• Nigerian/African Tech
  • Start Up
  • Internet
    • App
    • Mobile
    • Software
  • Gadgets
  • Money
  • Video
Tech News, Magazine & Review WordPress Theme 2017
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
TechBooky
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Home Security

After ‘Protestware’ Attacks, Russian Bank Warns On Updating Software

Olagoke Ajibola by Olagoke Ajibola
March 23, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

After 'protestware' attacks, a Russian bank has advised clients to stop  updating software - The Verge

As Russian forces continue to invade and attack the Ukrainian community, the consequences of these actions continue to take a devastating toll on the technology sector including open-source software development. Recently, Sberbank – Russians largest bank made an announcement to its customers to temporarily halt the installation of software updates to any application after a “protestware” attack targeted Russian and Belarusian users. This call was made out of concern that these software updates may contain some form of malicious code that is specifically targeted at unsuspecting Russian users.

Also On TechBooky

WhatsApp Adds Proxy Support To Bypass Restrictions In Some Countries

iDenfy Partners With Beera Station To Enhance The Age Verification Process With ID Verification

Best VPN Services You Can Start Using Today For Free

Apple Is Introducing End-To-End Encryption To iCloud Backups

Apple Sued Over AirTags Being Used By Alleged Stalkers

According to a Russian news source, Sberbank mentioned that “Currently, cases of provocative media content being introduced into freely distributed software have become more frequent. In addition, various content and malicious code can be embedded in freely distributed libraries used for software development. The use of such software can lead to malware infection of personal and corporate computers, as well as IT infrastructure.” Sberbank didn’t say it had fallen victim to an attack, but the bank decided to warn its clients about the threat of malicious code being “embedded in freely distributed libraries used for software development.” The Russian bank has advised that when there is an urgent need to use the software, users should ensure they scan such files with an antivirus or manually review the source code. Few Russians have considered this suggestion by Sberbank as likely impractical, if not impossible, for most users who aren’t tech-savvy.

According to The Verge News, the reasons for this announcement has been referenced to an incident that happened in March, where the developer of a widely used JavaScript library added an update that overwrote files on machines located in Russia or Belarus. Supposedly implemented as a protest against the war, the update raised alarm from many in the open-source community, with fears that it would undermine confidence in the security of open-source software overall. The update was made in a JavaScript module called node-ipc, which, according to the NPM package manager, is downloaded around 1 million times per week and used as a dependency by the popular front-end development framework Vue.js.

According to other reports from another news source The Register, updates to node-ipc made on March 7th and March 8th added code that checked whether the IP address of a host machine was geolocated in Russia or Belarus, and if so, overwrote as many files as possible with a heart symbol. A later version of the module dispensed with the overwriting function and instead dropped a text file on users’ desktops containing a message that “war is not the answer, no matter how bad it is,” with a link to a song by Matisyahu.

After 'protestware' attacks, a Russian bank has advised clients to stop  updating software - Verve times

Although reports say that the most destructive features of the “protestware” module no longer appear in the code, however, the consequences have proven harder to undo. Since open-source libraries are essential for software development, a wide-ranging loss of trust in their integrity could have knock-on big effects for users in Russia and elsewhere.

In a tweet, cybersecurity analyst Selena Larson has referred to it as “forced insecurity”; in general, the open-source community has openly criticized protestware and the updates to node-ipc in particular, saying it undermines trust in the open-source system. Because of how integral open-source code is to every computer system, the fallout from a protestware attack can also be unpredictable and cause massive collateral damage.

More broadly, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine unrest has posed difficult ethical problems to the Russian technology sector. While global tech leaders like Amazon, Apple, Sony and the rest of them have halted sales and businesses in the Russian market, others are keen on remaining in business with Russia. In a blog post recently, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince confirms his company would continue to provide service in Russia despite pressure to call it to quit, in the blog post he wrote “Russia needs more Internet access, not less.”

Related Posts:

  • Apple Launches Redesigned Website For Open Source Projects
    Apple Launches Redesigned Website For Open Source Projects
  • YouTube Suspends Ads And Monetization For Russian Channels
    YouTube Suspends Ads And Monetization For Russian Channels
  • Russian Bank Cards Barred From Apple Pay, Google Pay Platforms
    Russian Bank Cards Barred From Apple Pay, Google Pay…
  • Russia Says U.S Is Leading Massive ‘Cyber Aggression’ Against It
    Russia Says U.S Is Leading Massive ‘Cyber Aggression’…
  • Netflix Refuses Russian New Law To Stream Propaganda Channels
    Netflix Refuses Russian New Law To Stream Propaganda…
  • Central Bank of Russia Launches Replacement For SWIFT
    Central Bank of Russia Launches Replacement For SWIFT
  • Google Rolls Out Air Raid Alert Feature For Android Phones In Ukraine
    Google Rolls Out Air Raid Alert Feature For Android Phones…
  • Russia Officially Blocks Facebook, Twitter And Passes New Media Law
    Russia Officially Blocks Facebook, Twitter And Passes New…
Tags: businesscodedevelopmentgovernmentinternetnew featureopen sourceprotestwarerussiaRussiansecuritysmartphonesoftwareUpdateusers
Olagoke Ajibola

Olagoke Ajibola

Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

Loading

Recent

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023
Tesla Sues Former Employee For Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets

Tesla Made The Most Money In 2022, But Its Future Still Rocky

January 26, 2023
Shutterstock Introduces Its Generative AI Image Tool

Shutterstock Introduces Its Generative AI Image Tool

January 26, 2023
Meta Agrees To $725M Settlement Of Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

Meta Set To Reinstate Trump’s Facebook And Instagram Accounts

January 26, 2023
Here’s How ChatGPT Can Help Improve Your SEO

Here’s How ChatGPT Can Help Improve Your SEO

January 25, 2023

Browse Archives

January 2023
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031 
« Dec    

About Us

TechBooky

TechBooky is a social Tech blog with a special focus on the budding African Technology sector. TechBooky is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Subscribe to TechBooky

Enter your email address to subscribe to TechBooky and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 24 other subscribers.

Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

Loading

Popular Tags

AI (252) amazon (95) android (281) app (610) Apple (473) artificial intelligence (265) business (338) china (113) cloud (135) cryptocurrency (158) ecommerce (109) enterprise (239) facebook (472) gadget (448) gaming (160) google (545) government (381) guest post (108) instagram (137) internet (352) ios (249) iphone (210) microsoft (261) mobile (281) new feature (287) nigeria (276) privacy (135) research (134) samsung (139) security (374) smartphone (235) social media (671) software (415) startup (268) streaming (140) telecom (157) tips (340) transport (104) twitter (216) united states (191) users (132) videos (115) website (159) whatsapp (129) youtube (106)

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips

Popular Post

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Download Free Editable Resume Templates – Word / Docx – 2022

Download Free Editable Resume Templates – Word / Docx – 2022

July 25, 2022
The Best Free PC Games

The Best Free PC Games

July 29, 2022
Recover Permanently Deleted Emails From iCloud Manually

Recover Permanently Deleted Emails From iCloud Manually

March 5, 2022
Resume and Cover letter Templates for free

Resume and Cover letter Templates for free

July 25, 2022
How is Technology Changing Our Definition of What It Means to Be a Human?

How is Technology Changing Our Definition of What It Means to Be a Human?

April 1, 2018
[Fixed] “Outlook Running Slow Windows 10” Issue

[Fixed] “Outlook Running Slow Windows 10” Issue

February 12, 2020
Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023

Recent News

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023
  • About TechBooky
  • Submit Article
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Login

© 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips

© 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite