, but also attached directly to an email. And, if 1GB isn’t enough, you can always buy more storage. The company is located in Switzerland, where it can presumably resist NSA pressure to fall in line — so, if prefer your email with less PRISM, check the More Coverage link.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Kolab Systems
The US Department of Defense told a Washington thinktank yesterday that it would spend $23 billion in the next four years to kick its cyber defenses up a gear. That’ll include building out a “secure 4G wireless network that will get iPads, iPhones and Android devices online by mid-2014,” according to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey. The DoD recently approved Blackberry 10, iOS and Samsung Galaxy devices with Knox, and General Dempsey himself was packing a smartphone he said would “make Batman and James Bond jealous.” While there were no details about how such a mobile network would be locked down, he did say that all 15,000 of the Department’s computer networks would be consolidated into an enterprise cloud system to increase security. All that is to combat a “17-fold” cyber warfare increase in just over two years — no doubt including recent Chinese hacking that the White House took the rare step of recently highlighting.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet
Via: The Verge
There are plenty of ways to secure your ahem naughty files, from using hidden folders and strange names, but if you’re really paranoid, you might have to do even more. The PE Secure Hard Drive takes securing your files to the next level, going beyond password and encryption technologies.
Jae-Hoon Lee designed this hard drive enclosure and it was designed to protect the hardware itself from getting into the wrong hands. It was inspired by “old school” security like padlocks and combination locks. The PE External Hard Drive will secure your data by toughening the hardware itself. The device would add a physical combination lock, partnered with an app, that will increase the security of your data.
For now, this hard drive is just a concept, but I could definitely see something like this being made.
[via Yanko Design]
Software support and security certificates are coming to an end for Victorinox’s line of secure USB drives, but the firm announced on Facebook that it’s offering customers full refunds until December 31 if they’d like to return their products in light of the developments. In order to avoid losing data, owners of the flash drives should perform a backup before the encryption application meets its untimely end on September 15th. However, files stored on non-encrypted areas of the device will remain accessible without further action. The Slim, Secure and Presentation Master storage sticks can still be used as run-of-the-mill thumb drives after the cut-off date, but the Swiss Army Knife maker’s application will no longer be able to scramble or unscramble their contents.
Filed under: Storage
Victorinox offers refunds for secure USB drives in light of discontinued software updates originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Victorinox may have offered a hefty bounty to crack its secure USB drives’ encryption, but the storage sticks seem to have met their match another way: the end of software support. In an email sent to customers and a pair of Facebook posts, the firm announced that it will halt updates as of next month and that its security program’s VeriSign certificate is only valid until September 15th. As a result, customers are urged to backup their data lickity split. According to the outfit, the economics of continuing application development just weren’t reasonable and it’ll now refer to a third party for all software. However, the Swiss Army Knife maker isn’t out of the flash drive business — it’s committed to putting more of the devices on the market. We’ve reached out to the company for more details on how the thumb drives will be affected and we’ll update when we get word. In the meantime, hit the source links for the notice or check out the e-mail below.
[Thanks, Scott]
Filed under: Storage
Victorinox nixes software updates for USB drives, security certificate to expire in September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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