Security researcher Mathy Vanhoef publicly disclosed a serious vulnerability in the WPA2 encryption protocol. Most devices and routers currently rely on WPA2 to encrypt your WiFi traffic, so chances are you’re affected.

First, let’s clarify what an attacker can and cannot do using the KRACK vulnerability. The attacker can intercept some of the traffic between your device and your router. If traffic is encrypted properly using HTTPS, an attacker can’t look at this traffic. Attackers can’t obtain your Wi-Fi password using this vulnerability. They can just look at your unencrypted traffic if they know what they’re doing. With some devices, attackers can also perform packet injection and do some nasty things. This vulnerability is like sharing the same WiFi network in a coffee shop or airport.

The attacker needs to be in range of your WiFi network. They can’t attack you from miles and miles away. The attacker could also take control of a zombie computer near you, but this is already a much more sophisticated attack. That’s why companies should release patches as soon as possible because chances are most attackers just learned about this vulnerability today. [Read more…]

Google recently announced that it will be expanding its hate-speech policy for publishers that use the company’s ad network.

It’s an effort to address concerns about ads funding inappropriate content online. While Google is constantly updating its policies, this particular update could have a significant impact on the way digital marketers select clients.

It also raises an important question for SEO companies: do we have a role to play in combating harmful content online? And how should we go about navigating Google’s new policies if so? [Read more…]

Just over a month after the infamous WannaCry attack, a new worldwide ransomware attack is here again. Its name is Petya, or Petwrap, ransomware, it’s hit companies everywhere across Europe today, including Ukraine’s government facilities, electric grids, banks, and public transportation, demanding a $300 ransom in Bitcoin in the process.

So how does this Petya attack work, exactly? Going after Windows servers, PCs, and laptops, this cyberattack appears to be an “updated variant” of the Petya malware virus. It uses the SMB (Server Message Block) vulnerability that WannaCry did, however in the case of Petya it encrypts, among other files, your master boot file. These messages recommend you conduct a system reboot, after which the system is inaccessible. This basically means the operating system won’t be able to locate files. [Read more…]

Articles published with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) load four times faster than standard mobile pages with a 35% improvement in engagement time, according to new research from Chartbeat.

Facebook Instant Articles (FIA), a key competitor to Google’s AMP product, load faster than AMP. But publishers see three times as many AMP articles viewed per day than FIA articles.

This comes hot on the heels of a stream of encouraging news on AMP from the Google I/O keynotes, presented by VP product management Rahul Roy-Chowdhury and Malte Ubl, creator and tech lead of the AMP Project. These included:

• There are now 2 billion AMP pages from over 900,000 domains, as of May 2017. A year ago there were 125 million AMP pages.
• An average AMP page loads in less than a second and uses ten times less data than a normal mobile page.
• AMP supporters and partners include Twitter, Tumblr, Qzone, Weibo, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Bing, Feedly, Nuzzle.
• AliExpress reduced load times by 36% with AMP, helping to increase orders by 10.5% and conversion rates by 27%.

[Read more…]

TRANSLATION? Net neutrality is dead…

The Federal Communications Commission’s plan to gut net neutrality rules and deregulate the Internet service market may hinge on the definition of the word “broadband.”

In February 2015, the FCC’s then-Democratic leadership led by Chairman Tom Wheeler classified broadband as “telecommunications,” superseding the previous treatment of broadband as a less heavily regulated “information service.” This was crucial in the rulemaking process because telecommunications providers are regulated as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, the authority used by the FCC to impose bans on blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. [Read more…]