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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Microsoft’s ‘Crazy Huge Hack,’ Explained
Last week, Microsoft announced that the on-premises version of its widely used email and calendaring product Exchange had several previously undisclosed security flaws. These flaws, the company said, were being used by foreign threat actors to hack into the networks of U.S. businesses and governments, primarily to steal large troves of email data. Since then, … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
The Latest Microsoft Hack Looks Like It Could Be Huge
Microsoft announced this week that another one of its email products, Exchange, had been compromised by a hacking campaign. This recent hack is actually totally unrelated to the “SolarWinds” one, in which Microsoft has also played an outsized role. A state-sponsored threat actor from China dubbed “HAFNIUM” is said to be exploiting a number of … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Hackers Just Looted Passenger Data From Some of the World’s Biggest Airlines
SITA, a data firm that works with some of the world’s largest airlines, announced Thursday that it had been the victim of a “highly sophisticated cyberattack,” the likes of which compromised information on hundreds of thousands of airline passengers all over the world. The attack, which occurred in February, targeted data stored on SITA’s Passenger Service … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsNews
John McAfee Charged With Exactly What You Thought He Would Be Charged With
John McAfee, founder of the well-known antivirus and cybersecurity firm that bears his name, has been indicted in federal court in Manhattan for charges related to securities fraud and money laundering, the Department of Justice announced Friday. McAfee and his former bodyguard and “executive adviser,” Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., are accused of engaging in a … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Someone Is Hacking the Hackers
In the latest in a string of “hits” on Russian dark web forums, the prominent crime site Maza appears to have been hacked by someone earlier this week. This is kind of big news since Maza (previously called “Mazafaka”) has long been a destination forall assortment of criminal activity, including malware distribution, money laundering, carding … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
This Embattled Navajo Nation Hospital Is Still Recovering From a Recent Ransomware Attack
If you want a good example of the kind of havoc a well-placed cyberattack can wreak on an already stressed healthcare system, look no further than the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services center in Gallup, N.M. Rehoboth, a nonprofit hospital based in the rural, Northwestern part of the state, was struck by a ransomware … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Microsoft: Chinese Hackers Have Been Exploiting Our Email Product to Steal Data
In the latest in a string of security-related headaches for Microsoft, the company warned customers Tuesday that state sponsored hackers from China have been exploiting flaws in one of its widely used email products, Exchange, in order to target American companies for data theft. In several recently published blog posts, the company listed four newly … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsStartups
This Startup Can Deepfake Household Products Into Your Home
The e-commerce industry spends a lot of time and energy trying to keep the public interested in its wares and traditionally this has involved spending cash on photography: taking nice pictures of your products has typically been the best way to keep users scrolling to your page on the likes of Amazon or Shopify. But … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsNews
Federal Authorities Confirm Sighting of Yet Another UFO, This Time in New Mexico
Multiple authorities have confirmed that commercial airline pilots recently saw, well, something, hurtling through America’s southwestern skies. The lowdown is this: American Airlines Flight 2292 was passing over Clayton, N.M., on Sunday, traveling at 36,000 feet en route to Phoenix from Cincinnati, when the crew witnessed a “long, cylindrical” object. The object shot over the … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Go Update Your Passwords Right Now
Hey, you, casual internet user. Why not go and update your passwords right now? I’m not trying to boss you around or anything, but semi-frequent password changes are widely considered a great way to avoid getting hacked and having your information spilled all over the web. Yes, bad actors break into more systems than you … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
America’s Leaders Have No Clue What to Do About Disinformation
As disinformation and misinformation have increasingly been blamed for rising political extremism and polarization in the U.S., lawmakers have naturally sought to cobble together some sort of legislative response. The problem is that Congress is, themselves, so polarized that they can’t seem to agree on how to do that. Case in point: a congressional hearing … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
SolarWinds Hackers Also Went After NASA and the FAA
Apparently not content with having penetrated the networks of such piddling federal agencies as the U.S. State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and that agency that maintains our nuclear stockpile, the hackers of the “SolarWinds” affair also went after NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a new report from the Washington Post. … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
What We Know About the Hackers Behind the Accellion Data Breach
It’s been a mystery as to who is responsible for the disastrous pummeling of Accellion, the global cloud provider that, in December, suffered through a large cyberattack. This week, researchers announced that the responsible party may have ties to two prominent hacker groups. Accellion recently discovered that a threat actor had been exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Chinese Hackers Reportedly Wielded a Stolen NSA Cyber Weapon for Years
New research suggests a hacking tool previously developed by the National Security Agency was stolen years ago by a prolific Chinese cyber group and was subsequently used against a variety of U.S. targets. Researchers with Israeli security firm Check Point Research say they have found evidence that APT 31, a state-sponsored hacking group from China, … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Hackers Slipped Mysterious Malware Into Thousands of Macs But Researchers Can’t Figure Out Why
A new malware strain has infected Mac devices all over the world—most prominently in the U.S. and parts of Europe—though experts can’t decide where it came from or what it does. The malicious program, discovered by security firm Red Canary and dubbed “Silver Sparrow,” has infected 29,139 macOS endpoints in 153 countries, with the largest infection … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Ransomware Gang Says It’s Selling Data from Cyberattack That California DMV Warned About
A ransomware gang called “Cuba” claims to be selling off data on the dark web belonging to Automatic Funds Transfer Services (AFTS), a Seattle-based financial services and data management firm that suffered a bad ransomware attack in early February. This is quite alarming, given that the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced yesterday that it … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
California DMV Warns Millions of Records May Have Been Exposed in Worrisome Data Breach
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has warned state residents that over a year’s worth of data—including customer addresses and license plate numbers—may have been compromised in a recent cyberattack on a third-party contractor. That contractor—Automatic Funds Transfer Services (AFTS)—is a financial services and data management firm, which California uses to verify changes of address … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
U.S. Charges North Korean Hackers in Connection with Theft of Over $1 Billion in Crypto, Cash
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged three members of “Lazarus,” a DPKR-sponsored hacker cell that, since its inception, has reportedly stolen over a billion dollars—much of which was in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and attained through various cyber campaigns. The DOJ has called the group “a criminal syndicate with a flag” for its role … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Hackers Steal Data from Law Firm Accused of ‘Aiding’ Trump’s Election Disputes
A ransomware gang claims to have stolen over 100 gigabytes of data from Jones Day, a prominent global law firm that recently stirred backlash for its entanglement in the 2020 presidential election. The hacker group CL0P has posted a large tranche of stolen files to a dark web “leak site,” claiming it snatched them from … Continued
By Lucas Ropek -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
A Hugely Popular File-Sharing Android App Also Has Giant, Terrible Security Flaws
An Android app used by a significant chunk of the global population also has glaring security flaws that would allow a savvy hacker to steal a user’s data or even hijack the app’s operations using arbitrary code. ShareIt, which claims to have more than 1 billion global downloads, is the product of Singapore-based developer Smart … Continued
By Lucas Ropek