Encrypted passwords among stolen in 2012 breach, Dropbox says

Security breaches are nothing new, but it has been growing in frequency and boldness as of late. Back in 2012 Dropbox was targeted by an attack, but it is only now that the company revealed most of the stolen credentials are still floating around in the dark web.

The 2012 breach compromised more than 60 million accounts and it all became possible because hackers managed to locate a personal password that was reused by an employee on the corporate account. Apart from the usual stored data, TechCrunch reports that user passwords were also acquired in the theft.


Fortunately, Dropbox passwords are encrypted and secured with salt–these are random data strings that are added to strengthen encryption. Despite the data being made available online, it would seem that the encryption has not been cracked yet.

The company has also taken measures to ensure that employees do not reuse passwords by having password management service 1Password available for their employees. They are also currently requiring a two-factor authentication for all internal systems.

Because online cloud storage services play host to all kinds of data, they become frequent targets for hackers. However, since 2012 the Dropbox has not reported any major security compromises. This bodes well for the company and to its millions of users, who have grown to 500 million.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Here's how to sync Microsoft Office with Google Drive

Thanks to this Google plugin, the Microsoft Office productivity suite can now sync directly with Drive, Google's cloud-based storage service.

"Building on this open approach, we recently made it possible to launch your favorite desktop applications directly from Google Drive. And today we’re taking it a step further by bringing Google Drive to Microsoft Office. Using the new Google Drive plug-in, people using Office for Windows can now open their Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents stored in Drive, then save any changes back to Drive once they’re done," technical program manager Darrell Kuhn said in a blog post.

"With this plug-in, you can use the apps you’re already comfortable with, while benefitting from the security and convenience of Google Drive," he added.

Click here to install Google Drive for Office.

Kuhn said this means one working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation on his or her computer can also save that file to Google Drive, directly from the Office apps.

"This is especially useful for sharing files with teams, or for accessing your files across devices," he said.

A separate report on The Verge said Microsoft already made Office run on the desktop, web, and mobile platforms.

It also teamed up with Dropbox to give users storage options other than Microsoft's OneDrive.

"If for some reason you're a Drive loyalist who also loves using Office, this tool just might make your life easier; it should be available to install today," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Dropbox users get spammed, past hack eyed

Users of cloud storage service Dropbox are complaining of getting spam or unsolicited email, a tech site reported on Friday.

A report on CNET said Dropbox is not discounting the possibility the spam could be related to a hack attack last year.

"We've been looking into these spam reports and take them seriously. Back in July we reported that certain user email addresses had leaked and some users had received spam as a result. At this time, we have not seen anything to suggest this is a new issue, but remain vigilant given the recent wave of security incidents at other tech companies," CNET quoted a Dropbox representative as saying.

 

 

The Dropbox spokesperson added it has "taken these reports seriously and began our investigation immediately."

CNET noted hackers had accessed the system last July. Several Dropbox users received spam e-mails about online casinos and gambling sites.

It cited posts by users on the Dropbox forum as saying they were getting spam in e-mail accounts used only for Dropbox.

Since last year's attack, Dropbox has implemented additional security controls to avoid a repeat occurrence.

The security controls included two-factor authentication, mechanisms to identify suspicious activity, and password changes, CNET said.

"The company appears to be continuing with its investigation into the issue and will most likely figure out what's happening within the next few days," it added. — TJD, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com