My blog hits : 2,00,000 plus :-)

Exactly about a year back my blog got the 1,00,000th hit and today it is 2,00,000 plus. So a decent traffic by a technical standard since technical blogs do not have the glam and mass factor associated....I got into blogging without knowing any thing about traffic and readers and then maintaining a blog when you are working also is at times difficult.This actually means the time you could have spent with your family is being spent on blogging.But then as we say "Purpose is the reason you journey and Passion is the fire that lights your way."...and so has been applicable to me.Simply the passion to study and share IT and experiment with tools and researches has been the force for my energies being put in here.I bring out the stats here of the 2 Lakh hits from Google Analytics.

Blog Page showing visitor count 

Rise over years

 Country wise state of visitors

 Browser state of users

 Operating Systems of users

Google joins the ENCRYPTION Race : End-to-End Extension

1.    After Snowden leaks,one thing that has been most sought after is privacy and encryption and there have been a horde of tools and extensions that offer u the same vide many companies.Like in the last mail I mentioned about PROTONMAIL,there is another one in the offering from the horses mouth itself...ie Google offering an extension by the name of End-to-End extension...that

means data leaving your browser will be encrypted until the message’s intended recipient decrypts it, and that similarly encrypted messages sent to you will remain that way until you decrypt them in your browser.It’s a Chrome extension intended for users who need additional security.

2.    Though it is not yet available since still in Alpha stage but as per the Google blog at http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.in/2014/06/making-end-to-end-encryption-easier-to.html,it is likely to be available soon for all chrome browser users as an extension.Google wants to make it harder to spy on email by encouraging maximum providers to adopt server-to-server encryption. The new tool is based on OpenPGP and is meant to be a more user-friendly encryption option than programs such as PGP, which can be difficult to configure and use.

3.   So till it releases.....no options other then to wait.....

Facebook on Basic Phone : Possible@YESS!!!

1.  The penetration of smartphones in the market is rapidly setting new benchmark verticals.Smartphones have changed our basic routine access exercise of switching on laptops or workstations to access our facebook,gmail and other accounts...but somehow this access to facebook and other accounts has been limited to smartphones only...and thus the basic mobile user still has the traditional method of accessing the mails and social networking sites....but thankfully this is not likely to go on for long...

 

2. One Mr Sumesh Menon, co-founder and CEO of U2opia Mobile,has fine-tuned USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology and is using it to allow anyone with a mobile phone to connect to Facebook. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is a protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider's computers. USSD can be used for WAP browsing, prepaid callback service, mobile-money services, location-based content services, menu-based information services, and as part of configuring the phone on the network. Thus even if a user has a very basic phone and no data connection, he can use USSD to connect to Facebook.

3.  Offcourse the concept of USSD is not new per se as a technology..users have all been using it in some way or the other in routine.For example, when you check your remaining pre-paid balance in the phone using a code, you use the USSD technology.So basically it is a kind of 1G solution that works in a 3G world.For those who wish to know about the 'G' family...please click here to find the 'G' Generation.

HOW TO USE THIS SERVICE :

-  In India, it is available to almost all mobile phone users, except those who are using network of BSNL.

-  To access Facebook from a basic (or from a smartphone that has no data connection) a user has to first subscribe to the service by dialling *325#.

-  Once the service is active, which happens within a few minutes, users can utilize the USSD menu to go through their timeline, check status updates, post status updates and check likes or comments on their posts. The service also allows access to Facebook Messenger and users can exchange messages with their friends.

-  There is no limit on how many times you can access Facebook or how many messages you can send to your friends on Facebook messenger. While different operators charge different price for the service, usually the price is around Re 1 per day, making it a cost-effective way to keep in touch with friends.

Few interesting points about this :

-  The underlying technology is called FoneTwish.

-  Any operator can use FoneTwish to enable access to Facebook through USSD for its users.

-  Service is used by over 40 operators in 30 countries.

-  Currently, there are over 10 million users across the world who access Facebook through USSD.

LIMITATIONS :

-  Facebook will be limited to a text-based service when used through USSD.

-  A user cannot access photographs on his phone through FoneTwish.

-  Offcourse there will be limitations w.r.t the proper web based experience that we see on a smartphone...but still..kudos to the effort and congrats to basic phone users.

4.   Well there may be one good news that as on date such phones will be more secure than smartphones.Too early to say before they get broken  too...lets wait and watch...

5.   Thanks http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

My Blog Reaches 1,00,000 ie 1 Lakh hits : STATISTICS here

1.   I have been blogging for around 6 years now and the journey has been amazing.I got into blogging without knowing any thing about traffic and readers and then maintaining a blog when you are working also is at times difficult.This actually means the time you could have spent with your family is being spent on blogging.But then as we say "Purpose is the reason you journey and Passion is the fire that lights your way."...and so has been applicable to me.Simply the passion to study and share IT and experiment with tools and researches has been the force for my energies being put in here.I bring out the stats here of the 1 Lakh hits from Google Analytics.

ALL STATS HERE HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM GOOGLE ANALYTICS

COUNTRY WISE HITS RECORDED

 

BROWSER STATS OF THE USERS WHO HIT IT

 OPERATING SYSTEM DETAILS OF USERS WHO HIT IT

  THE ASCEND OF OVERALL HITS SEEN RISING 2007 ONWARDS

THE GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTERFACE

BLOG SCREEN SHOT SHOWING THE VISITANTS

If u r Google Service User : Don't EXPECT any Privacy@MISINTERPRETED!!!!!

1.    For about last 4-5 years ,we have come across many debates about how so many companies are minting our private data and associating that with third parties to create a profile based marketing environment in and around the naive user....and except for the few white papers about the technicalities involved in doing this ...max of the companies had denied mincing with privacy..but actually they were just mincing with words to have their way inside the privacy den of each user!!!!and now the big revelation from Google comes as part of small news...and that says 

"Google Tells Court You Cannot Expect Privacy When Sending Messages to Gmail -- People Who Care About Privacy Should Not Use Service"

But it seems that the meaning has been mis interpreted....

The complete extract available here at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/googlemotion061313.pdf

2.      Isn't it a big news otherwise!!!!but the news has been put across the web as just a small snippet news....

"Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their communications are processed by the recipient’s ECS provider in the course of delivery. Indeed, “a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 743-44 (1979). In particular, the Court noted that persons communicating through a service provided by an intermediary (in the Smith case, a telephone call routed through a telephone company) must necessarily expect that the communication will be subject to the intermediary’s systems. For example, the Court explained that in using the telephone, a person “voluntarily convey[s] numerical information to the telephone company and ‘expose[s]’ that information to its equipment in the ordinary course of business.” 

 3.      Now this declaration by Google has two connotations : one from point of view of a user who is only concerned about his private life,his social exchanges with friends,relative and office staff...and then the other point of view has a deeper meaning to it.The line highlighted above has been widely misinterpreted to make it seem like Google is saying Gmail users have no expectation of privacy when they use Gmail. To clarify and paint a better picture,Google's argument is about non-Gmail users who haven't signed Google's terms of service. It's right there in black and white — the heading for the section literally starts with the words "The Non-Gmail Plaintiffs."

 4.     But that does not mean the gmail users can take a back seat and relax about being safe again...the issue is too complex to have a clear cut YES...OR NO....the surfing goes on.....

Making GOOGLE search safe for Kids : Two steps

1.    Invariably in most of the homes barring few...the desktop or the laptop is shared by all...including your enthu and school going kid.Today Google has become part of our lives...be it office or home or school lessons..it is always there.But at times it may become embarrassing when some inappropriate content is shown in presence of your kid while searching for something that your search may not be connected with at all.At these times there are basically two steps to more safe surfing.Google has given this in settings, but by default they are off.Though Google does not promise that after configuring in the way presented below,the content flashed is guaranteed to be safe but yess...it will be much filtered and safer...

First Google search configure :

Goto http://www.google.com/preferences

and check the option to Turn on SafeSearch to filter sexually explicit content from your search results as shown in the screen shot below :

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Second step is to configure your youtube settings.

Goto http://www.youtube.com/

and move to the bottom of the screen and check the option to Turn on safety mode to hide videos that may contain inappropriate content flagged by users and other signals.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Zoomed portion shown below :

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

A video screen cast of both the settings shown below vide youtube :

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK THE SAVE OPTION AFTER CHECKING THE OPTION

Your ANDROID APPLICATIONS : Mining your profile

1.    It is common for us to hear a company promoting its phone or tablet showcasing that lakhs of android applications are available for free...and the poor(???) customer generally falls for it...so he buys the device and immediately starts exploiting the world of millions of applications on the net and the Google play store...now off course Google just does not upload a application for download once the up loader does his part of the formalities and registration...it checks under its set of QRs if the application is ok from the point of being malicious in nature or not but that does not always works....so many times android applications even in the Google play-store have been found to be suspected...now lets keep suspected apart...does the typical user even checks the terms and conditions of any application before installing?...the blind rule is JUST ACCEPT IT!!!and this goes against the user...this allows invasion to privacy...why should a company ask to access your phone contacts..your location..your system settings...your configuration settings before it allows to install it application on your device...BUT NO ONE THINKS ABOUT THIS!!!!

Back in February of this year, Google announced it was hardening its stance on Android security, unveiling an app-scanner (codenamed Bouncer) to weed out malware uploaded to Android Market (now Google Play) through automatic scanning. Since then, Google has taken more steps to protect Android users: it acquired VirusTotal back in September and in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean introduced an optional app verification feature that enables users to identify dangerous and potentially-dangerous apps on their devices, even if they downloaded them from the Web or got them from an app store other than Google Play.

How have Google’s efforts to combat Android malware been working out? Perhaps not so well. Security researchers were quickly able to analyze how Bouncer operated and find easy ways to circumvent Google Play’s automated scanning — techniques publicly available now to malware authors if they hadn’t managed to think of them on their own. Further, Xuxian Jiang of North Carolina State University has published an assessment of Jelly Bean’s app verification capability. The results? Google’s app verification service identified just over 15 percent of malware samples thrown at it from the Android Malware Genome Project

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/who-can-fight-android-malware-not-google/

2.     Mobile malware is lately becoming a organised crime with complex sophistication in terms of tracking back....and this makes the attack surface for the hacker and the black hats more big and the user more vulnerable at the same time....The most common victim is the one who looks for free applications in various heads of education...technology and not to forget the games section which is a big hit among-st all...the users love the games for which he has to pay nothing and the attacker gets a lot of attack surface to play around...and then the DO IT YOUR SELF TOOLS again add to the attack surface.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO AVOID THIS?

- Keep your android updated: Now in this case most of the devices till 4.2.1 may not support upgrades..but then you have to keep your fingers crossed!!!

- Refrain from android applications other then google play store.STill you have to be careful...wherever possible read the Terms and Conditions before installing

-  Avoid public open wifi connections

-  Limit your greed to free applications.You may google about the application on google before you install it on your device.

Best IT SECURITY INFO & NEWS SItes

1.         IT Security enthusiasts guys/girls always keep looking forwards to discovering new sites that keep them enriched with latest happenings in the buzzing IT SECURITY world...I am listing out a list of sites that I keep abuzz with.These are not necessarily in the order of my preference or have any kind of ratings or ranking....but a whole lot of enriching info is available for every cyber security guy!!!

http://www.schneier.com/

http://thehackernews.com/

https://www.privacyrights.org/

https://www.owasp.org is specific to web application security subjects

http://www.itsecurity.com/

http://technet.microsoft.com has more of MS related aspects

http://csrc.nist.gov/

http://www.sans.org/

http://www.securityfocus.com/ : by Symantec

http://www.cert.org/

http://www.scmagazine.com/

http://www.securityweek.com/

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/

http://www.darkreading.com/

....surf few of them and enrich your self!!!!all the best

"Terms & Conditions Apply" : Bon Voyage to your Privacy

1.   How many of you actually read the complete word set of "Terms and Conditions" of an application like Chrome browser ,Facebook or some thing like WhatsApp,Truecaller etc.....m sure no one hardly has time for that....ok...just for info please read the excerpt below :

Google's terms of service, for instance, clocks in at 1,711 words, according to an AFP count, not including a separate 2,382-word privacy policy that is still about 1,000 words shorter than the Google Chrome browser policy

Facebook's terms of service clocks in at 4525 words....(I did a word count with a libre office)

WhatsApp terms of service clocks in at 6549 words....(I did a word count with a libre office for this too :-)

2.    So at the above rate for a typical Internet user who installs the regular OS,Word ,PDF,VLC, it would take about 200 hours the equivalent of about one full month of work a year to fully read all the terms and conditions attached to his or her favorite websites.Will any person on earth do it?Now think over the fact that why would a company legally bind every user with thousand of words of legal agreement...what could be the motive...the motive of any company on the web is not just to save its own credibility and ass but the real motive is mining data...that's why most of it is free...why would chrome be free or for that matter why so many applications are free?...I am not trying to demean the OPENSOURCE community here who are doing a great job and I am a strict FOSS for that matter...but I would like to focus on other applications like WhatsApp,Truecaller...and so many uncountable Android,Gaba,Windows mobile applications etc....

3.   A simple click by you on Accepting the Terms and Conditions of the the application company allows your consent to online lives being archived, shared with third parties or passed on to government agencies without notice....and that's a very very serious privacy breach today when we know that in another about 4-5 years to come when our digital dependence would be like never before...this can mean havoc....for example a school student who has a home computer based on pirated or for this matter even genuine OS with loads of software's with separate set of terms and conditions.....will have his/her literally whole life profile including his FB posts,his/her preferences,his phone calls,his phone contacts,audio recordings,photographs,his/her secrets of life and anything that can be his/her privacy attribute known to the third parties with whom he has no concern...and these third parties will have their ways and means to effect his/her life in so many ways then....!!!!!

Security Issues : Whats App !!!!

1.   WhatsApp had set a new record with 27 billion messages in a day on 13th Jun 2013...now that's hell of a lot!!!!!a huge success by any means in terms of revenue generation and collection of info...as I really wonder if all these naive users most of them who are actually not aware of the kind of critical information they have allowed to be passed on...such applications are currently enjoying huge success banking on the naive users....who don't actually realize the repercussions owing to this valuable personal info loss.....just read these few eye raising conditions before any one installs this app :

- Prevent Phone from sleeping

- Change Wifi state

- write sync settings

- Modify/delete SD card contents

- read phone state

- Read contact data

- Write contact data

- Record audio

- Read my location

- Read my other accounts credentials

2.  If one goes through the deeper insights of all these aspects that the user has to invariably accept for enjoying the application thinking its free(when he has given invaluable personal info to a stranger) from point of view of security...it starts getting scary...!!!!going through the above terms it is invariably understood that all your contacts info is already gone....now how much is that info depends on how much have you stored...if you have stored the residential address,his email,his other phone numbers etc...that's all gone the moment you install!!!!..and add to this location and hardware details....from a hacker point of view the attack surface is already prepared vide one shot of installation only.....

3.  If Whatsapp says that they respect user privacy and would not submit all the info to any advertising agency or any third party...then y are they collecting all this ?Whats their security architecture?How reliable is that?Do they guarantee a NO-HACK situation?......

DATA CENTER's : THE INDIAN SCENE

1.   The phenomenal growth of data in India is rapidly evolving but where is all that data being stored?.....not a big deal to find out that all your FB profiles,your friends list, Google hangout circle of friends and all the enumerable social networking sites on the web stores your data across the globe but not in India....yes that's the truth...every bit of data that your profile holds is actually residing off shores ...what India might be holding is just logs of transaction via various monitoring eyes like CMS as discussed in last post!!!

2.   But actually what debar's any big company with a global presence to set up a data center in apna India...recently there have a explosion of many posts across the web o sphere citing the query of why is it so?...the reasons cited culminate on one reason and that's known as SECURITY....the non existence of "DATA PRIVACY LAWs" in India.....more over the fact that there is presently no existence of GIS routing of laid OFCs and cables maps though there are always plans and proposals for the future. The problem of underground OFC in and around NCR is such that companies are afraid to commit 100% availability of up time because your OFC can get damaged any time owing to so many under construction sites in NCR with dozers digging out OFC like Hollywood monsters.And these diggings are ever to continue coz still there are no laid down GIS mappings that can accurately predict the route and depth of laid out OFCs....and the most important I feel is the promise of state ELECTRIC POWER supply which is surely unreliable during any season....it is indeed surprising that power is still an issue in NCR towns!!!

3.   The future will always remains bright because we always have plans to remove all these problem areas but how and when remains a futuristic answer.GIS routing of cables is an imminent need and so are the data protection laws.By default as on date most of the data centres are coming up in Singapore.

"Singapore offers an ideal combination of reliable infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a commitment to transparent and business-friendly regulations" is how Google explains its choice of the city. Oracle cites "excellent telecommunications infrastructure and efficient, well-qualified manpower".

Much like India set up software technology parks to nurture its IT services and BPO industry, Singapore is setting up a 13-hectare Data Center Park and inviting companies from across the world. It already has some 20 data centre hubs and offers tax and other incentives.

Source here

Browser Updates

1.   Without emphasizing on the need of why we should always keep our browsers updated,I am briefly bringing out here how to check and update your browsers.These browsers are invariably the most commonly used one's ...so I just updated few of them although the browsers exists in plenty!!!!

Firstly

To check the version of your Web Browser, Open the  Browser 

and do the following actions :

For Opera Browser

Click on “Main Menu > Help > About Opera”.

For Firefox

Click “Main Menu >Help> About Firefox.

For Internet Explorer

Press Alt+H and Click on “About Internet Explorer”.

For Apple Safari

Press Alt+H and Click on “About Safari”.

Secondly

To check whats the latest version doing the surfing....i advise two options...either you can simply ask google or check form the respective websites of the web browser...or another easy(but third party) way out is to check the latest versions available for download at http://www.filehippo.com/software/internet/browsers/

Whonix : Not just another ANONYMOUS OS!!!

1.     When u simply Google on "How to surf Anonymously on the web ? ".....u get a whooping 5,510,000 results in 0.19 seconds!!!!!but when u have such a plethora of options..how do u actually decide on which is actually worth? So there is TOR, then there is Anonymous OS.....did some one think Incognito?....:-)..so we have millions in the line!...so now what I am going to mention here is about Whonix OS.....few points about this as follows :

- An anonymous general purpose Operating System based on Virtual Box, Debian GNU/Linux and Tor.

- By Whonix design, IP and DNS leaks are impossible.

- Not even malware with root rights can find out the user's real IP/location.

- Whonix consists of two (virtual) machines.

-  One VM solely runs Tor and acts as a gateway, which we call Whonix-Gateway.

-  The other VM, which we call Whonix-Workstation, is on a completely isolated network.

-  Only connections through Tor are possible.

2.  When you download the image from the source forge site at http://sourceforge.net/projects/whonix/files/whonix-0.5.6/ you get basically three files.Two in the appliance format and one as a vmdk.So here is the basic diagram explaining the working architecture in WHONIX.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

3.   There is a small difference when we install this OS.Unlike the regular OSs wherein you get the .iso image of the OS and you install it in the typical manner,here the files you need to install are actually virtual appliances in form of .ovf and .ova format.How the installation is done is shown in the video cast below :

HP LaserJet Pro printers : Telnet Vulnerable

1.    A critical vulnerability discovered in few LaserJet Pro printers that could give remote attackers access to sensitive data. The latest breach expose by Germany security expert, Christoph von Wittich.In brief points below :

-   HP LaserJet Professional printers contain a telnet debug shell which could allow a remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to data.

-   Christoph von Wittich,the guy detected the vulnerability during a routine network scan of his company's corporate network.

-   Vulnerability could also be used for a denial-of-service attack.

-   As long as the printer is not connected to the Internet, this vulnerability should not cause much trouble for the end user,".

-  Effected printers include

      HP LaserJet Pro P1102w
      HP LaserJet Pro P1102
      HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn
      HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1213nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1214nfh MFP
      HP LaserJet ProM1216nfh Multifunction Printer,
      HP LaserJet Pro M1217nfw Multifunction Printer,
      HP LaserJet Pro M1218nfs MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1219nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw
      HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw

2.    Now for HP something like this is not new....even in past about 2 years back in dec 2011,a vulnerabilty was discovered wherein "Print of one malicious document can expose your whole LAN".

3.    In-fact I discussed a past case at Feb 2012 last year here....3 months after that happened.HP seems to be busy with printing only....high time they start focusing serious work on security aspects too!!!!

4.    Thanks THN....The Hacker News

Browser fight continues : CHROME continues topping too!!!

1.    Not long back we all have seen or might have experienced when violent and pornographic images were fed across facebook profiles of FB friends without the knowledge of the online FB user when he used to simply click on a tempting link!!!!All that happened owing to so many malwares but the exact launching vulnerability was indeed in the BROWSER!!!!!

2.    The openweb is full of options for seemingly good browsers viz Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. But who is the best?.....though when u google u find so may individual claims but third party tests are always welcome on such issues...specially when they have huge evidence to support....like few years back I posted on ACID3 test for the browsers...this one comes from Accuvant...and its actually huge in terms of a conclusive report that's 139 pages in toto......:-)

3.   The full report can be accessed by clicking here...so the Accuvant study revealed that Chrome ranks as the most secure web browser when compared to Internet Explorer and Firefox. Interestingly, German government named Chrome the most secure browser, perhaps lending weight to the study. 

4.   The criteria to test these browsers included factors like ASLR,GS,Sandboxing,JIT Security etc as shown below :

(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

5.   Please google if you wish to know the criteria factors mentioned above in the image.Thanks http://www.accuvant.com/

TrueCaller : Is it Stealing your Info?

1.    TrueCaller is one famous application doing the rounds on Twitter Google+ Facebook Android Phones.The claim by the application goes like you login from either of the applications and you would be able to know the name of the mobile phone number owner by name.The claim actually stands right in over 90 % of the cases that I tried.This made me wonder how?...i thought like all those free forms that we keep regularly filling on the internet or some grocery shop for some free bundles or if TrueCaller has tied up with the mobile phone service providers?But then something happened that made me a little suspicious about this app.It so happened that I tried my mom's number on the application and so came the answer like "TIWARI MAM"....this made me think of how would the application know that my mom is a teacher...

2.   So I wondered if the application after installation on your mobile device actually makes all the contacts phone number available on the site with the name that I have typed against that number!!!So I tried mine which was not available, by the name "anupam CCCSP"

3.  Though it did not show promptly but after a day after I typed my phone number it came to be seen as "anupam CCCSP".So this actually means that the application is actually stealing and making my contacts info on my phone public!!!!...but then I also realized that it was me only who agreed to the terms and conditions while installing the app on my phone which most of us including me never read.

4.   So it comes actually to the naiveness of the common user who invariably without reading any of the terms and conditions agrees to install.....:-) 

Otome 3D : World’s first 3D-Printing Photo Booth

1.    At one of my earlier posts about 3D Printers about 4 months back,I had discussed about the phenomenal world of 3D Printers....the vast applications envisaged and what not...it is left to imagination of how do we use this technology....but then I could not find any commercially available products available to comman men.....but here we are....a company Harajaku in Japan will house the world’s first 3D-printing photo Booth by Otome 3D. This can ensure that you have your very own Madam Tussad-esque replica, up to 20cm, of yourself. The process involves scanning of entire bodies of subjects for about 15 minutes, after which, you are reproduced in material, to much awe and astonishment. More details about this at here

2.    Thanks http://www.newlaunches.com/

Cloud Threat : Malicious Insiders

1.   A lesser known fact but a serious threat comes in form of a malicious insider ie the people who work for the organisation delivering the cloud services.In a typical organisation,one malicious insider can put the company in serious trouble and embarassment unless all are monitored by placing strict access controls and policies.Thus the threat multifolds in capacity of doing damage in case of companies who offer cloud models as service since all services and customers under a single management domain, combined with a general lack of transparency into provider process and procedure. For example, a provider may not reveal how it grants employees access to physical and virtual assets, how it monitors these employees, or how it analyzes and reports on policy compliance.To complicate matters, there is often little or no visibility into the hiring standards and practices for cloud employees. This kind of situation clearly creates an attractive opportunity for an adversary — ranging from the hobbyist hacker, to organized crime, to corporate espionage, or even nation-state sponsored intrusion. The level of access granted could enable such an adversary to harvest confidential data or gain complete control over the cloud services with little or no risk of detection. 

2.   Recommendations by CSA are put up below :

-  Enforce strict supply chain management and conduct a comprehensive supplier assessment.

-  Specify human resource requirements as part of legal contracts.

-  Require transparency into overall information security and management practices, as well as compliance reporting.

-   Determine security breach notification processes.

3.   Thanks CSA

Cloud Threat : Unknown risk profile

1.    The best thing all of us like and promote about cloud is that we have very little and reduced investment in software and hardware and also that the cloud user is able to focus on his core business.Like for a bank he should not be worried about what server should he buy or what storage should he provision...the bank should be able to focus on how to improve the banking procedures and profits.So this way the distraction is less for the prime user.But at the same time these benefits must be weighed carefully against the contradictory security concerns which are complicated by the fact that cloud deployments are driven by anticipated benefits, by groups who may lose track of the security requirements and musts.Would ever the Bank,in an case example,bother to know the Versions of software, code updates, security practices, vulnerability profiles, intrusion attempts, and security design ?I am sure no bank would do that once they have outsourced their worries to the Cloud.Details and Information with whom the same infrastructure is being shared becomes critical.One loose hole and u get compromised.Although this is not so easy....but we should know that the cyber criminals and hackers work more then us to keep all of us on toes and if successful then on Knees:-)

2. An old, 2009, real case example exploiting this specific threat is available at http://www.pcworld.com/article/158038/heartland_has_no_heart_for_violated_customers.html

3.  Recommendations by CSA :

-  Disclosure of applicable logs and data.

-  Partial/full disclosure of infrastructure details (e.g., patch levels, firewalls, etc.).

-  Monitoring and alerting on necessary information.

4.  Thanks https://cloudsecurityalliance.org

Cloud Threat : Insecure Interfaces and APIs

1.    How does a typical cloud user interacts,manages and configures his cloud ? This interaction is achieved with Cloud Computing providers exposing the user to a set of software interfaces or APIs.Thus the overall demand,settings,managing and all configuration is achieved using this interface and APIs only.Thus comes the aspect of security of handling and designing these interfaces and APIs.The security and availability of ANY cloud service is dependent upon the security of these basic APIs. From authentication and access control to encryption and activity monitoring, these interfaces must be designed to protect against both accidental and malicious attempts to circumvent policy.Not only this,but all the third parties often build upon these interfaces to offer value-added services to their customers. This introduces the complexity of the new layered API.The recommended remediation's vide CSA are mentioned below :

- Analyze the security model of cloud provider interfaces.

- Ensure strong authentication and access controls are implemented in concert with encrypted transmission.

- Understand the dependency chain associated with the API

2.   Thanks CSA : CLOUD SECURITY ALLIANCE