Gentoo Linux Security Advisory 202003-57 - Multiple vulnerabilities have been found in PHP, the worst of which could result in the execution of arbitrary shell commands. Versions less than 7.4.4 are affected.

80 bytes small Linux/x86 reverse shell generator shellcode with customizable TCP port and IP address.

Research by fDi Intelligence reveals which countries receive more than their ‘expected share’ of FDI. 

Wi-fEye is designed to help with network penetration testing. It allows the user to perform a number of powerful attack automatically including WEP/WPA cracking, session hijacking and more.

This is a ruby script that will generate the default WPS PIN for the Arris DG860A providing you know the HFC MAC address.

TRENDnet TEW-818RDU versions 1 ("ac1900") and 2 ("ac3200") PIN disclosure exploit.

Teltonika RUT9XX routers with firmware before 00.04.233 are prone to multiple unauthenticated OS command injection vulnerabilities in autologin.cgi and hotspotlogin.cgi due to insufficient user input sanitization. This allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

The FLIR Brickstream 3D+ sensor is vulnerable to unauthenticated config download and file disclosure vulnerability when calling the ExportConfig REST API (getConfigExportFile.cgi). This will enable the attacker to disclose sensitive information and help her in authentication bypass, privilege escalation and/or full system access.

Synaccess netBooter NP-02x and NP-08x version 6.8 suffer from an authentication bypass vulnerability due to a missing control check when calling the webNewAcct.cgi script while creating users. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to create an admin user account and bypass authentication giving her the power to turn off a power supply to a resource.

An exploitable Permission Assignment vulnerability exists in the ACEManager EmbeddedAceSet_Task.cgi functionality of Sierra Wireless AirLink ES450 FW 4.9.3. A specially crafted HTTP request can cause a arbitrary setting writes, resulting in the unverified changes to any system setting. An attacker can make an authenticated HTTP request, or run the binary as any user, to trigger this vulnerability.

Telus Actiontec WEB6000Q with firmware 1.1.02.22 suffers from a denial of service vulnerability. By querying CGI endpoints with empty (GET/POST/HEAD) requests causes a Segmentation Fault of the uhttpd webserver. Since there is no watchdog on this daemon, a device reboot is needed to restart the webserver to make any modification to the device.

The IDAL HTTP server CGI interface contains a URL, which allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication and gain access to privileged functions. In the IDAL CGI interface, there is a URL (/cgi/loginDefaultUser), which will create a session in an authenticated state and return the session ID along with the username and plaintext password of the user. An attacker can then login with the provided credentials or supply the string 'IDALToken=......' in a cookie which will allow them to perform privileged operations such as restarting the service with /cgi/restart.

The Rifatron Intelligent Digital Security System DVR suffers from an unauthenticated and unauthorized live stream disclosure when animate.cgi script is called through Mobile Web Viewer module.

This Metasploit module exploits an unauthenticated remote command injection vulnerability found in Barco WePresent and related OEM'ed products. The vulnerability is triggered via an HTTP POST request to the file_transfer.cgi endpoint.

D-Link DIR-859 Routers are vulnerable to OS command injection via the UPnP interface. The vulnerability exists in /gena.cgi (function genacgi_main() in /htdocs/cgibin), which is accessible without credentials.

This Metasploit module exploits an authenticated directory traversal vulnerability in Zen Load Balancer version 3.10.1. The flaw exists in index.cgi not properly handling the filelog= parameter which allows a malicious actor to load arbitrary file path.

Atlantis in South Africa has a new SEZ focused on green manufacturing, which is hoping to turn around the area's fortunes. Annie Hessler reports.

The UK is the Europe's leading destination for foreign investment in green energy, followed by Spain, finds fDi’s Top European Locations for Renewable Energy Investment.

I am often asked what I see as the biggest potential game-changers in tech — particularly as it relates to social good. Mobile, social, the cloud, and analytics continue to emerge as key themes. However, analytics is emerging as the true game changer — catalyzed by advances in open architecture.

Let me unpack what I mean by "open architecture." Open means that anyone can access it, contribute to it, and innovate on top of it. At Blackbaud, where I serve as chief technology officer, one of our core tenets has been to design an open, cloud-based software and data architecture. We're cultivating a technical community of partners, customers, and engineers (inside and outside of the company) who are innovating in different ways and contributing to this ecosystem.

From this vantage point, I see the way that openness accelerates the velocity of innovation. Looking at it from a different angle, open ecosystems also yield data and analytics that enable everyone who is part of them to gain more insights and intelligence.

This data can power intelligent software solutions, surface actionable events, maintain accurate and current data assets, and generally drive more results for users. In other words, an open cloud-based architecture elevates usage, which in turn generates more and more data and intelligence that make the system even more powerful.

With data, analytics, and intelligence in mind, the following capabilities emerge as candidates to have a great positive impact.

The Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) technology is cheap and accessible and can transform normal household items into network devices that generate data. In my house, the lights, thermostats, appliances, cars, doors, and windows are all connected devices. These connected devices generate data and intelligence (such as trends in usage, optimization of electricity consumption, and so on). Much like a household, there are many IoT possibilities for nonprofits and other players in the social good space to generate valuable, actionable data.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation provides us with the ability to understand what's happening within our software. As Blackbaud ships features and capabilities within solutions, we monitor usage. We do so to understand if our customers can easily discover the new capability (do they use it the first time they log on?) and to determine if our customers find it valuable (is their use ongoing?). This data-driven approach is an extremely effective way of measuring both the quality of the user experience and the overall value of the work we're doing.

We can learn a lot about our customers just by observing what they do. Across the software industry, instrumentation is driving advances in understanding that enable more targeted solutions to users' challenges.

Usage Information

Like instrumentation, usage data enables us to understand the leading indicators that yield the best, most effective outcomes. For example, through usage data, we were able to understand that nonprofits who proactively thank donors within one week of giving have an advantage. They were much more effective at converting those individuals to longer-term supporters and recurring donors.

Predictive Intelligence

Predictive analytics showcase some of the most stunning and innovative applications of data. At Blackbaud, we think of predictive analytics as a kind of "self-driving car." It guides and sometimes fully automates tasks for our users, enabling them to gain much greater results. A few examples of predictive analytics scenarios that we're working on include

• Extending the most compelling message to a specific person at just the right time via the best channel, to keep them engaged, generate a donation, invite them to an event, or simply share a story.
• Intelligently connecting nonprofits, corporations, individuals, foundations, faith-based organizations, schools, and other stakeholders across the ecosystem we serve. That action enables us to more efficiently coordinate efforts and services and drive greater good together.
• Leveraging social information, an understanding of a person's network, geographical context, and other analytics to help connect an advocate with a nonprofit, school, or foundation, in just the right way.

We leverage the correlation of many different, disparate data sources to drive true intelligence and to power new, predictive user experiences across our applications. Our data platform is what powers this intelligence. This platform drives value across our solutions in other ways, including

• Correcting, appending, and de-duplicating data across the system
• Business intelligence and reporting that shows trends in data
• Real-time data pipelines that spark events across the system based on changes to the data

I’ve included only a few examples of technology capabilities we're researching that we believe will have a strong positive impact. The central theme of these capabilities is providing more actionable data and intelligence. Our commitment to delivering a robust, scalable, and flexible data architecture as well as open, cloud-based software enables us to take advantage of this technology. It also enables us to harness these capabilities to drive greater value for the customers we serve.

This blog post was written by Mary Beth Westmoreland.

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What does it take to make a city greener? In San Francisco, it took a small group of motivated people to come together to create a nonprofit. After the city cut funding for urban forestry 36 years ago, seven individuals decided to take matters into their own hands. They created a nonprofit, Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF).

Starting with a Small Budget, FUF Plants Nearly Half San Francisco's Street Trees

The organization started off with just a small budget from a leftover city grant. Then it used grassroots efforts to rally neighborhoods throughout the city around urban trees. By empowering and supporting communities and homeowners to plant and care for their own trees, FUF has successfully planted 60,000 of the 125,000 trees in San Francisco. The group eventually even worked with the city to create San Francisco's first ever Urban Forest Plan.

FUF Harnesses the Power of Many Volunteers to Plant and Advocate for Trees

FUF is a member of TechSoup, and TechSoup's staffers were very excited to reach out for an interview to hear more about the group's impact. My team joined FUF early on a Saturday morning for its volunteer tree planting event in the Portola neighborhood, a part of the city that is lacking street trees. It was cold even by San Francisco standards, but there was an impressive turnout of volunteers present and ready to plant.

The executive director of FUF, Dan Flanagan, joined us and told us about his work. "We get to get out in the city and make it greener. We advocate for trees; I always call ourselves the Lorax of San Francisco. We are the only organization in San Francisco that is speaking for the trees."

FUF Gets the Chance to Plant Even More Trees … in Neighborhoods That Really Need Them

Dan was excited about a recent accomplishment for the organization. San Francisco just passed Proposition E, which opens up major opportunities for the nonprofit. As he said, "It changes the responsibility from street trees and sidewalks away from the homeowners and to the city. As a result, homeowners are no longer responsible, and now we actually get a chance to make the city more green than ever before by planting more trees in neighborhoods that couldn't afford it before."

This policy makes the city responsible for maintenance, but it will still require FUF to continue its work of planting the trees. FUF hopes to plant 1,700 trees this year and ultimately hopes to plant 3,000 trees every year.

FUF Puts Technology from TechSoup to Work

I was curious to find out how FUF was using technology to further its mission. Jason Boyce, individual gifts manager, said: "Here at Friends of the Urban Forest, a lot of our field staff tend to be out in the field all day; technology really needs to be out of the way to allow us to plant. So, as a result, the relationships we build with our community tend to be stronger because we use technology to enable our work, but it doesn't get in the way of our work."

Jason explained, "We have been working with ArcMap for years, ... GIS software that TechSoup has provided for us. We use it to plant trees, to figure out where we are going to plant. When we do our plantings, we actually dole out the maps that our volunteers use to do the plantings, and all that comes through ArcMap. We use Adobe Acrobat to put together our tree manuals for our new tree owners and volunteer manuals. We use AutoCAD to put together the permit drawings for our sidewalk gardens. Technology plays a really important role in doing our plantings and making San Francisco more green."

FUF Partners with the City to Calculate the Environmental Benefits of Trees

Jason also recently worked with the city on the Urban Forest Map, which is an interactive online map that tracks every tree in San Francisco. The map helps calculate the environmental benefits the trees provide, including stormwater mitigation, air pollutants captured, and carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. This platform has increased the visibility of the city's urban forest.

As Jason said, "We are now at the forefront of cities worldwide that are building software to manage their urban forests. … [This] really gives a lot of benefit to the people living in San Francisco."

TechSoup is proud to support organizations like Friends of the Urban Forest by enabling them with the technology they need. That support gives them more time to focus on their impact, like planting trees, or to build the communities that help them thrive.

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The Inland Empire, which encompasses 27,000 square miles in Southern California, has one of the highest rates of poverty in the U.S.'s twenty-five largest metropolitan areas. One in five people there live at the poverty level. Smooth Transition, Inc., is a nonprofit educational and vocational training organization that has been working with local at-risk populations since 2009. It aims to provide a gateway towards empowerment, educational, and employment opportunities to lead a fulfilling, prosperous, and purposeful life.

Breaking Harmful Cycles

Smooth Transition began working to reach at-risk teens early — before they dropped out of high school or left the foster care system. It later expanded its program to include all at-risk populations, including displaced adults, as a means to better help the community. Smooth Transition's life skills development and educational training increase levels of employability. Its mentorship helps prevent its clients from re-entering the foster and judicial system or repeating poverty and homelessness cycles.

The nonprofit provides flexible and relevant programs that are accredited through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Its programs are directly tied to career pathways and provide students with vocational certifications at little or no cost to them. Graduates have a high completion rate as compared with other programs that serve at-risk populations. But students also come away with significant increases in their perceived self-value and a decrease in perceived barriers to success.

Keeping the Computer Labs Secure

In 2016, Smooth Transition served roughly 2,800 people with just four full-time staff members. Many of its programs are computer-based and require that its computer labs serve multiple uses and multiple users. One of the organization's board members manages its IT needs on a volunteer basis. He recommended Symantec's Norton Small Business, and the organization has been using it on its systems since it was founded.

Symantec's donation of antivirus protection — through TechSoup — has enabled the nonprofit to safely use its computer labs and has increased the number of programs and services it can offer to its students. According to Dr. Robin Goins, president and executive director of Smooth Transition, "The donations we receive are the foundation of our success, and we cannot express enough the generational and community impact the Symantec donations provide us. Smooth Transition is an appreciative recipient of the donations we received from Symantec and we look forward to providing even more impactful community programs as a result."

Goins goes on to describe how Smooth Transition's testing centers are networked, with students taking roughly 250,000 different kinds of exams. She worried that without security in the testing centers, the tests would be disrupted, causing a very serious problem. "If we have things disrupting our classes it costs us money. It also costs students the ability to complete their work. Having viruses attack us would be catastrophic for us."

Goins points out that Norton Small Business also helps protect confidential information. "As a school, we're required to protect the identity of our students and a lot of their demographic information," she said.

Smooth Transition will continue to work throughout the Inland Empire to provide flexible training and resources for those who don't fit the traditional education model. Though it faces many challenges in providing students with real, relevant work tools and skills, its staff is relieved, knowing that its systems and data are protected.

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In 2015, the state of Louisiana consumed more energy per capita than any other state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Although this may not come as a complete surprise — the state's warm, muggy climate makes air conditioning a must — it's clear that Louisiana's energy-use profile needs a drastic transformation.

The Energy Wise Alliance (EWA), a small nonprofit based in New Orleans, is determined to do just that. Along the way, the organization has gotten a boost from Microsoft's MileIQ app.

MileIQ is a mobile app from Microsoft that automatically tracks the miles you've traveled and records all of your tax-deductible and reimbursable mileage. It's kind of like using a Fitbit, except you're tracking your driving. You can report your business drives on demand and claim your reimbursements or maximize your tax deductions. The average MileIQ user is logging $6,900 per year.

Building a More Energy-Efficient Community

EWA works to make energy efficiency more accessible to everyone. The organization works primarily with low-income families, tenants, and others who would otherwise be left out of the green energy revolution. EWA accomplishes its goals through both workshops and equipment upgrades at homes and businesses.

Its Energy Smart for Kids program teaches students throughout the state how to lead a more energy-efficient lifestyle. These hourlong sessions cover the pitfalls of nonrenewable energy and detail more sustainable alternatives. At the end of each session, EWA volunteers hand out energy-efficiency starter kits so students can apply what they learned at home.

Much like the rest of EWA's programs, Energy Smart for Kids serves underserved and underprivileged communities. In fact, many of the schools that EWA serves are Title 1 schools — schools whose students generally come from lower-income households.

Aside from schools, EWA also helps nonprofits become more sustainable.

Making Nonprofits Greener and More Cost-Efficient

Nonprofits can benefit from EWA's work by way of simple but effective power-saving retrofits. EWA also provides volunteer labor and donates the materials for the retrofits, which means added cost savings. And as we all know, cost-saving programs are like gold dust for nonprofits.

For example, volunteers from EWA revitalized the Victorian-era headquarters of the Alliance Française, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Francophone heritage in the New Orleans community, with sustainable retrofits. As part of these upgrades, EWA sealed cracks, gaps, and openings; installed additional insulation; and programmed new thermostats.

In addition, EWA gave the Alliance Française's volunteers a hands-on demonstration of behavioral changes so that they could bring this knowledge back home. EWA anticipated that the Alliance Française would save a total of $2,000 to $3,000 as a result of these green improvements.

EWA's staff members also actively save money and operate more efficiently through the use of the mile-tracking app MileIQ.

Saving Time and Money with MileIQ

This method, as you can imagine, was time-consuming, and it brought with it the risk of human error. Most people can't possibly remember every single trip they make with their car, after all.

"MileIQ is super accurate and takes the forgetting out of the equation," said Jamie Wine, executive director of EWA.

For Kevin Kellup, education coordinator at EWA, MileIQ has been a game-changer. Jamie explained, "Kevin drives like crazy from school to school," racking up miles on his personal car. Now, thanks to MileIQ, Kevin can get more fairly and accurately reimbursed for his constant traveling.

The most important benefit of Microsoft's MileIQ for Jamie is that his staff can be correctly reimbursed for mileage. He wants to show staff members that he values their time and effort spent traveling, which MileIQ really helps him achieve.

For nonprofits, particularly small ones like EWA, it's always great when the team can receive fair compensation for its hard work. "The staff doesn't get paid much," Jamie said. And considering how important staff members' work is to the community, every penny matters. That's also where TechSoup comes in.

TechSoup's Role: "Essential"

Through TechSoup, eligible nonprofits can get MileIQ at 80 percent off the subscription rate. "Without TechSoup," Jamie noted, "this huge step up in technology" would not have been possible. The MileIQ discount program from Microsoft has made acquiring MileIQ way easier on the nonprofit's pocket.

Having also previously obtained Microsoft Office 365 and QuickBooks Online through TechSoup, Jamie said, "TechSoup is a great equalizer." He mentioned that TechSoup helps a small nonprofit to grow into a technologically advanced organization. He added, "The super discounted products from TechSoup are like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Getting MileIQ Premium

Eligible nonprofits can get MileIQ at 80 percent off the individual subscription rate through TechSoup and can request an unlimited number of individual subscriptions. In addition to individual subscriptions, MileIQ is now included with an Office 365 Business Premium license. Nonprofits who currently do not have an Office 365 license can visit Microsoft's Office 365 for nonprofits page to register.

This blog post was written by Nicholas Fuchs.

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Older adults are at an increased risk of lacking company and being socially isolated. Recent studies prove that a lack of social relationships is as strong a risk factor for mortality as are smoking, obesity, or a lack of physical activity. Enter Little Brothers.

Little Brothers is an effort dedicated to spreading awareness and relieving isolation and loneliness in elders, a problem that often goes unseen. Little Brothers is in 7 U.S. cities and 10 countries worldwide. Its mission is carried out by more than one nonprofit organization.

Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco facilitates more than 4,000 friendly visits a year. Volunteers are matched with elders in San Francisco, and they form and build a relationship through home visits, outings, or common interests.

We recently met with Andrew Butler, the program manager at Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco. He explained that many volunteers form a relationship with an elder, and their stereotypes about older people are quickly broken down.

"A lot of what we do is creating awareness. I think a lot of the information that we share through training or events really inspires people," said Butler. He also suggested that we speak with a member of Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco, Andy Morgan, to get a proper feel for the organization.

Andy Morgan is a highly spiritual 86-year-old who loves to read. Originally from Transylvania, Andy came to San Francisco in 1962 and has worked a variety of jobs throughout his life.

However, he stresses that he has never defined himself by what he did for a living. Aside from books and his spirituality, Andy values personal relationships and enjoys company.

Our conversation with Andy revealed why Little Brothers' impact matters so much.

I wanted to ask if you have any main visitors.

Andy Morgan: Yeah! I have one main visitor come every week. Rain or shine, he comes and sees me. He brings me food from Trader Joe's, and he does my laundry.

Wow, that's a sweet deal. Would you share a particular visit that has stuck with you over the years?

There's nothing that stands out; every visit is enjoyable. What we usually do is grab a spiritual book, you know, all those books over there are on spirituality, and we read from it and then we discuss it. I've been on the spiritual path since the 1960s, so if he has any questions, I can try and clarify.

I was wondering what makes you happy.

What makes me happy? Knowing that my within-ness, that which makes me breathe and which makes me exist, is pure joy and pure love. When you do a lot of meditation, something opens up within you, and I just feel, practically all the time, this feeling of love and joy and peace.

Of course no one can maintain that 24/7, but I can always come back. If something goes wrong, I can just remind myself of my true nature.

That's beautiful. Thank you so much for opening your home to us.

My pleasure; it's been a joy having you guys. Could I just read you one very short poem? It says …

Be as a Flower

Truth is very simple
A flower does not try to be beautiful.
Its True Nature is Beauty.
Just by its Very Being.

In the same way, when you Awaken
To your true nature,
You will naturally exude Love,
Compassion, Beauty.
It is all you.
For it is your True Self.

(poem by Robert Adams)

TechSoup is proud to support our member, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco, in its mission to spread awareness about and help elders at risk of loneliness and isolation. There are incredible people like Andy all over the world who are at risk of being forgotten. But they should never be. TechSoup provides technology and services to Little Brothers staff members to help run their nonprofit so that they can focus on fighting the effects of elder isolation.

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The EU is considering a broader mandate for the EBRD, and its president, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, believes its model would work in sub-Saharan Africa.

The chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ), shares his views over the perks of free zones in emerging markets. 

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market, but how can telecoms companies make the most of the huge opportunities the region provides?

Emerging states must re-orientate their investment efforts to increasingly target those with an outsized social impact

Kenya’s cabinet secretary for the national treasury and planning, Ukur Yatani, discusses the country’s agenda of fiscal reforms and the importance of constructing an east-west Africa highway.

Combining a strategic location with an investor-friendly environment, Egypt is ensuring its Suez Canal Economic Zone is primed for foreign investment.