Privacy & Security

Why AT&T Won’t Let You Swear in Your Passwords

It’s your inalienable right, as a citizen of the internet, to curse and swear as creatively as possible at all times. That’s 80-percent of why anyone fires up a browser to begin with. Which is why AT&T’s move to ban naughty language in passwords created no small amount of ire. So what gives? Before you…

Privacy & Security Brian Barrett

The New California Act That Would Let Consumers Find Out Who Has Their Personal Data—And Get a Copy

Let’s face it: most of us have no idea how companies are gathering and sharing our personal data. Colossal data brokers are sucking up personal facts about Americans from sources they refuse to disclose. Digital giants like Facebook are teaming up with data brokers in unsettling new ways. Privacy policies for companies are difficult to…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

ATM Skimming Is Now Prolific on Payment Terminals and Ticket Machines

ATM skimming has become an art in recent years, with the devices that crooks use becoming ever more sophisticated. But fraudsters are broadening their reach, with payment terminals and ticket machines now just as much targets as ATMs. https://gizmodo.com/this-skimmer-is-why-you-should-be-nervous-at-atms-5904949 Krebs on Security reports findings from the European ATM Security Team (EAST) which reveals that point-of-sale…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

How the DMCA Stymies Technological Research

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998, is a fundamental piece of legislation which forms the foundation of US law regarding digital rights. It’s far from perfect for consumers—but it also has a massive impact on the progress of research, too. https://gizmodo.com/everything-wrong-with-digital-copyright-and-how-to-fix-5989166 Slate has a fascinating piece on the topic, written by computer security…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

That Internet War Apocalypse Is a Lie

You might’ve read some headlines today—in very reputable publications—saying that there’s an online attack underway. The biggest in history. Enough to slow down the internet. This would be exciting and scary, except it’s just not true. The entire thing sounds so dramatic—the swarming DDoS onslaught is “jamming crucial infrastructure around the world,” the NYT screams…

Privacy & Security Sam Biddle

Smartphones Have Ruined Our Ability to Make Wasted Fools of Ourselves

The modern smartphone, for all its utility as a way of capturing crimes in process, waddling babies, and public disasters, has one chilling effect on society: it’s now dangerous to get insanely fucked up in public. And that’s a damn shame. Take this gentlelady at Miami’s ULTRA music festival, a carnival of tacky bass, gaudy…

Privacy & Security Sam Biddle

FBI Pushing Hard for Realtime Email, Gchat, Skype, and Dropbox Spying Powers

The FBI wants more power. That’s not any particular kind of surprising, since the FBI always wants more power, but this push is notable for what’s it’s after: real time spy privileges for your online communication. Right now, government agencies can force ISPs and phone companies to install surveillance gear in their networks thanks to…

Privacy & Security Kyle Wagner

BB10 Fails the UK Government’s High Security Testing

The new BlackBerry ecosystem has failed the UK government’s high security testing. James Bond isn’t getting a Z10 any time soon. The tests were carried out by the UK Government’s Communications-Electronics Security Group, which ratifies hardware and software for use in official capacities. The previous BB 7.1 OS was passed for used in senior governmental…

Privacy & Security Gary Cutlack - Gizmodo UK

Is This the 20 Year Old Hacker Wreaking Havoc With Journalists Everywhere?

Security writer Brian Krebs has stumbled across new information which could link the recent hack of his own website with attacks on Ars Technica and Gizmodo alumnus Mat Honan’s iCloud breach. https://gizmodo.com/apple-and-amazon-know-about-a-massive-hack-exploit-and-5932176 Following his own lead—that he was the target of a team of hackers annoyed by an article he wrote about a black market…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

Feds: We Don’t Want a Warrant to Track Your Car With GPS

The government is claiming that authorities should be allowed to fasten GPS tracking devices to any vehicle—and then monitor its movements—without any form of warrant. Wired reports that the Obama administration is maintaining the controversial stance, despite the fact that the Supreme Court ruled last year that such a procedure amounted to search protected by…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

Big Data Brokers: They Know Everything About You and Sell it to the Highest Bidder

Data companies are scooping up enormous amounts of information about almost every American. They sell information about whether you’re pregnant or divorced or trying to lose weight, about how rich you are and what kinds of cars you have. Regulators and some in Congress have been taking a closer look at these so-called data brokers…

Privacy & Security Lois Beckett - Pro Publica

The Easiest Way To Tell Your Seatmate You’re Not Interested In Small Talk

Airplane seats are notoriously uncomfortable for sleeping. Whether it’s because of the stiff-as-a-board headrest, or a chatty seatmate who didn’t take a hint when you put on your headphones. So here’s the simple solution to both problems: an inflatable pillow that doubles as an obnoxious wall. For $25, the EZ Sleep Travel Pillow guarantees you…

Privacy & Security Andrew Liszewski

The NSA Is Training 13 Teams of Covert Hackers to Attack Other Countries

For the first time, the United States has officially disclosed plans to develop counterattack measures against foreign nations’ cyberattacks. General Keith Alexander, chief of the military’s Cyber Command and the NSA, told Congress yesterday the military is training 13 teams of programmers and computer experts to carry out offensive attacks. As disclosures to Congress go,…

Privacy & Security Kyle Wagner

Which Encryption Apps Are Strong Enough to Help You Take Down a Government?

It seems like these days I can’t eat breakfast without reading about some new encryption app that will (supposedly) revolutionize our communications — while making tyrannical regimes fall like cheap confetti. This is exciting stuff, and I want to believe. After all, I’ve spent a lot of my professional life working on crypto, and it’s…

Privacy & Security Matthew Green

One Day Your Credit Card Will Recognize Your Signature

A signature-based security approach is only effective if a cashier actually double checks what’s scrawled across the back of a credit card. And even then, there’s still plenty of opportunity for fraud since minimum wage clerks usually aren’t capable of spotting a forged signature—but one day your credit card might be. Using biometrics, the Fraunhofer…

Privacy & Security Andrew Liszewski

This Suitcase Can Stop a Car

Deploying a spike strip to safely disable only the vehicle they’re pursuing is a tricky game for law enforcement. So the Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company has developed a Safe, Quick, Undercarriage Immobilization Device—also known as a SQUID—that fits inside a self-deploying suitcase called the NightHawk. Functioning like a really dangerous can of spring snakes,…

Privacy & Security Andrew Liszewski

A Swarm Of Dummy Cursors Hides Your Laptop Password When In Public

If you’re particularly paranoid about someone peeping your computer’s password while working in a public place, Japanese researchers have come up with a clever solution to the problem. Instead of using your laptop’s keyboard, you use an on-screen pin pad to type your password. But the cursor movement is completely obfuscated by a swarm of…

Privacy & Security Andrew Liszewski

Evernote: ‘All of Your Passwords Got Stolen So We’ll Hurry Up With That Better Security’

Evernote was forced to reset passwords for all its users over the weekend after noticing something fishy. Now, the company says it will adopt two-factor authentication to prevent further mishaps. Finally! https://gizmodo.com/evernote-was-hacked-and-your-encrypted-passwords-got-5988057 InformationWeek reports a statement from a company spokesman claiming that two-factor authentication was on the way all along. After the hack, the plans…

Privacy & Security Mario Aguilar

Evernote Was Hacked And Your (Encrypted) Passwords Got Stolen

If you go to log in to Evernote, you’ll find that you have to reset your password. Why? Well according to a post on the official Evernote blog, they were hacked, and while no personal information was snatched, emails, usernames, and passwords were. Luckily, those passwords were encrypted, but better safe than sorry. From the…

Privacy & Security Eric Limer

Spyware Implanted in PDFs Has Been Sneaking Into Government Computers Worldwide

A new spyware epidemic has broken out at government entities and NGOs in 23 countries including several organizations in the United States. And it’s not bogus Twitter links or porn that’s getting people this time—it’s PDFs that look like work. The exploit, called miniDuke, was discovered in a joint effort by security researchers at Kaspersky…

Privacy & Security Mario Aguilar

Why AT&T Won’t Let You Swear in Your Passwords

The New California Act That Would Let Consumers Find Out Who Has Their Personal Data—And Get a Copy

ATM Skimming Is Now Prolific on Payment Terminals and Ticket Machines

How the DMCA Stymies Technological Research

That Internet War Apocalypse Is a Lie

Smartphones Have Ruined Our Ability to Make Wasted Fools of Ourselves

FBI Pushing Hard for Realtime Email, Gchat, Skype, and Dropbox Spying Powers

BB10 Fails the UK Government’s High Security Testing

Is This the 20 Year Old Hacker Wreaking Havoc With Journalists Everywhere?

Feds: We Don’t Want a Warrant to Track Your Car With GPS

Big Data Brokers: They Know Everything About You and Sell it to the Highest Bidder

The Easiest Way To Tell Your Seatmate You’re Not Interested In Small Talk

The NSA Is Training 13 Teams of Covert Hackers to Attack Other Countries

Which Encryption Apps Are Strong Enough to Help You Take Down a Government?

One Day Your Credit Card Will Recognize Your Signature

This Suitcase Can Stop a Car

A Swarm Of Dummy Cursors Hides Your Laptop Password When In Public

Evernote: ‘All of Your Passwords Got Stolen So We’ll Hurry Up With That Better Security’

Evernote Was Hacked And Your (Encrypted) Passwords Got Stolen

Spyware Implanted in PDFs Has Been Sneaking Into Government Computers Worldwide

Samsung’s New Frame TVs Look Even More Like Actual Paintings

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Artemis 2 Day 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

30 Unpublished Poems From Iconic Greek Philosopher Discovered in Cairo

Lucid Recalls 4,000 Gravity SUVs for Faulty Seat Belts That May Not Actually Work During a Collision

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