AWARENESS: STAY SAFE WHILE SURFING THE INTERNET

More security issues have been reported. When you open news channel today it’s hard not to find reporters talking about Cybersecurity challenges. Here are some few examples, starting with "BBC" they reported on Spotify being the latest high-profile technology company to be hit by a security breach. When we turn to  "RT"  cyberwar/ espionage between China and US took a new turn and "CNN"  reported on iPhone, hacking incidence that took place yesterday (27/May).

Let's face it; we've all loosened up on our online security. E-shopping used to be slightly dubious; filling out forms was always approached with caution and creating passwords, totally top secret. But now we're one-click shopping, auto-completing and standardizing and it means we're more vulnerable than ever.

How can we can we be safe while surfing the internet? This has been one question we keep asking ourselves. Here I will discuss about five things you didn't even know you were exposing yourself to. These will help you increase safety while surfing the internet, but we should also remember we are all still vulnerable to attacks and extra effort by an individual should be taken in considerations.

1. Beware the overshare

Armed with just a name, a stranger trailing the internet can find out your rough weight and height, as well as the places you like to go for dinner, simply because you've started using a fitness tracker online.

Getting motivated to lose those extra couple of pounds or walk a bit more is great, but it's exposing more of your lifestyle than you think, 'And the information is very personal, how often you exercise, how much and where, what did you eat and drink and where? The profile you're building is extensive and you're sharing it with all of your friends to keep you motivated. Be wary - most settings are set to default when you sign up, so just think twice before you start sharing.

KESHO YA UHALIFU MTANDAO SEHEMU YA MWISHO

Katika sehemu ya kwanza ya habari hii inayosomeka "HAPA"  na pia ilipata kusikika kwenye kipindi cha redio cha Teknohama kama kinavyosikika "HAPA" nilizungumzia changamoto za uhalifu mtandao hii leo na kugusia aina mbili za awali za uhalifu mtandao unaotegemea kuongeza kasi hapo kesho. 

Aidha katika sehemu hii ya pili nitajikita katika mifano zaidi ya Uhalifu mtandao hapo kesho , kugusia mapambano yanayoendelea katika kukabiliana na uhalifu mtandao kwa mifano nikianzia na huu unaosomeka  "HAPA" na mwisho nitazungumzia wito wangu kwenye hili ili kuweza kupata taifa, Afrika na Hatimae Dunia salama kimtandao . . . 

Kuingilia kila kinachotumika majumbani, Hili nalo limeanza kuleta wasi wasi mkubwa ya kuwa wahalifu watafikia mahali waweze kuzima au kuwasha taa za majumba ya watu bila wao kuwepo eneo la tukio Si tu kufanya hivyo hii itausisha na kubadilisha vitu mbali mbali ndani ya majumba ya watu pasi na wao kuwepo eneo latukio.

Hili limezungumzwa baada ya kukuwa kw kasi kwa kinacho julikana kama “Smart Houses” ambapo tayari zimesha anza kutumiwa katika maeneo mbali mbali. Nyumba hizi kila kilichomo ndani kina ongozwa na rimoti maalalum ambayo inakua inahusisha mtandao, hivyo wahalifu wanapokuwa wameingilia mtandao wa muhusika wanaweza kusababisha athari niliyo ieleza hapo juu.

Kuingiliwa kwa mifumo ya magari, Inagawa uhalifu huu si mgeni tayari ulisha anza kuleta athari katika baadhi ya maeneo kama taarifa inayosomeka "HAPA"  ilivyo changanua kwa kina aina hii ya uhalifu. Pametabiriwa uhalifu huu kushika kasi zaidi hapo kesho.

Hili limeleta wasi wasi mkubwa sana kwa wataalam wa maswala ya ulinzi mtandao ukizingatia magari mengi yamekua yakiwekewa mifumo ya komputa kuwezesha mambo mbali mbali katika magari hayo. Mapema mwaka huu kulitokea tukio maarafufu lililogundulika pale “Formula One racing team” waliposema wanaamini mfumo wa kuliongoza gari waliyokuwa wanatumia lilikua na virusi.

TIPS TO LOCK CYBERCRIMINALS OUT – ROUTER ATTACKS

INTRODUCTION:

Cybercriminals always look for the weakest link when planning their attacks – often it’s human error, such as weak passwords or opening phishing mails, but failings in home routers can allow another “way in”.

Repeated router attacks throughout the past year have shown that the devices can contain “backdoors” which allow attackers access to your private data. Once known, this information will circulate rapidly among cyber gangs.

We also don’t help ourselves. A study of 653 IT and security professionals and 1,009 remote workers found that 30% of IT professionals and 46% of remote workers do not change default passwords on their routers – one of the most important steps to take to avoid falling foul of router attacks.

So far, router attacks are a new and evolving phenomenon – but with 300,000 routers hijacked into a botnet which could “read” data from machines connected to it, it’s worth protecting yours.

TIPS:

1.      Don’t leave your username as ‘admin’

The first, and most important step, is to change your router’s password from its default username and password. Routers ship with a web page allowing users to adjust settings, with default passwords and usernames such as “admin”. These are widely known to hackers, and should be changed immediately.

POLISI WA UNGANISHA NGUVU KWENYE MAPAMBANO DHIDI YA UHALIFU MTANDAO

Polisi wa visiwa vya kifalme vya Solomon vilivyopo pasifiki ya kusini wameunganisha nguvu katika mapambano dhidi ya uhalifu mtandao na kuelezwa ya kwamba nguvu kubwa itasogezwa mashuleni ili kukuza uelewa wa maswala ya uhalifu mtandao (Awareness) na kusisitizwa hiyo ndio itakua shabaha yao ya awali. Haya yamebainishwa na Bradford Theonomi katika taarifa yake ya kingereza inayosomeka   "HAPA" .

Kupitia program ya mpango uliopewa jina la “Cyber safety pasifika” uliopangwa kuwasaidia watoto, vijana na wakubwa kutumia teknolojia katika hali ya usalama iliyojiri kuanzia mnamo tarehe 19 -25 May mwaka huu (2014) ulilenga kuhakiki matumizi salama ya mitandao visiwani humo unapewa kipaumbele na ukanda mzima wa pasifiki ya kusini kwa ujumla wake.

Makubaliano hayo yalifikiwa wakati wa mkutano ulio fanyika na kuwahusisha wakuu wa polisi wa visiwa hivyo. Kauli mbiu iliyo someka kama “ Historia yetu, Utamaduni wetu na mitandao yetu” Ilidahmiriwa kuhamasisha matumizi salama ya mitandao na simu katika ukanda huo wa pasifiki ya kusini.

Bi. Juanita Matanga

Bi. Juanita Matanga, Mkuu wa polisi wa visiwa hivyo aliainisha utayari wa kujipanga kukabiliana na uhalifu mtandao huku akitolea maelezo ukuaji wa kasi wa matumizi ya mitandao na simu katika visiwa hivyo na duniani kwa ujumla. Aidha Alieleza ukuwaji wa matumizi ya mitandao bahati mbaya wengi hawajui athari zake. Hilo ndilo lililo wasukuma kuanzisha kampeni hiyo ya kukuza uelewa wa maswala ya uhalifu mtandao (Cybercrime Awareness Campaign) visiwani humo.

CYBERTHREATS CONTINUE TO RISE

If a single theme dominated the Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference that was held at the beautiful Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa Las Vegas in May 21 – 23 this year (2014), It was Cyberthreats are multiplying and the criminals are getting better at their jobs. One of the key questions before the nearly 50 credit unions in attendance at the confab was are they taking the necessary steps to win the battle?

Opening speaker Andy Robbins, a network penetration expert with TrustCC, said many networks are vulnerable to penetration by hackers. Sometimes, the network and its firewall are set up with easily-prevented vulnerabilities baked in. Often, though, the biggest vulnerability may be a credit union’s employees who can be easily tricked into giving up their login credentials. “This is your largest threat,” Robbins said.

He offered a hypothetical: Imagine if many employees receive an official looking email from human resources telling them that, because of Obamacare, they need to fill out an insurance questionnaire. A link to the questionnaire is included and to authenticate who they are, they need to provide their login credentials. Robbins insisted that typically, there is a stampede of employees filling out questionnaires.

The first five to complete the survey will receive $15 Starbucks gift cards for their time. However, that HR email is spoofed but the link to a site with a toxic payload is real. “We can turn a $5 gift card into a $5 million data breach,” he noted. What is the cure for this type of scenario? Robbins advised not trusting anyone and urged attendees to reiterate that message throughout their organizations.

Demetrios Lazarikos

Demetrios Lazarikos, an IT security consultant with risk assessment firm Blue Lava Consulting LLC in San Jose, Calif., and the former chief information security officer at the Sears Online Business Unit, offered a stern warning. “Don’t think you are not a target. You will be found and you will be probed.”

KESHO YA UHALIFU MTANDAO SEHEMU YA KWANZA - 1

Swala la uhalifu mtandao limezidi kutengeneza vichwa vya habari kila kukicha pakizingatiwa ukuwaji wa mbinu mpya za wahalifu mtandao zinazo wawezesha kufikia malengo ya kuleta athari kimtandao hivi leo. Wakati huo huo vita ya uhalifu mtanda imeendelea kwa kasi katika maeneo mbali mbali duniani.

Mijadala, maazimio mbali mbali pamoja na kupitishwa maamuzi yakua mwaka huu wa 2014 kua mwaka wa vitendo kukabiliana na uhalifu vimeenda sambamba na ukuwaji wa kasi wa uhalifu mtandao hivi sasa.Tumeweza shuhudia matukio mbali mbali mara tu baada ya kauli ya pamoja tuliyoiweka ya kupitisha mwaka 2014 kuwa wa vitendo kupambana na uhalifu mtandao kwenye kikao maalumu tulichokaa mapema mwaka huu.

Mifano wa matukio hayo ni pamoja na tishio la simu za android kugubikwa na matukio ya kiusalama mtandao, Heartbleed iliyo athiri makampuni mengi, internet explorer iliyo rahisisha wahalifu kuingilia Kopyuta za watu, na hili la hivi karibuni la eBay kuingiliwa na wahalifu. Hii ni mifano michache ingawa ipo mingi mingine iliyojiri kwa kipindi hiki kifupi baada ya maazimio ya pamoja.

LEO KWENYE UHALIFU MTANDAO.

Inaaminika makosa mengi yaleo yanayofanyika na wahalifu hapo kesho yatageuka kuwa makosa mtandao. Napenda kuanza na mifano michache ikiwa ni pamoja na wizi katika mabenki hapo awali wahalifu walikua wakiingia moja kwa moja katika mabenki na kuiba pesa lakini hivi leo uhalifu huo umegeuka kuwa ma kimtandao na pesa nyingi zimekuwa zikipotea kupitia wizi wa ATM na kuibiwa mitandaoni. Itakumbukwa FBI walitoa takwimu na kusema wizi katika mabenki ambapo muhalifu anaingia moja kwa moja benki umepungua kwa asilimia 60.

CYBER-ATTACKS HIT eBay: IT HAS ASKED USERS TO CHANGE THEIR PASSWORDS.

Online marketplace eBay is forcing users to change their passwords after a cyber-attack compromised its systems.

The US firm said a database had been hacked between late February and early March, and had contained encrypted passwords and other non-financial data.

The company added that it had no evidence of there being unauthorized activity on its members' accounts.

However, it said that changing the passwords was "best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users".

The California-based company has 128 million active users and accounted for $212bn (£126bn) worth of commerce on its various marketplaces and other services in 2013.

It said it would be contacting users to alert them of the issue via email, its website, adverts and social media.

SERIKALI NCHINI UCHINA IMEPIGA MARUFUKU MATUMIZI YA WINDOW 8.

Nchini uchina kumezuka gumzo baada ya serikali kupiga marufuku matumizi ya Window 8 katika computa zote za serikali nchini humo. Taarifa iliyo chapishwa na “CHINA DAILY” ilibainisha uamuzi huo wa serikali uliowekwa kwenye tovuti ya serikali ya nchini humu ambapo ilisisitiza zoezi hilo hali husu komputa za watu binafsi isipokuwa zile zinazotumiwa na serikali.

Tangazo hilo la serikali linalosemeka “HAPA” limebainisha uamuzi huo wa serikali umekuja baada ya kufungiwa huduma za kiusalama kwa Window XP huku likiweka wazi ya kuwa wamefikia hapo kutokana na sababu za kiusalama mtandao. Komputa hizo za serikali zitakua ziki tumia Operating system nyingine yoyote isipokua Window 8 ilisistizwa.

Kwa sasa nchini uchina inasemekana Komputa nyingi za serikali zilikua zinatumia Window Xp ambayo imekua si salama tena kimtandao ambapo inaweza ruhusu mhalifu kupenya na kuleta madhara kwa mtumiaji hivyo kuongeza wimbi la uhalifu mtandao kwa sasa, hususan watumiaji wa Window hiyo iliyositishiwa huduma kwa sasa.

Kwa upande wa Microsoft, Imeonyehsa mshangao kuwa window 8 imeonywa kutumika nchini humo ilhali wanaamini iko salama na wanaipatia huduma zozote za kiusalama kila inapo hitajika, Msemaji wa Microsoft alinukuliwa akisema hivyo na kusisitiza ya kuwa Microsoft imekua ikitumia nguvu ya ziada kuhakiki bidhaa zake na huduma zake zinafikia kiwango cha matumizi kwa mujibu wa mahitaji ya serikali.

U.S. CHARGES USERS OF MALICIOUS SOFTWARE WITH CYBERCRIMES

NEW YORK – Hackers who paid $40 for a sinister software program called BlackShades stole sexually explicit photographs from personal computers, trained victims’ webcams on them using a remote access tool, and threatened victims who tried to block the online intrusions, prosecutors said Monday as they announced charges against BlackShades users.

Justice officials said BlackShades, which had thousands of customers and infected about half a million computers worldwide, underscored the global threat of cybercrime.

“It is without doubt one of the greatest threats to our country,” the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said at a news conference hours officials in Washington announced charges against members of the Chinese military for allegedly hacking into computers of U.S. companies.

Prosecutors in New York did not provide details about victims of BlackShades and its flagship feature, Remote Access Tool, or RAT, which let users hijack victims’ computers. But last year, officials said they found evidence that BlackShades had been used to spy on Miss Teen USA 2013 Cassidy Wolf.

Jared James Abrahams, 20, a college student from Temecula, Calif., was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in March after pleading guilty to computer hacking and extortion in that case.

Preet Bharara

Bharara said one of BlackShades’ alleged co-creators, Alex Yucel, a Swedish citizen, had been arrested in Moldova and was awaiting extradition to the United States. Also arrested was Brendan Johnston of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who is accused of selling BlackShades to others and providing technical support to customers between August 2011 and September 2012.

WANAOTUMA JUMBE ZA NGONO KUPITIA SIMU KUFUNGWA JELA NCHINI KENYA

Kwa mujibu wa tovuti ya "BBC SWAHILI"  Serikali ya Kenya imesema watu watakaopatikana na hatia ya kutuma ujumbe wa kingono kwa kutumia simu za kiganjani na intaneti watafungwa Jela.

Adhabu hiyo itawahusu wale wanaotuma ujumbe wenye picha za watu walio uchi na zenye mada ya ngono nchini humo.

Maafisa wakuu wa serikali wanasema kuwa yeyote atakayepatikana na hatia atafungwa jela kifungo cha miezi mitatu kwenda chini.

Afisa mkuu kutoka tume ya mawasiliano ya Kenya , Christopher Wambua, ameviambia vyombo vya habari nchini humo ,kwamba watu wenye tabia hiyo ya kutuma ujumbe wa kingono ,pamoja na picha zenye watu walio uchi ,watatozwa hadi shilingi elfu hamsini za Kenya au dola miatano na themanini na nane za kimarekani sawa na shilingi laki tisa arobaini elfu na mia nane za kitanzania kama faini au kufungwa jela.

Onyo hilo litawahusu hasa wale walio na uzoefu wa kutumiana ujumbe kama huo kupitia kwa simu ya kiganjani au kwenye intaneti. 

Kwa mujibu wa taarifa za serikali, kiwango ambacho watu hutumiana ujumbe wenye mada ya ngono pamoja na picha za watu walio uchi, zao wenyewe au za mtu mwingine kwa simu zao za kisasa ilipanda hadi asilimia sitini.

Hatua zilizo chukuliwa na wengine:

Kwa muda sasa nchi kadhaa zimechukua hatua ya kuhakiki wananchi wake hawapati nafasi ya kuperuzi mitandao isiyo endana na maadili ya nchi husika ikiwa ni pamoja na nchi kama China na Saudi Arabia. Wakati huo huo nchi mbali mbali zimeendelea kuhakiki picha zisizofaa mitandaoni hazipatikani kwa watoto hasa walio chini ya miaka 18.

BREAKING NEWS:US CHARGES 5 CHINESE OFFICIALS IN CYBERSPYING CASE

For the first time ever the US government has filed criminal charges against Chinese military and government officials, accusing them of hacking and stealing US trade secrets, according to NBC. Attorney General Eric Holder is set to announce more details about the charges at a news conference later today.

A US grand jury has charged 5 Chinese officials with economic espionage and trade secret theft, AP reports.

Meanwhile the Justice Department released leaflets with the names and photographs of accused Chinese officials.

Wall Street Journal reporter covering the Justice Dept. - Devlin Barrett Report

This news can be also read in detail "HERE"

UPDATES: Beijing reacted to Washington’s recent round of industrial Accusation 

China has dismissed all US accusations of industrial cyber-espionage against five of its military officials and published proof that Washington is actually stealing data from China. Beijing also summoned the US ambassador for an explanation.

China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team Coordination Center of China (NCNERTTCC) reported that during just two months, from March 19 to May 18, the US directly controlled 1.18 million host computers in China using 2,077 Trojan horse networks or botnet servers.

 Minister of Defense Chang with US Ambassador to China Max  

According to the NCNERTTCC, over the last two months 135 host computers stationed in the US conducted 14,000 phishing operations against Chinese websites using for the attacks 563 phishing pages. The other hacking activities through the same period of time included 57,000 backdoor attacks, performed from 2,016 IP addresses in the US through backdoors implanted on 1,754 Chinese websites.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador to China for an explanation, urging him to drop all charges against China’s military officers. The meeting between Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang and US Ambassador Max Baucus took place on Monday night, reported Xinhua.

WASIWASI WA KIUSALAMA MTANDAO WA TANDA KWA WATUMIAJI SIMU ZA ANDROID

Ransomware Gang, imebashiriwa kuleta athari kubwa sana kwa watumiaji wa simu za androids. Kauli hii iliainishwa na mkurugenzi mkuu wa Trend Micro bwana JD Sherry baada ya kunukuliwa akisema mwaka huu wa 2014 watumiaji simu wanategemea kuathirika zaidi kiusalama mtandao huku akionyesha wasi wasi kuwa wateja/watumiaji wa simu hizo hawako tayari (bado hawajajipanga) kukabiliana na changamoto hii ya kiusalama.

Kile kilicho onekana sana kwa watumiaji wa komputa ambapo wahalifu wanazifunga komputa kwa watumiaji makusudi ili kuwataka wahitaji msaada wa kufunguliwa na Ransomware uhalifu huu umegeukia  simu za viganjani hivi sasa kutokana na ukuwaji mkubwa wa watumiaji wa simu za viganjani.

Nini Kinacho tokea?

Mara tu “Reveton mobile” inapo athiri  simu itaonnyesha kwenye simu tahadhari isiyo sahihi ambayo chanzo chake kinaonekana kutokea mahala ulipo / katika nchi unayo patikana zaidi inaonekana inatoka katika chombo cha ulinzi na usalama mahali ulipo – hii imekua na usumbufu mkubwa kwa watumiaji simu.

THE IMPACT OF HOLLYWOOD ON CYBER SECURITY

A star from the series "NIKITA" named Birkhoff.

In terms of global communications, we are living through the most exciting period in human history. There are almost as many mobile subscriptions as there are people on the planet.


Dr. Toure, General secretary - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies said  by the end of 2013, 2.7 billion people will be using the internet; with 2.1 billion active mobile-broadband subscriptions.

 The rise of the Internet as a platform to share information and conduct business online, the world has never been as connected as it is today. Unfortunately the threat to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information is also increasing at a similar rate.

Cyber terrorism, Cyber war and organized crimes are considered growing threats. Initiatives to the fight against Cybercrime have started to rise to some countries and the impact is expected to be seen near future.

It is about time to each and every individual to understand the fight against Cybercrimes should not remain to a certain group of people but each individual has to play part in the fight in order to win the war against it.

A lot of money has been invested by the large developed country to facilitate the fight against these crimes through training, awareness program and the use of media to add an effort to the fight. Hollywood is playing a major role to the fight against cybercrimes.

A star from "Italian Job"

Cybercrime awareness campaign from Hollywood has a great impact on cyber security; I wrote in Swahili on this including sample videos and picture to demonstrate this campaign. The story can be read at "HOLLYWOOD" 

TEKNOLOGIA NA CHANGAMOTO ZA KIUSALAMA MTANDAO.

Teknolojia bado inaendelea kukua kila siku, Mambo mengi yame endelea kugundulika kupitia teknolojia hii leo. Pia Teknolojia imeendelea kusaidia urahisishaji wa mambo mengi sana ambayo awali yalikua ni magumu au kuchukua muda mrefu kukamilika.

Kama ilivyo katika maswala mbalimbali, Teknolojia nayo ina changamoto zake. Kwenye ukurasa huu kumekua kukijadiliwa changamoto mbali mbali kila kukicha za kiusalama mtandao. Baadhi ya vitu  vitakavyo onekana katika video hapo chini ni pamoja na mambo mbali mbali katika ukuaji wa teknolojia  na  changamoto zake. 

Mfano wa mambo utakayoweza kuyaona katika video hapo chini ni pamoja na:- 

1. Huduma mpya ya Facebook inayowezesha kujulisha mtu alipo na maswala ya usalama.
2. Wizi wa Mamilioni ya Madola ya sarafu za digitali za Bitcoins kupitia mtandao.

UHALIFU MTANDAO NI TISHIO - NINI KIFANYIKE?

Uhalifu mtandaoo bado ni tatizo si tu katika nchi ya Tanzania bali Afrika na hata Duniani kwa ujumla. Hali imekua ni mbaya na bado jitihada za dhati zinaendelea kimataifa ili kukabiliana na uhalifu mtandao. 

Kwa upande wa Tanzania midahalo imekua ikiendelea ikiwa ni katika kukuza uwelewa kwa watanzania juu ya maswala ya uhalifu mtandao. mchango wa vyombo vya habari katika kuelimisha jamii umeendelea kukua hivi sasa. Hili nilipata kulifafanua kupitia Mada niliyoiandikia kwa jina la unao someka hapa "MJADALA"

Ungana na mjadala ambao ni muendelezo wa mijadala mbali mbali kuhusiana na uhalifu mtandao, baada ya changamoto kuonekana kushika kasi swali linakuja nini kifanyike nchini Tanzania?

TAHADHARI: WATUMIAJI WA TELEVISHENI ZA PHILIPS WAKO HATARINI

Ni ukweli matumizi ya mtandao ni swala lisilo epukika katika kufanya mambo mbali mbali ya kila siku ikiwa ni pamoja na kufanya miamala ya biashara, mawasiliano, kuhabarisha na mengineyo.Taarifa ya awali niliyo iandikia kuhusiana na ukuwaji wa matumizi mtandao na athari zinazoendelea kukua inaweza kusomeka hapa “TANZANIA NA HALI YA USALAMA MTANDAO” taarifa iliyo weza kusomwa na kituo cha radio cha “CLOUDS FM” na kuandikwa kirefu kupitia “MWANANCHI”

 Tishio jingene jipya la kiusalama mtandao limebainishwa kwa watumiaji wa televisheni za Philips toleo la la mwaka 2013 maarufu kama “Philips smart TVs” ambapo wahalifu mtandao wanauwezo wa kuingilia TV hizo na kuanza kurusha matangazo yao binafsi  pamoja na kufatilia kila kinacho tazamwa na mtumiaji.

Tahadhari hii imetolewa ikiambatana na ushauri ambapo imeelezwa wahalifu mtandao wanauwezo mkubwa sana wa kuleta athari kwa watumiaji wa televisheni hizo na msemo “You have been watched” unaomaanisha unatazamwa kuanza kutumika kwenye mitandao ya kijamii kuelezea hisia za waathirika.