Ben Monarch, a University of Kentucky College of Law student, has an article that he has uploaded to SSRN that calls for amendments to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to recognize hacktivism as a defense. Monarch argues that the U.S. “application of the CFAA and (attempted) simultaneous adherence to Article 19 of the International Covenant on…
Month: September 2015
Stats: 1,223 arrested for cyber crimes in Uttar Pradesh in 2014
Kapil Dixit of the Times of India reports some statistics for last year for Uttar Pradesh, a state in India that according to Wikipedia, had a population of 204.2 million in 2011: As many as 94 computer professionals and hackers were arrested in UP on charges of cyber fraud in 2014. In all, 1,223 people…
Smart wearables for kids in China found to have security flaws
Chuang Shu-chung reports: … One Chinese “white hat” hacker group, wooyun.org, found 13 models of Chinese-made smartwatches with defects in their information security management systems. The group said hackers could easily break into the smartwatch’s system and steal the wearer’s personal information and tracking history. In other words, the watch could have precisely the opposite…
Ashley Madison users sue Amazon Web Services, GoDaddy, and web site operators
Three John Doe plaintiffs who were paying customers of AshleyMadison.com have sued Amazon Web Services, GoDaddy, and unnamed John Roe web site owners/operators who created sites allowing people to search for individuals who might be in the database. In a complaint filed in Arizona federal court, the plaintiffs – one from California, one from New Jersey,…
Heritage Foundation wasn’t attacked; they leaked their own data – sources (Update2)
On September 2, Heritage Foundation spokesman Wesley Denton issued the following statement: We experienced a malicious, unauthorized data breach of six-year-old documents on an external server that appear to contain personal information of private donors, who we are notifying. We are unable to verify the authenticity of files circulated online. All Americans have the right to…
Hackers Hit Hawaii First FCU
Tina Orem reports: Social Security and bank account numbers are some of the information hackers may have taken in a breach at Hawaii First Federal Credit Union in Kamuela, according to a letter the credit union sent to current and former employees and members. The hack may have taken place via unauthorized access to an employee’s email…