Chicago IT Support & Cyber Security | Forward Technologies
Chicago-based Forward Technologies delivers IT support and cyber security to businesses in the Chicago area and nationwide.
Cyberattacks on U.S. federal courts are no longer just IT problems. They now pose a national security threat.
That is Senator Ron Wyden’s warning in a blunt letter to Chief Justice John Roberts this week, urging the Supreme Court to address repeated breaches of the judiciary’s document filing and email systems. Wyden called the hacks “unacceptable” and said weak practices have left the courts “an inviting target” for foreign adversaries. [Read more…]
A new cybersecurity threat is emerging as attackers use DNS records—the very system that directs internet traffic—to hide malware. Instead of relying on email attachments or suspicious downloads, bad actors are embedding malicious payloads into DNS TXT records. This method sneaks malicious code past traditional defenses because security tools often ignore DNS traffic.
DNS, or Domain Name System, acts like the internet’s phonebook, translating domain names into IP addresses. It is so fundamental and routine that most security systems allow it without scrutiny. That makes it a perfect hiding place. According to researchers at Infoblox, attackers are disguising shellcode—malicious binary instructions—inside base64-encoded TXT records. These look like harmless text but are reassembled and executed by compromised devices once fetched. [Read more…]
A surveillance app marketed as a stealthy tool for parents has exposed sensitive data from over 62,000 users, raising fresh concerns about the real audience for apps like it.
The app, called Catwatchful, claims to offer invisible monitoring for Android phones. According to its creators, it’s intended to help parents keep tabs on their children’s digital activity. But the app’s heavy emphasis on secrecy and undetectability tells a different story. On its website, Catwatchful boasts that it “cannot be detected,” “cannot be uninstalled,” and “only you can access the information it collects.” [Read more…]
Security researchers have identified two major exploits in the Secure Boot system, both capable of sidestepping one of the most important protections on modern PCs. Microsoft has issued a patch for one of them. The other remains untouched, even as it offers attackers a nearly universal method to bypass security during the startup process.
This week’s patch from Microsoft addresses a vulnerability known as CVE-2025-3052. It impacts over 50 manufacturers whose systems rely on Linux modules to support boot processes. The flaw allows someone with physical access to a device to disable Secure Boot entirely. Once that’s done, they can install malware that loads before the operating system starts. The attack is particularly concerning because it’s stealthy and persistent, and in cases where a hacker already has administrative access, it can be triggered remotely. [Read more…]
Hackers posing as IT support are targeting employees at large companies to sneak into their Salesforce systems and steal data. They start with a phone call, pretending to help with a routine issue. The real goal? To get the employee to connect to a fake version of Salesforce’s Data Loader tool. Once that happens, the attackers can quietly grab sensitive company data.
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has been tracking the group behind this, known as UNC6040. Their method depends on trust—posing as helpful support staff and guiding employees through what feels like a normal setup process. Because the tool is something many employees already use, it doesn’t seem suspicious. [Read more…]
