This Week in Security News: Senate Hearings and Equifax Breaches
Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, leaders of six security agencies testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Equifax hack grew in severity, and hackers used the power of Machine Learning to spread…
Canadian Man Charged Over Leak of Three Billion Hacked Accounts
An Ontario man made his first court appearance Monday to answer charges of running a website that collected personal and password data from some three billion accounts, and sold them for profit. Jordan Evan Bloom, 27, of Thornhill earned some Can$247,000 ($198,800 US) by selling the data for a “small fee” via leakedsource.com, the Royal Canadian…
Hackers Target Security Firm Fox-IT
Fox-IT, the Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm owned by NCC Group, revealed on Thursday that it had been the victim of a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack made possible by DNS records getting changed at its third-party domain registrar. The incident took place back in September and Fox-IT decided to disclose it now after conducting a detailed analysis. A…
Internet of Things (IoT) security: what is and what should never be
The Internet has penetrated seemingly all technological advances today, resulting in Internet for ALL THE THINGS. What was once confined to a desktop and a phone jack is now networked and connected in multiple devices, from home heating and cooling systems like the Nest to AI companions such as Alexa. The devices can pass information…
Hackers Target U.K. Shipping Giant Clarkson
Clarkson, one of the world’s largest providers of shipping services, informed the public on Tuesday that it has suffered a security breach and the hackers may release some data taken from its systems. Clarkson provided only few details citing the ongoing law enforcement investigation, but the information it made public suggests that it was targeted…
US charged 3 Chinese security firm hackers with corporate cyber-espionage
The Department of Justice charged three Chinese nationals working for an internet security firm in China with hacking three companies and stealing hundreds of gigabytes of data and trade secrets from Siemens AG, Moody’s Analytics and GPS maker Trimble between early 2011 and May 2017. Both the malware and the organization to which defendants Wu…
Imgur confirms breach, 1.7 million users affected
Popular image hosting website Imgur has announced on Friday that hackers stole usernames and passwords of 1.7 million of its users. The breach dates back to 2014, when Imgur still encrypted the stored passwords with the SHA-256 algorithm, which has since been found too weak to withstand brute forcing.
Uber in Legal Crosshairs Over Hack Cover-up
Two US states on Wednesday confirmed they are investigating Uber’s cover-up of a hack at the ride-sharing giant that compromised the personal information of 57 million users and drivers. Uber purportedly paid data thieves $100,000 to destroy the swiped information — and remained quiet about the breach for a year. That decision evidently came despite…
How To Beat Cybercrime’s Prey-and-Pay Villains
Cybercrime pays, so much so that successful cybercriminals now run their operations like a business, complete with technical support centers, in-house training, and HR. To protect your digital assets, you need to approach your cybersecurity like a business, and not as a one-time point solution that is bolted onto existing infrastructures, programs, and procedures.
What’s Under Your Hood? Security & the Connected Car
Picture this: you’re driving your newly purchased, fully equipped, top-of-the-line automobile. You’ve just filled your tank, thanks to the crowd sourcing app GasBuddy, and you’re about to begin the commute to work. But first— coffee. Thanks to SYNC3, Ford’s latest infotainment system, you easily order by stating “Alexa, ask Starbucks to start my order.” Your…