Computer security

30% of ‘SolarWinds’ Hacking Victims Did Not Actually Use SolarWinds Software, Feds Say

The hacker group behind the ongoing SolarWinds scandal found other ways to intrude on U.S. firms and public agencies than just compromising the titular software company. In fact, nearly a third of the victims of the hack—approximately 30%—have no connection to SolarWinds at all, said a senior federal security official this week. Brandon Wales, acting…

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Jan 29

‘World’s Most Dangerous Malware’ Botnet Disrupted by Global Police Sting

The criminal operation behind a dangerous, global botnet has been disrupted. On Wednesday morning, authorities with Europol announced that an international police action, dubbed “Operation Ladybird,” had successfully disabled the infrastructure behind Emotet, the malicious botnet that has been used to execute ransomware attacks all over the world. The coordinated purge saw “law enforcement and…

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Jan 27

North Korean Hackers Successfully Phished Cyber Researchers Using a Fake Blog

A recent phishing campaign by North Korean nation-state hackers successfully duped a number of security professionals who were involved in vulnerability research and development, according to a new report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group. The unnamed threat group used various social engineering tactics to pose as fellow “white hat” security specialists, ensnaring the unsuspecting experts…

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Jan 26

An Exposed Username and Password Leaves Over 100,000 Zyxel Firewalls and VPN Gateways Open to Severe Attacks

A full list of affected devices and their patches is available.

Privacy & Security Jody Serrano Jan 3

Disney+ Has a Hacking Problem

An investigation found that hacked usernames and passwords are being offered up for sale on dark web marketplaces.

Corporate Culture Catie Keck Nov 18

Humans Are the Weakest Link: Tales of a Social Engineer

Hacking is great, but why bother when you can stroll through the front door?

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron May 3

Hackers Have Already Started to Weaponize Artificial Intelligence

Last year, two data scientists from security firm ZeroFOX conducted an experiment to see who was better at getting Twitter users to click on malicious links, humans or an artificial intelligence. The researchers taught an AI to study the behavior of social network users, and then design and implement its own phishing bait. In tests,…

Privacy & Security George Dvorsky Sep 11

US Official Claimed FCC Got ‘Hacked’ After Security Professionals Found No Proof

A senior US official has admitted to being the source behind a claim that the FCC was “hacked” in 2014 during the net neutrality debate. Internally, however, the agency’s security team had assessed there was no evidence of a malicious intrusion. Dr. David Bray, who was the FCC’s chief information officer until last month, spoke…

Tech News Dell Cameron Aug 7

Department of Defense Finally Requires Contractors To Report Major Cybersecurity Breaches

Today the Department of Defense announced that it will soon require all of its contractors to report any major cybersecurity breaches. And if your first question is, why in the hell didn’t they require that before?, that’s a great question. The move comes after a tough few months for US government officials and their data.…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 2

A List of People Clinton Should Ask for Advice About Her Email Scandal

Hillary Clinton initially brushed off critics of her decision to use a private email server by saying it was more convenient. But now her “convenience” is derailing her presidential campaign. Yesterday, the former Secretary of State and current Democratic frontrunner agreed to turn over her personal server to the Department of Justice. Exactly how much…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Aug 12

9 Facts About Computer Security That Experts Wish You Knew

Every day, you hear about security flaws, viruses, and evil hacker gangs that could leave you destitute — or, worse, bring your country to its knees. But what’s the truth about these digital dangers? We asked computer security experts to separate the myths from the facts. Here’s what they said. 1. Having a strong password…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz Aug 9

Homeland Security Secretary Begs Silicon Valley to Stop the Encryption

Today at massive security tech conference RSA in San Francisco, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told a packed audience that DHS would be forging alliances with Silicon Valley. He described plans to build an office here, in order to work directly with tech companies on key issues for the DHS. He said: I…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz Apr 21

The Number of People Who Fall for Phishing Emails Is Staggering

It’s tempting to view security breaches as the products of mastermind hackers, but a massive report released today reveals the sad reality. Most of the time, breaches are the result of people falling for plain old trick emails. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report is one of the biggest of its kind. It’s an analysis of…

Privacy & Security Mario Aguilar Apr 14

The Trick to Hacking Top-Secret Computers: Just Add Heat

Security researchers just found a way to hack into specially secured computer systems by sending messages using blasts of air. This is another example of how even the most walled-off systems can still get hacked. By messing with a computer’s thermal sensor, researchers at Ben-Gurion University were able to hack into air-gapped computers. Air-gapping is…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Mar 23

China Finally Admits It Has an Army of Hackers for Cyberwar

China is finally admitting what we’ve known for years: Yes, it has cyber warfare units, and plenty of them. The nation’s government has previously denied any organized cyber warfare efforts, despite investigations pinning blame for hacking attacks on the U.S. on the People’s Liberation Army. In the latest update to a PLA publication called The…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Mar 18

Premera Blue Cross Was Hacked — And Took Months To Tell Anyone

Premera Blue Cross, a health-insurance company with millions of patients in the US, has just admitted that 11 million of its customers have been victims of a wide-ranging data breach. Stolen data includes Social Security numbers, bank account information, and clinical records. Oh crap. According to a statement released today by Premera, the attack started…

Privacy & Security Chris Mills Mar 17

Computer Security Expert Bruce Schneier Is Here to Answer Questions

Today from 1:30-2:30 eastern time, Bruce Schneier is here to answer your questions about surveillance, infosec, and private data. He’s the author of Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World (read an excerpt). Schneier is a security technologist, and CTO of Resilient Systems, Inc. He blogs, and tweets…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Mar 13

FREAK Attack: A Dangerous Security Flaw Caused by US Government Policy

A group of computer scientists have revealed a dangerous security flaw that could open up many phones and other machines to attack. The worst part is that the problem has its roots in a misguided U.S. government effort to prevent consumers from having access to strong encryption. The flaw itself comes from poor implementation of…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz Mar 4

Lenovo Joins the Malevolent Side of the Online Advertising Industry

On Wednesday evening, the news began to break on Twitter. Computer security analysts had discovered something nefarious about a piece of advertising software called Superfish, which comes pre-installed on cheap Lenovo laptops like the Yoga 2. Superfish was leaving the laptops wide open to takeover by malicious adversaries. And it was all being done to…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz Feb 20

You Can Get Identity-Stealing Malware By Visiting This Popular Porn Site

Usually when you hear “sex” and “Trojan” in the same sentence, it means someone’s being safe. Not so much in the most recent jack-off site hijacking: People checking out RedTube, one of the most popular porn sites, are in danger of identity theft. Hackers have infected the site’s source code to redirect to malware used…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Feb 18

30% of ‘SolarWinds’ Hacking Victims Did Not Actually Use SolarWinds Software, Feds Say

‘World’s Most Dangerous Malware’ Botnet Disrupted by Global Police Sting

North Korean Hackers Successfully Phished Cyber Researchers Using a Fake Blog

An Exposed Username and Password Leaves Over 100,000 Zyxel Firewalls and VPN Gateways Open to Severe Attacks

Disney+ Has a Hacking Problem

Humans Are the Weakest Link: Tales of a Social Engineer

Hackers Have Already Started to Weaponize Artificial Intelligence

US Official Claimed FCC Got ‘Hacked’ After Security Professionals Found No Proof

Department of Defense Finally Requires Contractors To Report Major Cybersecurity Breaches

A List of People Clinton Should Ask for Advice About Her Email Scandal

9 Facts About Computer Security That Experts Wish You Knew

Homeland Security Secretary Begs Silicon Valley to Stop the Encryption

The Number of People Who Fall for Phishing Emails Is Staggering

The Trick to Hacking Top-Secret Computers: Just Add Heat

China Finally Admits It Has an Army of Hackers for Cyberwar

Premera Blue Cross Was Hacked — And Took Months To Tell Anyone

Computer Security Expert Bruce Schneier Is Here to Answer Questions

FREAK Attack: A Dangerous Security Flaw Caused by US Government Policy

Lenovo Joins the Malevolent Side of the Online Advertising Industry

You Can Get Identity-Stealing Malware By Visiting This Popular Porn Site

Report Says Software Engineer Job Listings Are Up 30% This Year

Microsoft Says You’re Not Supposed to Take Copilot’s Advice Seriously

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Let us help find what you are looking for...