Catching Landspeed Violations in Relativity

The Tip of the Night for May 28, 2021 discussed tracking 'landspeed' violations, when the same user logins from two different locations which are far apart. Relativity's Security Center can help an admin monitor such suspicious logins. The Security Center generates a map showing all of the logins that have taken place for the past 7 days.

You can drill down to more geographically specific information, by clicking on any circle. The circles will be color coded in order to show the security method used for the login. So password only logins will be in red circles, and logins using 2FA will be in green.

At the lowest level, the map will show the user login and IP address.

Pegasus Attacks! Be on Watch!

The big news today was about Pegasus, the exploit targeting Apple devices. Pegasus exploits a vulnerability in iMessage, and can install itself on a device without a user doing anything to facilitate the installation. The spyware allows an attacker to steal messages, emails, and location data, and record with the camera and microphone.

Don't miss that you need to also separately upgrade your Apple Watch after you have updated your iPhone's operating system. Go to the Apple Watch app on the phone, and select General . . . Software Update.

The Quantum Computing Threat to VPNs

Google, IBM, and other tech companies are developing quantum computers which are more powerful than conventional computers. They work by storing information in a quantum form - a form based on atomic level particles. Rather than storing data in bits, data is stored in qubits in a quantum form.

Cybersecurity professionals are already developing virtual private networks which have encryption that can protect data from hacking attempts performed with quantum computers. As discussed in the Tip of the Night for September 30, 2019 VPNs send data through a provider's server and encrypt it. An quantum computer would have enough power to run calculations necessary to crack current cryptography keys.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has initiated a program to develop encryption strong enough to provide protection for when quantum computers are widely used.