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+27 +1
Hackers are holding San Francisco’s light-rail system for ransom
San Francisco Municipal Railway riders got an unexpected surprise this weekend after the system’s computerized fare systems were apparently hacked. According to the San Francisco Examiner, the MUNI system had been attacked on Friday afternoon. MUNI riders were greeted with printed "Out of Service" and "Metro Free" signs on ticket machines on late on Friday and Saturday. MUNI first became aware of the intrusion on Friday, according to the Examiner.
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+22 +1
When it comes to security, Android is the new Windows
Android, the world’s leading mobile operating system, keeps improving security, but it suffered several notable issues this month.
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+3 +1
Internet: out of service until further notice
Analysis of distributed denial of service attacks on the internet from a non technical perspective
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+2 +1
Criminals can guess your Visa card details in just six seconds
Criminals can work out the card number, expiry date and security code for a Visa debit or credit card in as little as six seconds using guesswork, researchers have found. Experts from Newcastle University said it was “frighteningly easy” to do with a laptop and an internet connection. Fraudsters use a so-called Distributed Guessing Attack to get around security features put in place to stop online fraud...
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+23 +1
For two years, criminals stole sensitive information using malware hidden in individual pixels of ad banners
The criminals were able to send banner ads and javascript to their targets' computers by pushing both into ad networks. These networks aggressively scan advertisers' javascript for suspicious code, so the criminals needed to sneak their bad code past these checks.
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+21 +1
Georgia Sec. of State wants answers from DHS after apparent breach attempt
The Georgia Secretary of State is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security after an unsuccessful breach to the department’s firewall. Secretary of State Brian Kemp talked exclusively with Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant on Thursday, saying he was “mad as hell” after what he called a massive cyberattack on the agency's network Nov. 15, traced back to a United States Department of Homeland Security IP address.
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+48 +1
Yahoo discloses hack of 1 billion accounts
Yahoo has suffered another hack. The company disclosed today that it has discovered a breach of more than one billion user accounts that occurred in August 2013. The breach is believed to be separate and distinct from the theft of data from 500 million accounts that Yahoo reported this September.
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+35 +1
Alarm Bells about Moscow's Meddling have been Ringing in Europe for Months
To view the cyberattacks on Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign as a unique offence — as many Americans seem to do — is to miss the full picture.
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+30 +1
Smart Vibrator Company Settles Lawsuit For Over-Collection Of, Uh, Personal Data
The internet of really broken things is raising no limit of privacy questions. As in, companies are hoovering up personal data on smart-device usage, often transmitting it (unencrypted) to the cloud, then failing to really inform or empower consumers as to how that data is being used and shared. Though this problem applies to nearly all IoT devices, it tends to most frequently come up when talking about the rise of smart toys that hoover up your kids' ramblings, then sell that collected data to all manner of third parties.
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+1 +1
Exclusive: FBI probes FDIC hack linked to China's military - sources
The FBI is investigating how hackers infiltrated computers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for several years beginning in 2010 in a breach senior FDIC officials believe was sponsored by China's military, people with knowledge of the matter said. The security breach, in which hackers gained access to dozens of computers including the workstation for former FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, has also been the target of a probe by a congressional committee.
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+14 +1
Germany plans creation of 'center of defense' against fake news, report says
Germany's government plans to create a center to fight "disinformation" online ahead of next year's elections, a media report has said. The move comes amid reports that fake news influenced the US election.
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+15 +1
This low-cost device may be the world’s best hope against account takeovers
The past five years have witnessed a seemingly unending series of high-profile account take-overs. A growing consensus has emerged among security practitioners: even long, randomly generated passwords aren't sufficient for locking down e-mail and other types of online assets. According to the consensus, these assets need to be augmented with a second factor of authentication. Now, a two-year study of more than 50,000 Google employees concludes that cryptographically based Security Keys beat out smartphones and most other forms of two-factor verification.
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+7 +1
U.S. expels 35 Russian diplomats, closes two compounds
The United States on Thursday expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland in response to a campaign of harassment by Russia against American diplomats in Moscow, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
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+2 +1
No smoking gun for Russian DNC hacks
There's no question that Russia wanted Donald Trump to win the 2016 Presidential campaign. Trump's own tweets stated he wanted the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton's email. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) email was hacked. But the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Analysis Report (JAR) on Russian cyber attacks doesn't prove the Russians were behind the DNC hacks.
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+3 +1
It's Official: Sixteen Government Agencies Now Have Access To Unminimized Domestic NSA Collections
The NSA can now be used for second-hand domestic surveillance, thanks to new rules approved by President Obama that went into effect on January 3rd. Those unhappy to see Trump in control of these expanded powers have no one to thank but their outgoing president for this parting gift. This was first reported early last year, gathered from anonymous intelligence community sources and the now-useless PCLOB's report on the FBI's use of...
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+23 +1
WhatsApp backdoor allows snooping on encrypted messages
A security vulnerability that can be used to allow Facebook and others to intercept and read encrypted messages has been found within its WhatsApp messaging service. Facebook claims that no one can intercept WhatsApp messages, not even the company and its staff, ensuring privacy for its billion-plus users. But new research shows that the company could in fact read messages due to the way WhatsApp has implemented its end-to-end encryption protocol.
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+2 +1
WhatsApp has a huge security hole. Here's how to fix it
WhatsApp has a gaping secuirty hole in the middle of its app. But it can be easily fixed. An issue with the way that the app deals with the security keys central to its encryption mean that people can actually spy on messages, one security researcher has found. End-to-end encryption is intended as a way of ensuring that messages can only be read by the sender and their intended recipient, but the encryption keys that power that technology can be a weak link if tehy are wrongly used.
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+23 +1
When anti-malware vendors get into a slap fight, users lose
All is quiet on the Microsoft front, but there are other technology issues to address, which I will be doing in the next few blogs. The first is about a battle between two anti-malware vendors: PC Pitstop and Malwarebytes. Most software markets tend to consolidate around a handful or even one or two vendors. How many competitors are there for Photoshop, after all? But there are two markets that thrive and have a large number of players: gaming and anti-virus/anti-malware.
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+22 +1
Security researchers call for Guardian to retract false WhatsApp “backdoor” story
A thirty-strong group of security researchers have co-signed an open letter calling for the Guardian to retract a story it published last week that had claimed mobile messaging app WhatsApp contains a “backdoor”. “Unfortunately, your story was the equivalent of putting “VACCINES KILL PEOPLE” in a blaring headline over a poorly contextualized piece,” writes academic Zeynep Tufekci, who organized the open letter.
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+22 +1
Trump Now Inherits an Expansive Surveillance State
In his final week in office, President Obama made several feel-good moves that played to his base. He transferred 10 Guantanamo detainees to Oman. He commuted the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning. He donated his children’s swing set to a D.C. shelter. And then there was his decision to significantly strengthen the surveillance state.
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