Catalin Cimpanu reports: Six scientists from Zhejiang University in China have discovered that they could use ultrasound frequencies — inaudible to human ears — to send commands to speech recognition software and take over devices such as smartphones, smart home assistants, or even cars. Researchers named their experiment DolphinAttack because the attack scenario was inspired…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
77% of Educational Institutions Are not Prepared for IT Risks, Says Netwrix Survey
I generally don’t put a helluva lot of stock in survey data, but the education sector has been so behind the 8-ball when it comes to data security, that I fear these results are accurate. Netwrix did a survey and here are some of their key findings for the education sector: More than three…
MongoDB ransacking starts again: Hackers ransom 26,000 unsecured instances
Liam Tung reports: Three groups of hackers have wiped around 26,000 MongoDB databases over the weekend and demanded victims to pay about $650 to have them restored. The new wave of MongoDB ransom attacks marks a resurgence of the massive assault on unsecured instances of the open-source NoSQL database earlier this year. The attacks were…
Just smile: In KFC China store, diners have new way to pay
Reuters reports: Diners at a KFC store in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou will have a new way to pay for their meal. Just smile. Customers will be able to use a “Smile to Pay” facial recognition system at the tech-heavy, health-focused concept store, part of a drive by Yum China Holdings Inc to…
Facial recognition to be required for mainland Mastercard, Visa cardholders
Macau Daily Times reports: Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) will be adopting facial recognition technology for mainland withdrawals made by Visa and Mastercard cardholders at automated teller machines (ATMs) in September, according to a report by Oriental Daily News. Read more on Macau Daily Times. h/t Joe Cadillic
FICO reports a 39 Percent Rise in Debit Cards Compromised in US
Pierluigi Paganini reports: According to a report published by the analytic software firm FICO, US Debit Cards compromised raise up to 39% in the first six months of 2017 compared to the same timeframe one year prior. In the same period, FICO reported an increase in the number of ATMs and point-of-sale devices (+21%) in…