 Nothing much. That is if you want the short answer. For the long answer, you are invited to give this article a scan, as we take a look at what exactly will Windows 10 November 2019 Update brings to the table. If you have been following along the development of the operating system, you may have noticed some silence on the 19H2 front. Microsoft has moved the majority of the new features to early next year, reserving them for the 20H1 release. What this means is that while there are a number of new additions to November 2019 Update (codenamed 19H2), the focus for this is on optimizations and refinements, as well as under the hood changes. To some, this makes the most lackluster since the Windows 10 November 2015 Update, which was the first major OS update. A case can be made that 19H2 rivals that version in terms of new features that it brings. However, this fall release of Windows 10 still brings along valuable refinements, small as they are, to your PC. Not to mention the stability and performance enhancements that the company will build future versions on. Microsoft stirred things up a bit recently when it made the decision to split the major Windows 10 releases into two distinct flavors — the first one being a fully-fledged update with new features, and the other one being a secondary patch update. Since we already got the first major update for the year as 19H1, this new release is now on the horizon. What separates this release from the previous versions is how Microsoft plans to ship it to users. 19H2 will arrive in the form of a cumulative update that end-users will be able to install on top of their current Windows 10 19H1 installation. This is a significant change for the company and should result in an overall smaller download and faster install process. Speaking of changes, another notable change is that the 19H2 update is only being tested in the Slow Ring of the Windows Insider Program. That is because the Fast Ring of the preview program is paying host to the 20H1 release, which is well in development now. More complete details can be found posted on OUR FORUM.  Several companies from the automotive industry were targeted by BitPaymer ransomware operators during August, in attacks that used an Apple zero-day vulnerability impacting the Apple Software Update service bundled with iTunes and iCloud for Windows. Apple Software Update is an updater service that gets automatically installed computers when users install iTunes or iCloud for Windows or when using Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows on a Mac. This service is designed to keep all Apple apps up to date on a Windows device, as well as to deliver software and security updates to Windows installations running on Macs computers. BitPaymer's operators found an unquoted path vulnerability within Apple Software Update for Windows which allowed them to launch their ransomware payload on the devices of any target that used iTunes or iCloud, as well as on those where they were previously uninstalled since the updater service is not also removed automatically. As part of their attacks, the BitPaymer operators executed a previously dropped ransomware payload instead of the Apple Software Update binary by abusing the zero-day. They did this by taking advantage of the fact that Apple's developers did not surround the service binary's execution path with quotes. This made it possible for them to launch the BitPaymer ransomware dropped in the form of a binary named 'Program' without an extension. Given that the Apple Software Update binary is signed by Apple, using it to launch the ransomware payload also enabled them to evade detection, fooling the behavioral engine of anti-malware solutions present on the compromised systems. Learn more by visiting OUR FORUM.  Using a credential stuffing attack, an unauthorized person was able to gain access to a TransUnion Canada web portal and use it to pull consumer credit files. BleepingComputer has learned that starting last week TransUnion Canada began sending out data security incident notifications via postal mail to consumers whose information was exposed in a credential stuffing attack. These notifications state that an unauthorized user utilized a TransUnion business portal to perform credit file lookups between June 28th and July 11th, 2019. The attacker was able to gain access to the portal using a TransUnion customer's account that was stolen in a credential stuffing attack. Once the unauthorized user gained access to the TransUnion portal, they could perform credit searches using a consumer's name, address, DOB, or Social Insurance Number ("SIN). If the correct information was entered, a credit file would be shown that contains the consumer's name, date of birth, current and past addresses, and information related to the credit, such as loan obligations, amounts owed, and payment history. Actual account numbers, though, would not be included in the report. While this is not a data breach in the sense that the hacker was able to gain access to the TransUnion's full database, it is still concerning as they would have been able to query for a consumer's credit file. As the information exposed in this security incident could easily be used by the attacker for identity theft, it is strongly recommended that all affected users monitor their credit history for fraudulent activity or new unauthorized lines of credit. Learn more by visiting OUR FORUM. |
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