Researchers Uncover Spying Tool Used by Governments to Hijack all Types of Smartphones #Hacking #Privacy #Spying #Hijacking #Surveillance

Purchasing malware to victimize people is illegal by laws but if the same thing any government official do, then its not!! Yes, the police forces around the World are following the footsteps of U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI.

Researchers from the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and computer security firm Kaspersky Lab have unearthed a broad network of controversial spyware which is specially designed to give law enforcement agencies complete access to a suspect's phone for the purpose of surveillance.

MALWARE FOR DESKTOPS AND ALL MOBILE DEVICES

The malware, dubbed as Remote Control System (RCS), also known as Da Vinci and Galileo, is developed by an Italian company known as Hacking Team, available for desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices. The latest version of the malware works for all phone including Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry devices, but best on Android devices, and can also be installed on jailbroken iOS devices. But even if the targeted iOS device is not jailbroken, the malware uses the famous Evasi0n jailbreaking tool to install the malware easily.

The team of researchers from both Citizen Lab and Kaspersky Lab in collaboration has presented their findings during an event in London. According to the report published, the diameter of the command infrastructure supporting Hacking Team, which sells the RCS to governments and law enforcement, is very vast with 326 command-and-control (C&C) servers running in more than 40 countries.

MALWARE DEVELOPERS - ‘HACKING TEAM’

Hacking Team is a Milan-based IT company with more than 50 employees that has made a totally different place for itself selling "offensive" intrusion and surveillance software to governments and law enforcement agencies in "several dozen countries" on "six continents."

“It was a well-known fact for quite some time that the HackingTeam products included malware for mobile phones. However, these were rarely seen,” said Kaspersky Lab experts on the blog post. “In particular, the Android and iOS Trojans have never been identified before and represented one of the remaining blank spots in the story.”
WORLD WIDE WEB OF COMMAND-N-CONTROL SERVERS

Kaspersky Lab researchers have used a fingerprinting method to scan the entire IPv4 space and to identify the IP addresses of RCS Command & Control servers around the world and found the biggest host in United States with 64 counts of C&C servers. Next on the list was Kazakhstan with 49, Ecuador has 35, UK which hosts 32 control systems and many other countries with a grand total of 326 Command & Control servers.

"The presence of these servers in a given country doesn't mean to say they are used by that particular country's law enforcement agencies," said Sergey Golovanov, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. "However, it makes sense for the users of RCS to deploy C&Cs in locations they control – where there are minimal risks of cross-border legal issues or server seizures."

RCS can be physically implanted on the victim’s device through a USB or SD card, and remotely it can be installed through spear phishing, exploit kits, drive-by downloads or network traffic injection.

Once installed on Apple iOS and Android device, the new module enable governments and law enforcement officers with larger capabilities to monitor victim devices, including the ability to:

• control phone network
• steal data from their device
• record voice E-mail
• intercept SMS and MMS messages
• obtain call history
• report on their location
• use the device’s microphone in real time
• intercept voice and SMS messages sent via applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, and much more.

"Secretly activating the microphone and taking regular camera shots provides constant surveillance of the target—which is much more powerful than traditional cloak and dagger operations," Golovanov wrote.

While, the Android module is protected by an optimizer for Android called DexGuard that made the it extremely difficult to analyze. However, most of the iOS capabilities mentioned above are also available for Android, along with the support for hijacking applications such Facebook, Google Talk, Tencent of China and many more.

The mobile modules for each are custom-built for each target, researchers said. From previous disclosures we have seen that RCS is currently being used to spy on political dissidents, journalists, human rights advocates, and opposing political figures.

Credited to: Hacker News Website

Mozilla Firefox Add-ons A Hacker Must Have And Use #Hacker #Infosec #Browser

Firefox's one of the most secure browser in the world,like other browsers Mozilla Firefox has add-ons. This article brings the best and the most effective hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short this article's listing the most popular and interesting firefox add-ons that are useful for hackers and also security experts.The list vary from information gathering firefox add-ons to attacking tools/add-ons.

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

 All the add-on listed on this article are available and free on the Mozilla add-on website.

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

brings you the best and most effective Hacking add-ons ever on Firefox. In short, we are listing a most popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for Hackers. This list of 11 add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. All these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. So friends lets see what Darkhtu has bring this time for you. I will list them in way from top( I like most) to bottom pattern but note that all of them are extremely good tools. - See more at: http://www.darkhtu.net/2013/10/11-firefox-addons-hacker-must-have-and.html#sthash.DmID8xii.dpuf

1. Tamper Data
   
Tamper data is an great tool to to view and modify HTTP/HTTPS headers and post parameters. We can alter each request going from our machine to destination host with this. Thus it helps in security testing web application by modifying POST parameters. It can be used in performing XSS and SQL Injection attacks by modifying header data. Add Tamper data to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tamper-data/
 

2. Firebug
   
Firebug is a nice add-on that integrates a web development tool inside the browser. With this tool, you can edit and debug HTML, CSS and JavaScript live in any webpage to see the effect of changes. It helps in analyzing JS files to find XSS vulnerabilities. It’s an really helpful add-on in finding DOM based XSS for security testing professionals. Add firebug to your browser : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/
   

3. Hackbar  

Hackbar is a simple penetration tool for Firefox. It helps in testing simple SQL injection and XSS holes. You cannot execute standard exploits but you can easily use it to test whether vulnerability exists or not. You can also manually submit form data with GET or POST requests. It also has encryption and encoding tools. Most of the times, this tool helps in testing XSS vulnerability with encoded XSS payloads. It also supports keyboard shortcuts to perform various tasks.I am sure, most of the persons in the security field already know about this tool. This tool is mostly used in finding POST XSS vulnerabilities because it can send POST data manually to any page you like. With the ability of manually sending POST form data, you can easily bypass client side validations of the page. If your payload is being encoded at client side, you can use an encoding tool to encode your payload and then perform the attack. If the application is vulnerable to the XSS, I am sure you will find the vulnerability with the help of the Hackbar add-on on Firefox browser. Add Hackbar to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/hackbar/
 

 4. Cookies Manager +  
Cookie Manager is one of the greatest tool ever made. Using this tool you can actually play with cookies. You can alter almost all cookie using this tool. You can use Cookies manager to view, edit and create new cookies. It also shows extra information about cookies, allows edit multiple cookies at once and backup/restore them. Add Cookies Manager to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookies-manager-plus/
 
5. NoScript  

No Script add-ons greatness is beyond imagination. With this tool you can monitor each an every script running on website, you can block any of scripts and see what actually that scripts does on website. But this add-on is for experts, newbies will face problems using this. Note: If you are testing XSS, HTTPS header modifications, Injection attacks on any website you need to disable this plugin because it will not allow you to do so.  Add NoScript to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/noscript/
 
6. Grease Monkey  

Grease Monkey is an counter part of No Script, its actually behaves opposite of Noscript. We use Noscript to block the scripts and use GreaseMonkey to run the scripts. It allows you to customize the way a web page displays or behaves, by using small bits of JavaScript.  Add Grease Monkey to Firefox : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/greasemonkey/
 

 7. User Agent Switcher

User Agent Switcher add-on; adds a one click user agent switch to the browser. It adds a menu and tool bar button in the browser. Whenever you want to switch the user agent, use the browser button. User Agent add on helps in spoofing the browser while performing some attack. Add user agent Switcher to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/user-agent-switcher/
 
8. CryptoFox  

CryptoFox is an encryption or decryption tool for Mozilla Firefox. It supports most of the available encryption algorithm. So, you can easily encrypt or decrypt data with supported encryption algorithm. This add-on comes with dictionary attack support, to crack MD5 cracking passwords. Although, it hasn’t have good reviews, it works satisfactorily. Add CryptoFox to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cryptofox/
 

9. SQL Inject Me  

SQL Inject Me is another nice Firefox add-on used to find SQL injection vulnerabilities in web applications. This tool does not exploit the vulnerability but display that it exists. SQL injection is one of the most harmful web application vulnerabilities, it can allow attackers to view, modify, edit, add or delete records in a database.The tool sends escape strings through form fields, and tries to search database error messages. If it finds a database error message, it marks the page as vulnerable. Hackers can use this tool for SQL injection testing. Add SQL Inject Me to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/sql-inject-me/ 
 
10.  XSS ME  

Cross Site Scripting is the most found web application vulnerability. For detecting XSS vulnerabilities in web applications, this add-on can be a useful tool. XSS-Me is used to find reflected XSS vulnerabilities from a browser. It scans all forms of the page, and then performs an attack on the selected pages with pre-defined XSS payloads. After the scan is complete, it lists all the pages that renders a payload on the page, and may be vulnerable to XSS attack. Now, you can manually test the web page to find whether the vulnerability exists or not. Add XSS ME to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/xss-me/
 
11.  Passive Recon
 
Last but not the least. Passive recon is a good information gathering tool. 
PassiveRecon provides information security professionals with the ability to perform "packetless" discovery of target resources utilizing publicly available information. It gathers information like DnsStuff tool available on backtrack. Add Passive Recon to Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/passiverecon/



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The Working of Firewalls

If you have been using Internet on a regular basis or working in a large company and surf the Internet while you are at work, you must have surely come across the term firewall.

You might have also heard of people saying firewalls“ protect their computer from web attacks and hackers” or “ certain website has been blocked by firewall in their work .place” If you have ever wondered to know what exactly is this firewall and how it works, here we go. In this post I will try to explain How“ firewalls work” in a layman’ terms.

How Firewalls Work?

Firewalls are basically a barrier between your computer (or a network) and the Internet (outside world). A firewall can be simply compared to a security guard who stands at the entrance of your house and filters the visitors coming to your place. He may allow some visitors to enter while denying others whom he suspects of being intruders. Similarly a firewall is a software program or a hardware device that filters the information (packets) coming through the Internet to your personal computer or a computer network.

The working of a Firewall Firewalls may decide to allow or block network traffic between devices based on the rules that are pre-configured or set by the firewall administrator. Most personal firewalls such as Windows firewall operate on a set of pre-configured rules that are most suitable under normal circumstances so that, the user need not worry much about configuring the firewall.

Personal firewalls are easy to install and use and hence preferred by end-users for use on their personal computers. However, large networks and companies prefer those firewalls that have plenty of options to configure so as to meet their customized needs. For example, a company may set up different firewall rules for FTP servers, Telnet servers and Web servers. In addition, the company can even control how the employees connect to the Internet by blocking access to certain websites or restricting the transfer of files to other networks. Thus, in addition to security, a firewall can give the company a tremendous control over how people use the network. Firewalls use one or more of the following methods to control the incoming and outgoing traffic in a network:

Packet Filtering: In this method, packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packet filters has a set of rules that come with accept and deny actions which are pre-configured or can be configured manually by the firewall administrator. If the packet manages to make it through these filters then it is allowed to reach the destination; otherwise it is discarded.

Stateful Inspection: This is a newer method that doesn’t analyze the contents of the packets. Instead, it compares certain key aspects of each packet to a database of trusted source. Both incoming and outgoing packets are compared against this database and if the comparison yields a reasonable match, then the packets are allowed to travel further. Otherwise they are discarded.

Firewall Configuration:

Firewalls can be configured by adding one or more filters based on several conditions as mentioned below:

--IP addresses: In any case, if an IP address outside the network is said to be unfavorable, then it is possible to set filter to block all the traffic to and from that IP address. For example, if a certain IP address is found to be making too many connections to a server, the administrator may decide to block traffic from this IP using the firewall.

--Domain names: Since it is difficult to remember the IP addresses, it is an easier and smarter way to configure the firewalls by adding filters based on domain names. By setting up a domain filter, a company may decide to block all access to certain domain names, or may provide access only to a list of selected domain names.

--Ports/Protocols: Every service running on a server is made available to the Internet using numbered ports, one for each service. In simple words, ports can be compared to virtual doors of the server through which services are made available.

--For example, if a server is running a Web (HTTP) service then it will be typically available on port 80. In order to avail this service, the client needs to connect to the server via port 80. Similarly, different services such as Telnet (Port 23), FTP (port 21) and SMTP (port 25) services may be running on the server.

--If the services are intended for the public, they are usually kept open. Otherwise they are blocked using the firewall so as to prevent intruders from using the open ports for making unauthorized connections.

--Specific words or phrases: A firewall can be configured to filter one or more specific words or phrases so that, both the incoming and outgoing packets are scanned for the words in the filter. For example, you may set up a firewall rule to filter any packet that contains an offensive term or a phrase that you may decide to block from entering or leaving your network.

Hardware vs. Software Firewall:

Hardware firewalls provide higher level of security and hence preferred for servers where security has the top most priority. The software firewalls on the other hand are less expensive and hence preferred in home computers and laptops.

Hardware firewalls usually come as an in-built unit of a router and provide maximum security as it filters each packet in the hardware level itself even before it manages to enter your computer.

A good example is the Linksys Cable/DSL router.

Why Firewall?

Firewalls provide security over a number of online threats such as Remote login, Trojan backdoors, Session hijacking, DOS & DDOS attacks, viruses, cookie stealing and many more. The effectiveness of the security depends on the way you configure the firewall and how you set up the filter rules.

However, major threats such as DOS and DDOS attacks may sometimes manage to bypass the firewalls and do the damage to the server. Even though firewall is not a complete answer to online threats, it can most effectively handle the attacks and provide security to the computer up to the maximum possible extent.