We’ve analyzed 17 popular password management apps available for Apple iOS and BlackBerry platforms, including free and commercially available tools, and discovered that no single password keeper app provides a claimed level of protection. None of the password keepers except one are utilizing iOS or BlackBerry existing security model, relying on their own implementation of data encryption. ElcomSoft research shows that those implementations fail to provide an adequate level of protection, allowing an attacker to recover encrypted information in less than a day if user-selectable Master Password is 10 to 14 digits long.

Attacking Wi-Fi passwords is near hopeless if a wireless hotspot is properly secured. Today’s wireless security algorithms such as WPA are using cryptographically sound encryption with long passwords. The standard enforces the use of passwords that are at least 8 characters long. Encryption used to protect wireless communications is tough and very slow to break. Brute-forcing WPA/WPA2 PSK passwords remains a hopeless enterprise even if a horde of GPU’s is employed. Which is, in general, good for security – but may as well inspire a false sense of security if a weak, easy to guess password is selected.

There has already been much said about enhanced federal activity in social networks “including but not limited to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr” etc. in order to gather suspects’ information and use it as evidence in investigation. However, far not everybody can understand (neither do three-letter agencies I suppose) how they can represent such info in courts and to what extent it should be trusted. (more…)

Despite the fact that iPhone and Android keep on biting off greater parts of smartphone market, BlackBerry fans are still there, in spite of its various peculiarities. I won’t compare multi-touch displays, HD cameras, smart sensors, applications or anything like that. I’d rather talk about BlackBerry Desktop Software.  Yes, it can create backups, restore information from backups, and synchronize with Outlook only, period.  But that’s just not enough… (more…)

Great news, ElcomSoft starts Elcomsoft Password Store, an online service to supply customers with guaranteed secure passwords. The new Password Store provides customers a variety of selections, and complies with all industrial and government requirements regarding the length and complexity of passwords being sold. As a value-added service, the company offers near-instant recovery of all passwords sold through its Password Store for a nominal fee.

What is a Web browser for you? It’s virtually a whole world, all together: web sites, blogging, photo and video sharing, social networks, instant messaging, shopping… did I forget anything? Oh yes, logins and passwords. 🙂  Set an account here, sign in there, register here and sing up there – everywhere you need logins and passwords to confirm your identity.

German law has always been strict about any possible security breaches. This week German court ordered that anyone using wireless networks should protect them with a password so the third party could not download data illegally.  

Some time ago we wrote about the smallest password cracking device. Not suitable for you? No problem, here is another one: not as small, but definitely more powerfull: Audi. Yes, it's a car. No, we're not kidding. Just read NVIDIA and Audi Marry Silicon Valley Technology with German Engineering press release from NVIDIA. Or if you need more information, The New MMI Generation from Audi might be also helpful. In brief: Audi A8 luxury sedan is equipped with an entertainment system that uses two GPUs from NVIDIA. We have no idea what are these chips (may be Fermi?) and is it technically possible to load our own code to them, but still funny, isn't it? 🙂

About a month ago, a SQL Injection flaw was found in the database of RockYou.com, a website dealing with social networking applications. The Tech Herald reports that 32.6 million passwords were exposed and posted online due to the flaw. The complete examination of the passwords from the list showed that the passwords in question are not only short as RockYou.com allows creating 5-character-passwords but also alphanumeric only.