Author: HackWatchit

As promised in my previous post, part 1, this post shows how to place a tracking bug in a native .xlsx file.  Full credit for this method goes to Colin Edwards (see link at end of post). The instructions below were made with Microsoft Excel 2013 for Windows. Open an existing document or create a new one. Choose the Data Menu. Choose From Web. Type the address for your tracking bug. You should come up with a unique name for this document so when it is opened later you can tell which document it was. The address should be similar to…

If you hear the faint hiss of champagne corks this summer, that’s the sound of bankers limbering up for two long-anticipated debuts: Chime and Klarna. The FinTech duo is expected to test whether the initial public offering (IPO) window is really wide open or merely cracked. While we wait for their roadshows (and the requisite promotional hoodies), let’s lighten things up with a tour of the last quarter-century’s IPO high-flyers — and the offerings that belly-flopped so hard they left a crater in the term sheet. Think of it as the Wall Street version of “Hot Ones”: some scorch, some…

When Windows 11 was first released, many long-time users felt features they loved had been taken away overnight. Three and a half years later, the same complaints still rise to the top of the Feedback Hub with tens of thousands of votes. Below are the five most wanted Windows 11 features on the Microsoft Feedback Hub. The most wanted requests in Windows 11 “Bring back the ability to move the taskbar to the top and sides of the screen on Windows 11” Right now, the taskbar is glued to the bottom edge, and users want the freedom to move the…

In brief IBM Quantum Starling will use 200 error-corrected qubits to run 100 million quantum operations. The system relies on advanced error correction and modular design. Fault tolerance addresses the challenges of quantum noise and decoherence. Quantum computers weren’t expected to pose a threat to Bitcoin’s security anytime soon. But IBM has launched a project that could expedite the timeline: the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer, set to debut by 2029.Despite their ability to calculate in multiple directions simultaneously, current-generation quantum computers have high error rates. Without fault tolerance, and the ability to detect and correct errors as they happen,…

When it comes to risk assessment across industrial cybersecurity environments, it is no longer a procedural formality. It is increasingly becoming an operational discipline that demands fluency in both system interdependencies and adversarial behavior. For industrial firms, this means moving beyond abstract threat modeling toward assessments that are specific, consequence-driven, and deeply tied to how physical processes function under stress. What’s changing across these industrial environments isn’t just the tooling, but the mindset. Frameworks like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and IEC 62443 still serve as scaffolding, but the real work happens in interpretation.…

Is Proactive NHI Management Our Best Bet Against Cyber Threats? The importance of non-human identities (NHIs) in cybersecurity cannot be overstated. These unique identifiers for automated systems and machine-to-machine communication form the bedrock of modern business infrastructure. But how can we contend with the risks they pose? Proactive NHI management might just be the solution. Understanding the Role of NHIs NHIs are the digital “tourists” navigating the landscape of your IT systems. They’re granted “passports” and “visas” in the form of encrypted identifiers and access permissions. To understand the relevance of proactive NHI management, one must first appreciate the potential…

Mobile App Development is the process of building an application for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Generally, mobile apps are harder to develop than web apps, because they must be designed from scratch for each platform, while web development shares common codes across different devices. Each operating system has its own language used for coding a native app (one created with technology dedicated to a specific platform). For instance, Android uses Java, while iOS uses Swift. Usually, it’s better to use the dedicated tech for apps that require high performance, like gaming or heavy animations. On the contrary,…

CVE-2024-21683 is a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting self-hosted Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server instances (versions 5.2 through 8.9.0). It allows authenticated attackers with permissions to add code macro languages to upload malicious scripts, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the host system. CVE ID: CVE-2024-21683 Severity: High CVSS Score: 8.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) EPSS Score: 93.98% Published: May 21, 2024  Affected Versions: Confluence Data Center ≤8.9.0; Server ≤8.5.8 LTS / ≤7.19.21 LTS Fixed Versions: Data Center ≥ 8.9.1; Server ≥ 8.5.9 LTS or 7.19.22 LTS  The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation in the “Add a new language” feature accessed…

Jordan Drysdale // ADVISORY: The techniques and tools referenced within this blog post may be outdated and do not apply to current situations. However, there is still potential for this blog entry to be used as an opportunity to learn and to possibly update or integrate into modern tools and techniques. … Alternate Title: “Why I Love BHIS” So, I was gifted this cute little princessy-toy thing recently. My first thought was that my daughters will love this thing. My second thought was “let’s turn this into a princess play thing, reverse SSH Kali hacker backdoor exploit kit with onboard ad-hoc…