Amer Owaida

Amer Owaida

Security Writer


Education M.A. in translation and interpreting.

Highlights of your career Working as a copywriter and freelancing as a translator while thinking in the correct language.

Position and history at ESET Joined in the fall of 2019 as security writer.

What malware do you hate the most? Adware, annoying the living daylight out of me since forever.

Favorite activities Drinking coffee while reading a book, exploring new places, trying new things..

Golden rule for cyberspace Don’t trust and always verify, always use a Gandalf level adblocker.

When did you get your first computer and what kind was it? A Pentium 3 powered pc with a GeForce card lacking a pixel shader, around the year 2000 so dial up modems were still a thing.

Favorite computer game/activity Assassin’s Creed or God of War spinning myths and history in fun alternative ways.


340 articles by Amer Owaida

Ransomware

Ransomware cost US companies almost $21 billion in downtime in 2020

Ransomware cost US companies almost $21 billion in downtime in 2020

Ransomware

Ransomware cost US companies almost $21 billion in downtime in 2020

The victims lost an average of nine days to downtime and two-and-a-half months to investigations, an analysis of disclosed attacks shows

Amer Owaida11 Oct 20212 min. read


Digital Security

Google to turn on 2FA by default for 150 million users, 2 million YouTubers

Google to turn on 2FA by default for 150 million users, 2 million YouTubers

Digital Security

Google to turn on 2FA by default for 150 million users, 2 million YouTubers

Two-factor authentication is a simple way to greatly enhance the security of your account

Amer Owaida06 Oct 20211 min. read


Digital Security

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Why being cyber-smart matters

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Why being cyber-smart matters

Digital Security

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Why being cyber-smart matters

The campaign may last for a month, but we should remember that cybersecurity is a year-round affair

Amer Owaida01 Oct 20213 min. read


Digital Security

Hackers could force locked iPhones to make contactless payments

Hackers could force locked iPhones to make contactless payments

Digital Security

Hackers could force locked iPhones to make contactless payments

Flaws in Apple Pay and Visa could allow criminals to make arbitrary contactless payments – no authentication needed, research finds

Amer Owaida30 Sep 20212 min. read


Business Security

CISA and NSA release guidance for securing VPNs

CISA and NSA release guidance for securing VPNs

Business Security

CISA and NSA release guidance for securing VPNs

What your organization should consider when it comes to choosing a VPN solution and hardening it against attacks

Amer Owaida29 Sep 20212 min. read


Less Technical

Google releases emergency fix to plug zero-day hole in Chrome

Google releases emergency fix to plug zero-day hole in Chrome

Less Technical

Google releases emergency fix to plug zero-day hole in Chrome

The emergency release comes a mere three days after Google’s previous update that plugged another 19 security loopholes

Amer Owaida27 Sep 20212 min. read


Digital Security

Bug in macOS Finder allows remote code execution

Bug in macOS Finder allows remote code execution

Digital Security

Bug in macOS Finder allows remote code execution

While Apple did issue a patch for the vulnerability, it seems that the fix can be easily circumvented

Amer Owaida23 Sep 20212 min. read


Cybercrime

European police dismantle cybercrime ring with ties to Italian Mafia

European police dismantle cybercrime ring with ties to Italian Mafia

Cybercrime

European police dismantle cybercrime ring with ties to Italian Mafia

The group used phishing, BEC and other types of attacks to swindle victims out of millions

Amer Owaida21 Sep 20212 min. read


Digital Security

Microsoft Patch Tuesday fixes actively exploited zero-day and 85 other flaws

Microsoft Patch Tuesday fixes actively exploited zero-day and 85 other flaws

Digital Security

Microsoft Patch Tuesday fixes actively exploited zero-day and 85 other flaws

The most recent Patch Tuesday includes a fix for the previously disclosed and actively exploited remote code execution flaw in MSHTML.

Amer Owaida15 Sep 20212 min. read