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I am the Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc., the company that is commercializing Tim Berners-Lee’s Solid open W3C standard for distributed data ownership. This week, we announced a digital wallet based on the Solid architecture.

Details are here, but basically a digital wallet is a repository for personal data and documents. Right now, there are hundreds of different wallets, but no standard. We think designing a wallet around Solid makes sense for lots of reasons. A wallet is more than a data store—data in wallets is for using and sharing. That requires interoperability, which is what you get from an open standard. It also requires fine-grained permissions and robust security, and that’s what the Solid protocols provide.

I think of Solid as a set of protocols for decoupling applications, data, and security. That’s the sort of thing that will make digital wallets work.

CrowdStrike has published a preliminary Post Incident Review into the global IT outage on July 19, revealing the issue came from a Rapid Response Content update

KnowBe4 revealed it was duped into hiring a fake IT worker from North Korea resulting in attempted insider threat activity

Google’s decision to abandon the phase out of third-party cookies on Chrome has been criticized, with the tech giant accused of neglecting user privacy

Redirecting risk reduction spend from cyber insurance to MDR services is a win-win, resulting in better protection and lower cost coverage.

Supposedly the DHS has these:

The robot, called “NEO,” is a modified version of the “Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle” (Q-UGV) sold to law enforcement by a company called Ghost Robotics. Benjamine Huffman, the director of DHS’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), told police at the 2024 Border Security Expo in Texas that DHS is increasingly worried about criminals setting “booby traps” with internet of things and smart home devices, and that NEO allows DHS to remotely disable the home networks of a home or building law enforcement is raiding. The Border Security Expo is open only to law enforcement and defense contractors. A transcript of Huffman’s speech was obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Dave Maass using a Freedom of Information Act request and was shared with 404 Media.

“NEO can enter a potentially dangerous environment to provide video and audio feedback to the officers before entry and allow them to communicate with those in that environment,” Huffman said, according to the transcript. “NEO carries an onboard computer and antenna array that will allow officers the ability to create a ‘denial-of-service’ (DoS) event to disable ‘Internet of Things’ devices that could potentially cause harm while entry is made.”

Slashdot thread.

Have you ever visited a site that triggers a “your connection is not private” or “your connection is not secure” error message? Maybe you moved on. Or maybe you found yourself interested enough to continue anyway. Either way, understanding what the error means can keep you safer online. Knowing what the risks are and how you can clear up the error proves yet more important too. 

Let’s take a look. 

What does “this connection is not private” mean? 

A “your connection is not private” error means that your browser can’t determine with certainty that a website has safe encryption protocols in place to protect your device and data. You can bump into this error on any device connected to the internet — a computer, smartphone, or tablet. 

Note that the “your connection is not private” error is Google Chrome’s phrasing. Other browsers might use “your connection is not secure” or some variation of that as the warning message. 

So, what exactly is going on when you see the “this connection is not private” error? 

For starters, the error is only a warning. It doesn’t mean any of your private info is compromised. A “your connection is not private” error means the website you were trying to visit doesn’t have an up-to-date SSL (secure sockets layer) security certificate. 

So, what’s an SSL? Think of it as a digital certificate that verifies the authenticity of a website. Further, it establishes an encrypted connection between your web browser and the website you’re visiting. As you can imagine, an SSL-protected site is vital when it comes to banking, shopping, or sending secure info online. 

You can spot an SSL-protected site by an address that begins with HTTPS, with the “S” standing for “secure.” Many browsers also drop a little padlock symbol in the address bar to call it out. Some have a button in the bar that you can select to see if the site is protected. 

Website owners must maintain the licensing regularly to ensure the site’s encryption capabilities are up to date. If a website’s SSL certificate is outdated, it means the site owners haven’t kept their encryption licensing current, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re up to no good. Even major websites have had momentary lapses that served up the message.  

While it doesn’t always mean a website is unsafe to browse, pay attention. Using a site without an SSL connection might make your personal data less secure. 

How to fix the “connection is not private” error

If you feel confident that a website or page is safe, despite the warning from your web browser, you can troubleshoot the issue a few ways: 

• Refresh the page. Sometimes, the error is only a momentary glitch. Try reloading the page to rule out temporary errors. 

• Close the browser and reopen it. Closing and reopening your web browser might also help clear a temporary glitch. 

• If you’re on public Wi-Fi, think twice. Hackers often exploit public Wi-Fi because their routers are usually not as secure or well-maintained for security. Some public Wi-Fi networks might not support SSL connections altogether. That might result in the error you’re seeing.  

• Make sure your browser and operating system are up to date. Always keep your critical software and the operating system fully updated. An outdated browser can start getting buggy and can increase the occurrence of this kind of error. 

• Check that you have the right website. Hackers and scammers often take advantage of misspellings or alternative URLs to try and snare users looking for trusted sites. Make sure you have the address and the site absolutely right. 

• If it’s not you, it’s them. If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting techniques above and you still see the error, the problem is likely coming from the site itself. You’ll have the option to “proceed to the domain,” though we don’t recommend it. The bottom line is that you take your chances anytime you ignore an error like this. 

How to protect your privacy while online

Personal info like yours is valuable to hackers, so they take every chance they can to get their hands on it. Beyond sticking to visiting secure websites, you have several other ways you can protect yourself online. 

• Online protection software offers the best line of protection, hands down. Today’s software like our McAfee+ plans protects more than your devices. It protects you — your identity and privacy. 

• Use strong, unique passwords across all your accounts. A password manager like ours can do the hard work for you. 

• Delete unused browser extensions (and apps) to reduce your risk. The more apps you have, the more exposure you have to exploits and attacks. Moreover, out-of-date apps can have security loopholes in them. If you’re not using it, delete it, along with any data you have. 

• Delete old accounts that still have your info. As it is with apps and browser extensions, the more you keep, the more exposure you have — in this case, to data breaches that can put your personal info in the hands of a hacker. A service like our Online Account Cleanup can identify and shut down those old accounts for you. 

• Use a VPN as you go online. A VPN like ours creates a secure tunnel that encrypts your data as you go online, shielding it from hackers and other bad actors out there. Plus, it can hide your personal info from third parties that want to collect and track it. 

• Share less personal and private info on social media. Scammers and hackers can take full advantage of public profiles on social media. Public profiles offer them a goldmine of info that they use for romance scams, investment scams, tax scams, and more. You can lock down your privacy on social media in just a few clicks with our Social Privacy Manager. 

• Remove your personal info from sketchy data broker sites that sell it to anyone for a price. That includes everyone from advertisers to hackers, scammers, and spammers. Our Personal Data Cleanup scans data broker sites and shows you which ones are selling your personal info — and can help you remove it. 

The post What Does “Connection is Not Private” Mean? appeared first on McAfee Blog.

Symantec said Chinese espionage group Daggerfly has updated its malware toolkit as it looks to target Windows, Linux, macOS and Android operating systems

A new report published by RUSI highlighted how Russia’s intelligence services have adapted their cybersecurity strategy to the demands of a long war in Ukraine

The UK’s National Crime Agency has infiltrated the DigitalStress marketplace, which offers DDoS capabilities