Cyber Security

How Safe Can Apple Pay Really Be?

Apple just promisedto revolutionize how we spend money. More specifically, the company announced Apple Pay, a new mobile payments platform that lets you buy things with your iPhone (or smartwatch). Sounds cool! But given recent high-profile security lapses, it’s fair to wonder: Is it safe? Obviously, Apple thinks so. In announcing Apple Pay, chief executive…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Sep 10

Military Kill Switches: A Great Idea That Won’t Happen Soon

The ruthless killers of ISIS are wreaking havoc in the Middle East, aided in no small part by U.S. military weaponry the group has hijacked from the Iraqi army. But according to one Harvard law professor, there’s an easy fix to our own weapons being used against us: kill switches. In a column for Scientific…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Sep 3

Hackers Just Proved That Secret Isn’t Really Secret

It’s the worst fear of narcissists around the globe: Those confessions, those private things, those secrets you’ve been sharing on the popular app Secret aren’t actually secret. Well, narcissists of the globe, your worst fear has come true. Secret isn’t really secret. A duo of security researchers—Benjamin Caudill and Bryan Seely—recently discovered a hack that…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 22

The NSA Is Scaring People Away From Tor

It makes sense in a backwards sort of way. Last year’s NSA revelations scared people into seeking more privacy online, and so they turned to Tor, the anonymous web browser. Then, we learned that the NSA is actually targeting people that use Tor, sending users running in the opposite direction. Understandably, this has Tor worried.…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 21

Hacking Into Traffic Lights With a Plain Old Laptop Is Scary Simple

The idea that our traffic data systems are vulnerable is not a new one. In fact, improving cyber security on our nation’s infrastructure is a huge priority right now. But a new study from the University of Michigan on the vulnerabilities of traffic lights is shocking proof that we need to make some major changes,…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 19

Why Chinese Hackers Stole 4.5 Million US Hospital Records

This month’s installment of Chinese hackers stealing your data focuses on breaches at an especially scary type of venue: hospitals. A massive hospital empire that mostly serves small towns and rural areas reports that hackers lifted 4.5 million patient records earlier this year. You might be surprised by what the hackers were after. The attack…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 18

Pro Hackers Could Be Spying on You Through YouTube

Bad news, dudes and dudettes. It’s getting increasingly straight-forward for deep-pocketed hackers to buy commercial-grade equipment so sophisticated that it can infect your computer with malware when you do something as innocuous as watching cat videos on YouTube. This is why it’s time to encrypt your shit. Morgan Marquis-Boire, a celebrated hacker turned security researcher,…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Aug 15

The FBI Is Infecting Tor Users with Malware to Catch Kiddie Porn Creeps

Tor’s had a tough week. Just a few days ago, the organization made the difficult announcement that an attack on their system likely stripped users of anonymity. Now, Wired reports that the FBI effort has been running a campaign to identify Tor users by installing malware on their computersfor years, virtually uncheckedby the courts. The…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 5

Researcher Can Hack Airplanes Through In-Flight Entertainment Systems

If you’re about to get on an airplane, you might want to wait until you land before you read this post. Because cyber security whiz Ruben Santamarta says hehas devised a method that can give hackers access to a passenger jet’s satellite communications equipment through the passenger Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment systems*. Santamarta will present…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 4

Wirelessly Hacking–And Unlocking–Cars Is Easier Than It Should Be

At the Black Hat security conference later this week, an Australian security researcher will reveal a method for wirelessly unlocking a car with nothing but some radio equipment and ingenuity. It’s not an easy hack, and there are a lot of caveats. But it’s certainly a lot easier than it should be. See for yourself.…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Aug 4

The Common Facebook Scams You Should Never Click On

It’s been a little sad to watch Facebook devolve from being a squeaky clean site full of people you love to a spam-ridden wasteland. And with a fifth of the world’s population using the site, you can be sure the spam is going to keep coming. So you need all the help you can get…

Social Media Adam Clark Estes Jul 31

Russia Wants to Expose Tor for Fun and Profit

Crack your knuckles, and get out your checkbooks, hackers! Russia is offering a $110,000 contract to the first person who can come up with a good way to discover the personal information of otherwise anonymous Tor users. But there’s a catch. The privilege of competing will cost you over $5,500. So this is funny on…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 28

Hackers Are Using Find My iPhone to Hold iOS Devices for Ransom

A strange rash of virtual iPhone kidnappings in Australia recently spread to the United States, and boy, are they strange. Hackers appear to be using Find My iPhone to lock iOS devices remotely, and then demanding a ransom to unlock them. Said ransom is payable through PayPal. You should not pay it. Again, these incidents…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes May 27

How Darpa’s Using the Oculus Rift to Make a Cyberwarfare Battlefield

Wired just published a in-depth piece on how Darpa is “weaponizing” the Oculus Rift for cyberwar. But does this mean that soldiers are about to start firing at each other in virtual reality? No, of course not. But it’s an interesting development for a piece of technology dreamt up for games (in which you often…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes May 23

The Guy Who Invented Computer Passwords Thinks They’re a Nightmare

Half a century ago, Fernando Corbató changed the world. He helped deploy the first computer password, transforming not only how we use technology but also how we think about privacy. Now, in the era of the web, the former MIT professor thinks passwords are a nightmare. He’s not wrong. Corbató recently sat down with The…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes May 22

Hackers Broke Into a Public Utility Control Room By Guessing a Password

In a rare gesture of transparency, the Department of Homeland Security just announced that hackers recently targeted and compromised a public utility’s control system. They didn’t say exactly where, but it happened inside United States borders. And it doesn’t sound like it was even that hard. Specific details about the breach are scant. However, DHS…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes May 21

Hacked fridge sends out malicious emails in unprecedented cyber attack

You know how virtually everything these days is connected to the internet? And how tech companies don’t give a crap about security? Well, as a recent Internet of Things cyber attack has shown, our appliances are being made to turn against us. According to the security firm Proofpoint, a number of so-called smart appliances were…

io9 George Dvorsky Jan 17

This Tangled Mess Is American Cybersecurity

It’s tax season! And the US is facing a budget nightmare. So you might be extra curious as to where your money is headed. This octopus-like chart of USCYBERCOM—the nebulous entity that guards our internets—is totally reassuring! BUREAUCRACY! [via Danger Room]

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 4

Your Job Could Be Worse: Pentagon IT Follows This Insane 193 Rule Chart

You think your workday is stressful? The IT crew charged with securing the extremely sensitive internal networks of the US military have to follow this unbelievably convoluted, 193 part regulatory chart. To do anything. I feel safer already! Believe it or not, the chart was actually drawn up to help the Pentagon’s cyber security team…

Tech News Sam Biddle Oct 11

Darpa Is Looking to SMITE Internet Interlopers

Darpa is going at securing cyberspace again, and this time they’ve got an open call to everyone to help them devise a program that will flag threats through irregular activity. https://gizmodo.com/pentagon-to-create-cyber-command-to-hopefully-avoid-mor-5222266 The new program called “Suspected Malicious Insider Threat Elimination“—painstakingly abbreviated to SMITE—was started to point out threats in the massive amounts of data on…

Privacy & Security Kevin Lee May 20

How Safe Can Apple Pay Really Be?

Military Kill Switches: A Great Idea That Won’t Happen Soon

Hackers Just Proved That Secret Isn’t Really Secret

The NSA Is Scaring People Away From Tor

Hacking Into Traffic Lights With a Plain Old Laptop Is Scary Simple

Why Chinese Hackers Stole 4.5 Million US Hospital Records

Pro Hackers Could Be Spying on You Through YouTube

The FBI Is Infecting Tor Users with Malware to Catch Kiddie Porn Creeps

Researcher Can Hack Airplanes Through In-Flight Entertainment Systems

Wirelessly Hacking–And Unlocking–Cars Is Easier Than It Should Be

The Common Facebook Scams You Should Never Click On

Russia Wants to Expose Tor for Fun and Profit

Hackers Are Using Find My iPhone to Hold iOS Devices for Ransom

How Darpa’s Using the Oculus Rift to Make a Cyberwarfare Battlefield

The Guy Who Invented Computer Passwords Thinks They’re a Nightmare

Hackers Broke Into a Public Utility Control Room By Guessing a Password

Hacked fridge sends out malicious emails in unprecedented cyber attack

This Tangled Mess Is American Cybersecurity

Your Job Could Be Worse: Pentagon IT Follows This Insane 193 Rule Chart

Darpa Is Looking to SMITE Internet Interlopers

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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