Jack Moore reports: If you fall for a phishing email, should you have your ability to handle sensitive government information revoked? At least one federal chief information security officer is concerned about how frequently even senior-level federal employees fall for the bogus emails and is considering get-tough solutions. Read more on Defense One. via Ars Technica
Month: September 2015
Algerian hacker: Hero or hoodlum?
Dalia Hatuqa reports: Depending on who you ask, Hamza Bendelladj is either a Robin Hood-esque hero or a cyber-age hoodlum. The 27-year-old Algerian computer science graduate will be sentenced on Tuesday in a US court for using a computer virus to steal money from more than 200 American banks and financial institutions. He then reportedly gave millions…
AU: Townsville adult store blackmailed by hackers
Chris McMahon reports: Queensland’s oldest sex shop has been held to ransom by hackers who infected the store’s computers, locking down all its files with a highly sophisticated malware. Hackers hit Charters Towers Rd adult shop Sweethearts early on Friday morning through an email that infected the store’s servers, holding their data to ransom until…
Researchers Find Major Security and Privacy Issues in Smart Sheriff Parental Monitoring Application
I had first raised concerns about “Smart Sheriff” software back in May when I first heard about it, but now The Citizen Lab has investigated it more and issued a concerning report. Their press release, courtesy of a Canadian reader: Toronto, Canada (20 September 2015) — Today, the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto…
Inside Target Corp., Days After 2013 Breach
Brian Krebs reports: In December 2013, just days after a data breach exposed 40 million customer debit and credit card accounts, Target Corp. hired security experts at Verizon to probe its networks for weaknesses. The results of that confidential investigation — until now never publicly revealed — confirm what pundits have long suspected: Once inside Target’s network, there was nothing stop…
Apple cleaning up iOS App Store after first major attack
Jim Finkle reports: Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet. The company disclosed the effort after several cyber security firms reported finding a malicious program dubbed XcodeGhost that was…