Saturday Security Spotlight: Military, Apps, and Threats

By Jacob Serpa, Marketing Manager, Bitglass

Here are the top cybersecurity stories of recent weeks:

—Fitness app exposes military bases

—Soldiers' names revealed by app

—Google Play filled with fake apps

—Medical devices easily hacked

—The internet of things creates risk for the enterprise

Fitness app exposes military bases Strava, the creators of a fitness tracking app, released heatmaps of its users' movements. Unfortunately, this revealed the inner workings of military bases abroad by highlighting the movements of soldiers who use said app within their bases. Naturally, making this information publicly available raises questions of privacy and national security.

Soldiers' names revealed by app After learning of the above heatmaps and how they expose military bases and personnel, a Norwegian researcher decided to test other aspects of Strava's security. In so doing, he succeeded in tricking the app to reveal the names and identities of military personnel who use Strava. Google Play filled with fake apps Despite efforts to clean up Google Play, Google's app marketplace still contains many fake applications. While some are fairly innocuous, others can spread malware or steal information from users' mobile devices. In light of BYOD (bring your own device), this should be a concern for the enterprise. Medical devices easily hacked Researchers in cybersecurity have determined that medical devices like MRI machines face a high risk of cyberattack. As healthcare technology evolves and connects to the internet more and more, the risk will only increase. Researchers warn that these devices must be designed in ways that ensure more security. The internet of things creates risk for the enterprise As enterprises adopt IoT devices for the efficiency that they provide, they are also increasing the number of attack surfaces that can be exploited by malicious parties. These devices serve as entry points for malware and can enable access to corporate networks. The cybersecurity landscape is constantly shifting. Organizations must stay ahead of threats with advanced security solutions. To learn about cloud access security brokers, download the Definitive Guide to CASBs.