Ring and Amazon slammed with a federal lawsuit over failed camera security
Ring and Amazon have come under federal scrutiny after an Alabama resident accused the companies of negligent security practices. Ring and Amazon face a class-action lawsuit after hackers took control of devices. The plaintiff claims damages are owed after an "implied breach of contract" and an "invasion of privacy."
A Twitter bug could use your phone number to expose personal information
A security researcher has revealed that it's possible to find phone numbers and match them to Twitter usernames, a security flaw that could leave millions of people's accounts exposed. The researcher said he'd already found the phone numbers of several high-profile users and politicians.
Cyberattack forces 38,000 students to physically stand in line for new passwords
A university in Germany is handing out new email passwords printed on pieces of paper to its 38,000 students after its servers were hit by hackers. Students are being asked to line up outside the university gym to collect their new passwords in a process that could take five days to complete.
Here are the 10 worst passwords of 2019, and a few tips on creating better ones
It’s tempting to create an easy password for your online accounts. But simply relying on your pet’s name or 123456 is risky. But doing so is still very common. In fact, cybersecurity company SplashData just released its list of the top 100 worst passwords of 2019. Are your passwords on it?
New Orleans targeted by ransomware attack, forced to shut down city network
The city of New Orleans has been the target of a cyberattack which lead to city officials shutting down the city's network and declaring a state of emergency, as reported by Forbes. This follows a number of high-profile attacks against city infrastructure in the U.S.
First smart TVs, now your smart home can be compromised, FBI warns
Following recent warnings about Smart TV security, a new statement released by the FBI warns owners of smart home systems that their connected devices might be leaving them vulnerable to hackers. They offer a list of steps to help beef up your cybersecurity practices.
More than 750,000 U.S. birth certificate applications exposed online
Applying for a copy of a birth certificate involves submitting plenty of personal information that you'd expect the recipient to properly safeguard. But a company dealing with the applications in the U.S. has left more than 750,000 of the forms exposed online, it was revealed this week.
How to control the ads you see online
Learn how to control the ads you see online with our ad settings guides. If you're tired of ad targeting, ads following you around online, or seeing just lots of ads that you'd rather not see, there are key settings you can change to make a difference. We'll go over Google, Facebook, and Ad Blockers to show how they can help!
Freaked out by the FBI’s smart TV warning? Here’s what you should do
A recent warning from the FBI is the latest suggestion smart TVs could be used to spy on you. But what is the real risk? Should you return that brand new TV you just bought on Black Friday, or is there a way to keep and keep yourself safe? We have some helpful suggestions.
Police arrest suspect in hack of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account
Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a hack in August that saw Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s own Twitter account compromised. The suspect is reportedly a former member of the Chuckling Squad, a hacking group known to use SIM swapping, the method by which Dorsey’s account was taken over.
T-Mobile hack may have affected around a million customers
Around a million T-Mobile customers have reportedly been caught up in a security breach in which hackers made off with customer information that includes name, billing address, phone number, account number. The hack comes just over a year after another one hit around 2 million T-Mobile customers.
Avoid juice jacking! L.A. warns travelers against public USB charging stations
The District Attorney's Office of Los Angeles County issued a warning against juice jacking, a method in which hackers load malware into public USB charging stations. While the attack is nowhere near epidemic levels, travelers are recommended to consider safer alternatives while on the go.
New research finds that smart speakers can be compromised by lasers
A new study about the vulnerabilities of smart speakers, like Amazon Echo, Apple Home Pod, and Google Home, has been released. All the researchers at the University of Michigan and Japan's University of Electro-Communications had to do was shine a special laser on the smart speakers to manipulate them.
Huawei is reportedly hosting a secret hacker meeting in Germany
Huawei has reportedly invited some of the world’s most capable phone hackers to Munich for a secret meeting. At the event, the company is rumored to launch an exclusive bug bounty program that will reward researchers for submitting security vulnerabilities in its phones.
Senators call for investigation into TikTok for ‘counterintelligence threat’
Does giving your data to an app-based in China create a national security risk? Two U.S. senators are calling for an investigation into TikTok over data sharing, freedom of speech, and foreign interference. The request comes from Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton.
Don’t be fooled if your smart speaker asks for your password
Recently, Security Research Labs (SRLabs), a hacking research group and think tank based in Germany, found that Alexa and Google Home expose users to phishing and eavesdropping due to third-party skills and apps. This exploit uses the speaker's own voice recognition technology to gather data.
Your personal data is for sale on the dark web. Here’s how much it costs
A recently published report from cybersecurity resource VPNOverview shows how much it costs to purchase various types of personal information on the dark web. And the results are actually kind of disappointing. Your personal information may not be sold at as high a price as you’d expect.
Hackers stole 26 million credit cards, but vigilantes just rescued them
In an ironic twist of fate, BriansClub, a black market site that contains stolen credit cards, was hacked to rescue the data of more than 26 million credit and debit cards. The data stolen was shared with financial institutions who were able to identify, monitor, and reissue cards that were compromised.
Iranian hackers targeted 2020 U.S. presidential candidates, Microsoft says
Microsoft identified Phosphorous as responsible for a series of recent hacks against current and former U.S. government officials, including presidential candidates, that occurred in August and September. Phosphorous is tied to the Iranian government and has been linked to previous cyberattacks.
Massive Words with Friends hack exposes 218 million account login details
A hacker has claimed responsibility for hacking the Zynga mobile game Words With Friends, saying more than 218 million accounts have been stolen, and the data includes names, email addresses, and hashed passwords. Zynga confirmed an attack, but did not reveal the numbers or the scope of the breach at the time.
The web gets more secure as Cloudflare, Firefox, and Chrome adopt HTTP/3
Websites could soon become more responsive and more secure as they adopt a new version of HTTP. As announced by Cloudflare, preliminary support for HTTP/3 is rolling out this week. The Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers will be joining Cloudflare in supporting HTTP/3 soon.
The U.S. government issues warning to install this emergency Windows update
Google Chrome might be the most popular web browsers, but a small percentage of Windows users are still depending on the older Internet Explorer browser. If that covers you, then Microsoft is now urging you to install an emergency patch as soon as possible in order to avoid possible malicious attacks from hackers.
Here’s why phishing attacks against Macs are rising at an alarming rate
Your Mac is more at risk of phishing attacks than ever, according to a new report from Kaspersky. At the same time, attacks from malicious files and other types of malware have been on the decline in 2019, suggesting criminals are changing their tactics.
BlackBerry will provide cybersecurity for future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles
Jaguar Land Rover and BlackBerry are already working together on infotainment systems, but now the two companies plan to expand their partnership to include other areas of tech. BlackBerry will provide cybersecurity consulting to Jaguar Land Rover, as well as software to spot threats.
Hackers can easily watch your every move, control PCs with free NanoCore Trojan
You might want to make sure you're up and running with the latest version of Windows and your antivirus software. Researchers have discovered a very dangerous remote access trojan (RAT), which if your PC is not fully patched and updated, could leave even amateur hackers in complete control of your PC.
Your Lenovo laptop may have a serious security flaw
A newly discovered security vulnerability involves older Lenovo laptops and a no-longer-supported program called Lenovo Solution Center. The laptop manufacturer has advised customers with these laptops to go ahead and uninstall Lenovo Solution Center to protect their computers.
Notepad has a major security flaw that leaves Windows PCs vulnerable to hackers
A major security flaw discovered in Windows PCs involves one of the operating system’s simplest apps: Notepad. The flaw allows hackers to take over entire computers. Microsoft has released a patch for this Notepad flaw, however, as part of the August 2019 edition of Patch Tuesday.
This woman implanted her Tesla key into her arm
Software engineer Amie DD took the car-shaped key fob that Tesla gives owners to unlock their vehicle, and implanted part of it in her arm, which allows her to open her Tesla with her body rather than a traditional key.
Oh great, now our smart speakers can attack us with harmful sounds
A security researcher has said it’s surprisingly easy to take over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speakers and get them to emit harmful sounds. With a few lines of code and a vulnerable device, Matt Wixey said it’s possible to play sounds that can annoy and intimidate those within earshot, or even damage their hearing.
Group dating app 3Fun caught exposing real-time locations, private photos
Pen Test Partners discovered that 3Fun, a dating app for arranging threesomes, was severely lacking in protecting the data privacy of its more than 1.5 million users. The app stored real-time locations, private photos, birth dates, and other sensitive information on its servers without encryption.
Apple will pay you $1 million to find a very specific iPhone bug
Apple announced a big changes to its bug-bounty program it launched in 2016. The biggest is a new $1 million reward if you find a very specific exploit. The payout will go to security researchers that are able to carry out a “zero-click full chain kernel execution attack with persistence”
Everything we know about Watch Dogs Legion
Watch Dogs Legion is a radical overhaul for the series, allowing you to control any non-player character in London and turn them into operatives for the DedSec vigilante group. Here's what we know so far, including information on the various classes, combat options, permanent death, and enemy factions.
Here’s how to protect yourself from the Capital One data breach
The recently announced Capital One data breach is said to have exposed the personal data of about 100 million people. If you think you might have been affected by this breach, there are some things you can do to protect your accounts. Here’s how to protect yourself from the Capital One data breach.
Pegasus spyware can break into users’ cloud accounts and steal data
An Israeli software company which creates spyware has developed a tool with the ability to break into users' cloud-based accounts. The Pegasus software developed by the NSO Group has been advertised as being able to copy authentication keys and access cloud services like Google Drive or iCloud.