security

Secret Bitcoin mining code added to e-sports software sparks outrage

"Competitive video gaming community E-Sports Entertainment Association secretly updated its client software with Bitcoin-mining code that tapped players' computers to mint more than $3,600 worth of the digital currency, one of its top officials said Wednesday. The admission by co-founder and league administrator Eric ‘lpkane’ Thunberg came amid complaints from users that their ESEA-supplied software was generating antivirus warnings, computer crashes, and other problems." Continue reading →

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FinFisher spyware used by governments is disguised as Firefox; Mozilla not happy

"FinFisher, also known as FinSpy, is a piece of malware developed by Gamma International and sold to governments of 36 different countries (the US included) to monitor the activities of computer users. The spyware was originally designed to aid with criminal investigations, but there have been reports that say it has been used for more than just to catch criminals, such as to monitor the activities of dissidents or [insert label here]. Mozilla, the maker of the popular Firefox browser, has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Gamma International because Mozilla alleges FinFisher is packaged to look like the Firefox browser." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinFisher spyware used by governments is disguised as Firefox; Mozilla not happy

Is your webcam spying on you?

"Last week, a Texas judge denied a warrant request from the FBI that would have enabled federal gumshoes to snoop through his webcam, raising a question: Should the FBI be allowed to spy on you through your webcam? An Ars Technica report noted that the practice requested by the bureau was similar to surveillance methods used by an online community called Ratters. Texas Judge Stephen Smith denied the FBI request because the methods used would not only give the FBI access to the camera, but it would give them full control of the suspect’s computer, allowing them to access other files." Continue reading →

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Do You Want the Government Buying Your Data From Corporations?

"Our government collects a lot of information about us. Tax records, legal records, license records, records of government services received-- it's all in databases that are increasingly linked and correlated. Still, there's a lot of personal information the government can't collect. Either they're prohibited by law from asking without probable cause and a judicial order, or they simply have no cost-effective way to collect it. But the government has figured out how to get around the laws, and collect personal data that has been historically denied to them: ask corporate America for it." Continue reading →

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Companies That Protect Your Data From the Prying Eyes of Government

"The winners, that is those who require a warrant before giving up information and who also inform you of government requests, are: Dropbox; Foursquare; LinkedIn; Sonic.net; SpiderOak; Twitter; WordPress. The companies that roll over and immediately give up information and also don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request: Amazon; Apple; AT&T; Comcast; MySpace; Verizon; Yahoo. Google and Microsoft require a warrant before they provide information about you, but don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request." Continue reading →

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SWAT team sent to home of CNN’s Wolf Blitzer

"A message sent to police in Montgomery County, Virginia on Saturday caused a SWAT team to descend upon a home owned by CNN host Wolf Blitzer, under the impression that someone at the residence had just been shot. The report turned out to not be true, and Blitzer was not home at the time. Police were already suspicious of the message when they arrived on the scene, the Post noted, having received a text message sent through a phone provider’s emergency relay service. The case is yet another instance of the growing trend known as 'swatting,' where authorities are called to someone’s home under false pretenses." Continue reading →

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Are We Really “Going Dark”? — The DEA and Apple’s iMessage

"'Apple iMessage users should be aware that regardless of what they heard last week, their messages can be easily obtained by law enforcement pursuant to a warrant under the Electronic Communication Act [ECPA],' said Alan Butler, an in-house attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). 'Even though the messages are encrypted by the phone company as they are sent by iMessage, Apple can decrypt messages and hand them over to law enforcement with a warrant!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAre We Really “Going Dark”? — The DEA and Apple’s iMessage

Botnet fraud wreaking havoc on advertisers: report

"Security researchers have discovered a botnet they have dubbed 'Chameleon' which they calculate is costing display advertisers around $6m (£3.9m) per month by falsely viewing billions of pages and adverts on about 200 sites owned by a small group of publishers. The discovery points to widespread fraud in which adverts are clicked among networks of sites to generate money for sites and ad networks – though it is still unclear whether it is one or more publishers, or one or more ad networks which supply ads to the sites, which are to blame for the fraud. The botnet consists of at least 120,000 subverted Windows machines, 95% of them located inside the US." Continue reading →

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Report: Apple hack compromised ‘hundreds’ of other companies

"A hack on Apple computers has infected systems at hundreds of the company’s clients in the largest cyber attack the company has ever faced, a person briefed on the investigation told Reuters. The hack used the same exploit in Oracle’s Java software that Facebook warned of, saying several employee computers were compromised by 'sophisticated' hackers using custom tools but that no user information was exposed. The company did not comment on how many of its clients saw systems affected, but a source told Reuters the number is in the 'hundreds,' and includes defense contractors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReport: Apple hack compromised ‘hundreds’ of other companies

First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

"The fake requests for ballots targeted the Aug. 14 statewide primary and included requests for Democratic ballots in one congressional district and Republican ballots in two state House districts, according to a recent Miami Herald report. The fake requests were done so clumsily that they were red-flagged and did not foul up the election. In any case, they would not have been enough to change the outcome. But now confirmed as the first cyberattack aimed at election fraud, the incident is further evidence that the vote-counting process is vulnerable, particularly as elections become more reliant on the Internet." Continue reading →

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