The site that leaked Colin Powell's stolen emails has also allegedly obtained a scan of Michelle Obama's passport. On Thursday, the site DCLeaks began circulating the passport image on Twitter and leaking it to the press. The image includes the U.S. First Lady's alleged passport number. The site tweeted out the scan after obtaining stolen emails it claims are from a White House aide named Ian Mellul. The files, which are posted on DCLeaks, appear to come from Mellul's Gmail account and date back to February 2015.Although DCLeaks claims to be the work of "American hacktivists," some security experts suspect that the site is a front for Russian state-sponsored hackers. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.S. lawmaker has introduced two bills to protect voting systems from hacking, amid fears that Russian cyber spies may be interfering with this year's presidential election.Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat serving Georgia, is proposing a moratorium on state purchases of electronic voting machines that don't produce a paper trail. His Election Integrity Act, introduced Wednesday, would also prohibit voting systems from being connected to the internet as a way to prevent online tampering.The high-profile hack of the Democratic National Committee publicized in June has citizens worried that U.S. election systems may be vulnerable, Johnson said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.S. lawmaker has introduced two bills to protect voting systems from hacking, amid fears that Russian cyber spies may be interfering with this year's presidential election.Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat serving Georgia, is proposing a moratorium on state purchases of electronic voting machines that don't produce a paper trail. His Election Integrity Act, introduced Wednesday, would also prohibit voting systems from being connected to the internet as a way to prevent online tampering.The high-profile hack of the Democratic National Committee publicized in June has citizens worried that U.S. election systems may be vulnerable, Johnson said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Be careful with what you torrent. A new tool on the black market is helping hackers distribute malware through torrent files in exchange for a fee.On Tuesday, security researchers at InfoArmor said they discovered the so-called "RAUM" tool in underground forums.It leverages torrenting -- a popular file-sharing method associated with piracy -- to spread the malware. Popular torrent files, especially games, are packaged with malicious coding and then uploaded for unsuspecting users to download.Using torrents to infect computers is nothing new. But the makers of the RAUM tool have streamlined the whole process with a "Pay-Per-Install" model, according to InfoArmor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Be careful with what you torrent. A new tool on the black market is helping hackers distribute malware through torrent files in exchange for a fee.On Tuesday, security researchers at InfoArmor said they discovered the so-called "RAUM" tool in underground forums.It leverages torrenting -- a popular file-sharing method associated with piracy -- to spread the malware. Popular torrent files, especially games, are packaged with malicious coding and then uploaded for unsuspecting users to download.Using torrents to infect computers is nothing new. But the makers of the RAUM tool have streamlined the whole process with a "Pay-Per-Install" model, according to InfoArmor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you’re worried that your data might end up in the hands of a hacker, one site is offering a free service that can give you a head’s up.Baltimore-based Terbium Labs has come up with a product called Matchlight, which crawls the dark recesses of the internet, looking for stolen data that’s circulating on the black market.On Tuesday, Terbium Labs opened the product to the public. That means any user can sign up to have five of their personal records monitored for free.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you’re worried that your data might end up in the hands of a hacker, one site is offering a free service that can give you a head’s up.Baltimore-based Terbium Labs has come up with a product called Matchlight, which crawls the dark recesses of the internet, looking for stolen data that’s circulating on the black market.On Tuesday, Terbium Labs opened the product to the public. That means any user can sign up to have five of their personal records monitored for free.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A site that's been warning the public about data breaches might actually be doing more harm than good.Enter LeakedSource, a giant repository online that can potentially make hacking easier. Your email address and the associated Internet accounts -- including the passwords -- is probably in it.In fact, the giant repository is made up of stolen databases taken from LinkedIn, Myspace, Dropbox, and thousands of other sites. It bills itself as a data breach monitoring site and for months now, it's been collecting details on hacks, both old and new, and alerting the media about them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A site that's been warning the public about data breaches might actually be doing more harm than good.Enter LeakedSource, a giant repository online that can potentially make hacking easier. Your email address and the associated Internet accounts -- including the passwords -- is probably in it.In fact, the giant repository is made up of stolen databases taken from LinkedIn, Myspace, Dropbox, and thousands of other sites. It bills itself as a data breach monitoring site and for months now, it's been collecting details on hacks, both old and new, and alerting the media about them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.K. judge has ruled in favor of extraditing a British man to the U.S. on charges of hacking government computers, despite fears he may commit suicide.Lauri Love, 31, has been fighting his extradition for allegedly stealing data from U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense and NASA.On Friday, a Westminster Magistrates court ruled that Love can be safely extradited to the U.S. to face trial, even though he has Asperger Syndrome and a history of depression.“I send this case to the secretary of state for her decision as to whether or not Mr. Love should be extradited,” Judge Nina Tempia said in the ruling.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The FBI’s refusal to reveal how it accessed an iPhone 5c from a San Bernardino mass shooter will face scrutiny in court. USA Today’s parent company and two other news groups have filed a lawsuit against the agency, demanding it turn over the details.In March, the FBI unlocked the passcode-protected iPhone through an unknown third party, for a reportedly large sum that the agency hasn’t officially disclosed.The lack of details prompted USA Today to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI, regarding the costs paid to the third-party contractor. But in June, the FBI denied the request, claiming that the disclosure could interfere with law enforcement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
U.S. lawmakers are trying to stifle any hope that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden will receive a pardon. On Thursday, the House intelligence committee sent a letter to President Obama urging him to treat Snowden as a criminal.“Mr. Snowden is not a patriot. He is not a whistleblower,” the letter said.The letter was sent amid calls from tech leaders and liberal activists for Obama to pardon Snowden. The campaign, supported by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and celebrities including actor Daniel Radcliffe, argues that Snowden sparked an important debate about government mass surveillance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
U.S. lawmakers are trying to stifle any hope that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden will receive a pardon. On Thursday, the House intelligence committee sent a letter to President Obama urging him to treat Snowden as a criminal.“Mr. Snowden is not a patriot. He is not a whistleblower,” the letter said.The letter was sent amid calls from tech leaders and liberal activists for Obama to pardon Snowden. The campaign, supported by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and celebrities including actor Daniel Radcliffe, argues that Snowden sparked an important debate about government mass surveillance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The FBI may have paid a small fortune to unlock an iPhone 5c used by the San Bernardino shooter. But a security researcher has demonstrated a way to do it for less than US $100.
Sergei Skorobogatov at the University of Cambridge used a technique known as NAND mirroring to bypass the passcode retry limit on an iPhone 5c. Using store-bought equipment, he created copies of the phone’s flash memory to generate more tries to guess the passcode.
Skorobogatov detailed the whole process in a new paper that disputes the FBI’s assertion that the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone couldn’t be accessed with the NAND mirroring technique. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The FBI may have paid a small fortune to unlock an iPhone 5c used by the San Bernardino shooter. But a security researcher has demonstrated a way to do it for less than US $100.
Sergei Skorobogatov at the University of Cambridge used a technique known as NAND mirroring to bypass the passcode retry limit on an iPhone 5c. Using store-bought equipment, he created copies of the phone’s flash memory to generate more tries to guess the passcode.
Skorobogatov detailed the whole process in a new paper that disputes the FBI’s assertion that the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone couldn’t be accessed with the NAND mirroring technique. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hackers are becoming a major source of political leaks in this year’s presidential race.Case in point: On Tuesday, stolen emails from former secretary of state Colin Powell became headline news after a mysterious site with possible ties to Russian cyber spies gave them to the press. Since then, media outlets have been pointing out juicy details found in the emails. For example, Powell called Clinton “greedy” and her rival Donald Trump a “national disgrace.”The incident has security experts worried that hackers are manipulating U.S. media outlets to influence this year’s election.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hackers are becoming a major source of political leaks in this year’s presidential race.Case in point: On Tuesday, stolen emails from former secretary of state Colin Powell became headline news after a mysterious site with possible ties to Russian cyber spies gave them to the press. Since then, media outlets have been pointing out juicy details found in the emails. For example, Powell called Clinton “greedy” and her rival Donald Trump a “national disgrace.”The incident has security experts worried that hackers are manipulating U.S. media outlets to influence this year’s election.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hackers are becoming a major source of political leaks in this year’s presidential race.Case in point: On Tuesday, stolen emails from former secretary of state Colin Powell became headline news after a mysterious site with possible ties to Russian cyber spies gave them to the press. Since then, media outlets have been pointing out juicy details found in the emails. For example, Powell called Clinton “greedy” and her rival Donald Trump a “national disgrace.”The incident has security experts worried that hackers are manipulating U.S. media outlets to influence this year’s election.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As cars become more computerized, they're also facing a greater risk of being hacked. That’s why Volkswagen is founding a new cyber security company devoted to protecting next-generation vehicles.On Wednesday, the automaker said it would partner with a former Israeli intelligence agency director to jointly establish a new company, called Cymotive Technologies.It’s unclear how much Volkswagen is investing in the new firm, but security experts have been warning that internet-connected cars and self-driving vehicles could one day be a major target for hackers.Even older cars from Volkswagen are vulnerable. Last month, researchers said that millions of vehicles from the automaker can be broken into by exploiting the remote control key systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As cars become more computerized, they're also facing a greater risk of being hacked. That’s why Volkswagen is founding a new cyber security company devoted to protecting next-generation vehicles.On Wednesday, the automaker said it would partner with a former Israeli intelligence agency director to jointly establish a new company, called Cymotive Technologies.It’s unclear how much Volkswagen is investing in the new firm, but security experts have been warning that internet-connected cars and self-driving vehicles could one day be a major target for hackers.Even older cars from Volkswagen are vulnerable. Last month, researchers said that millions of vehicles from the automaker can be broken into by exploiting the remote control key systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Michael Kan