Graham Cluley writes: We all know that the WhatsApp messaging service is available for smartphones – there are hundreds of millions of mobile users of the service. But some people want to have WhatsApp conversations on their desktop computer rather than their smartphone – and that’s why the Facebook-owned service has WhatsApp Web. From WhatsApp Web…
Month: September 2015
Russian hacker group exploits satellites to steal data, hide tracks
Ellen Nakashima reports: A group of sophisticated Russian-speaking hackers is exploiting commercial satellites to siphon sensitive data from diplomatic and military agencies in the United States and in Europe as well as to mask their location, a security firm said in a new report. The group, which some researchers refer to as Turla, after the…
License to connive: Boston still tracks vehicles, lies about it, and leaves sensitive resident data exposed
Kenneth Lipp reports: Prior to two weeks ago, when this reporter alerted authorities that they had exposed critical data, anyone online was able to freely access a City of Boston automated license plate reader (ALPR) system and to download dozens of sensitive files, including hundreds of thousands of motor vehicle records dating back to 2012. If…
Heritage Foundation confirms that breach was a leak, not hack
As an update to the Heritage Foundation data leak previously covered here: Politico reporter Dave Perera got in touch with me about my reporting that The Heritage Foundation (THF) was not hacked – as they had claimed – but had had a leak. Perera and Tim Starks have now reported that they got confirmation from THF that yes, it was…
Beware the hacked data broker
Christopher Mims reports: Many security and privacy researchers expect a cyber-breach event that will make the hack of infidelity site Ashley Madison look like a footnote by comparison. It could affect not just people seeking extramarital affairs, but everyone in America. Even more daunting, it could be under way already, and we don’t even know…
NC: Hair meant for donations to kids with cancer found in dumpster with donors’ info (updated)
The Gaston Gazette reports that hair donated to support Wigs for Kids, a charity in Ohio supporting kids battling cancer, was tossed out in North Carolina – along with the donors’ personal information: Some customers who got their hair cut for charity at a Great Clips in Gastonia are upset that their donations and their…