Have you ever handed your phone over to someone you didn’t know so that he or she could verify data you have saved in an app? A minister and his wife did and their story is a disturbing cautionary tale as to why you shouldn’t hand your phone over to anyone.The following information comes from a lawsuit (pdf) against Toyota and a specific dealership as well as a Dallas Morning News report.Pastor Tim Gautreaux and his wife, Claire, were interested in buying a Prius from Texas Toyota of Grapevine. They had taken the dealership’s advice and used an app to get pre-approved for financing via Capital One Financial Corporation. An internet car salesman claimed he needed to show the pre-approved financing information in the app to his manager. The pastor unlocked his phone and handed it over.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Have you ever handed your phone over to someone you didn’t know so that he or she could verify data you have saved in an app? A minister and his wife did and their story is a disturbing cautionary tale as to why you shouldn’t hand your phone over to anyone.The following information comes from a lawsuit (pdf) against Toyota and a specific dealership as well as a Dallas Morning News report.Pastor Tim Gautreaux and his wife, Claire, were interested in buying a Prius from Texas Toyota of Grapevine. They had taken the dealership’s advice and used an app to get pre-approved for financing via Capital One Financial Corporation. An internet car salesman claimed he needed to show the pre-approved financing information in the app to his manager. The pastor unlocked his phone and handed it over.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Why do you spend the big bucks for security products? For protection, right? But many of the top security vendors utilize open-source or third-party components and libraries that are seemingly packed with vulnerabilities.While this is something you already know, a new report found that security products are some of the most vulnerable software. Flexera Software, which acquired Secunia in 2015, noted that between August and October of 2016, 46 products made it to the top 20 most vulnerable products. Eleven of those software products overflowing with vulnerabilities were security-related products.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Why do you spend the big bucks for security products? For protection, right? But many of the top security vendors utilize open-source or third-party components and libraries that are seemingly packed with vulnerabilities.While this is something you already know, a new report found that security products are some of the most vulnerable software. Flexera Software, which acquired Secunia in 2015, noted that between August and October of 2016, 46 products made it to the top 20 most vulnerable products. Eleven of those software products overflowing with vulnerabilities were security-related products.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
An Amazon employee sent out an email to “hundreds” of his co-workers and even Amazon top dog CEO Jeff Bezos. Then he went to the roof of the building and jumped in what appears to be an attempted suicide.A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department told SeattlePI that a man did jump from the “rooftop at an Amazon building at Ninth Avenue North and Thomas Street.” Google
Amazon Apollo Building as seen via Google Maps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
An Amazon employee sent out an email to “hundreds” of his co-workers and even Amazon top dog CEO Jeff Bezos. Then he went to the roof of the building and jumped in what appears to be an attempted suicide.A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department told SeattlePI that a man did jump from the “rooftop at an Amazon building at Ninth Avenue North and Thomas Street.” Google
Amazon Apollo Building as seen via Google Maps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In September, Chinese researchers from Keen Security Lab showed how a Tesla Model S could be remotely hacked while it was being driven. The hack demonstrated by Promon, a Norwegian security company, provided “additional functionality” for cyber thugs to control the vehicle, including enabling “keyless driving functionality,” which could allow a crook to drive away with a Tesla without have a key fob present.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In September, Chinese researchers from Keen Security Lab showed how a Tesla Model S could be remotely hacked while it was being driven. The hack demonstrated by Promon, a Norwegian security company, provided “additional functionality” for cyber thugs to control the vehicle, including enabling “keyless driving functionality,” which could allow a crook to drive away with a Tesla without have a key fob present.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The world became a slightly better place when Fidel Castro died. Unlike President Obama who said, “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him,” President-elect Donald Trump bluntly called Catro a “brutal dictator” whose “legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.”Some unknown person with an internet connection also attempted to be blunt, expressing his or her opinion of Donald Trump via Google Maps; the President-elect’s transition headquarters was renamed to the Dump Tower on Google Maps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The world became a slightly better place when Fidel Castro died. Unlike President Obama who said, “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him,” President-elect Donald Trump bluntly called Catro a “brutal dictator” whose “legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.”Some unknown person with an internet connection also attempted to be blunt, expressing his or her opinion of Donald Trump via Google Maps; the President-elect’s transition headquarters was renamed to the Dump Tower on Google Maps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Last year I tried out my first holiday light display using a Light-O-Rama controller. I was sure a person could have a holiday light show that delights people of all ages and still keep their privacy intact since people wouldn’t be peering into their houses. That part was true; it’s a different story when two different TV crews show up in vans a couple different times and want interviews. Fortunately, declining is an option that doesn’t seem to impact traffic backing up to watch the lights dance to music they can hear via FM from the warmth of their vehicles.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Last year I tried out my first holiday light display using a Light-O-Rama controller. I was sure a person could have a holiday light show that delights people of all ages and still keep their privacy intact since people wouldn’t be peering into their houses. That part was true; it’s a different story when two different TV crews show up in vans a couple different times and want interviews. Fortunately, declining is an option that doesn’t seem to impact traffic backing up to watch the lights dance to music they can hear via FM from the warmth of their vehicles.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It’s been a year since I joined the ranks of cord cutters, so I thought I’d share a few tidbits learned along the way and opinions on streaming devices.ChromecastI first dipped my toe into the water by starting out with Chromecast; it was a first-generation clearance item, making it an inexpensive experiment. While it was easy to use, the device would overheat and lock up within 25 to 45 minutes of using it. Since it was plugged into a TV which was mounted against the wall, I moved Chromecast to another TV with better airflow around it. The device would still get hot, but it took longer to do so. Newer Chromecast models are supposed to be decent devices, but I can’t say that firsthand, since I switched brands.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Whether you are looking for a steal of deal on the latest and greatest gadgets or shopping to fulfill a loved one’s wish list, have you considered if the gadget is one of the most hackable?If not, then Intel Security has considered it for you and released its second annual McAfee Most Hackable Holiday Gifts list.The company first surveyed people to find out what average consumers plans to purchase and what they know about securing their new devices; the findings included that the average consumer lacks “awareness about the potential risks associated with emerging connected devices, such as drones (20%), children’s toys (15%), virtual reality tech (15%), and pet gifts (11%).”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Whether you are looking for a steal of deal on the latest and greatest gadgets or shopping to fulfill a loved one’s wish list, have you considered if the gadget is one of the most hackable?If not, then Intel Security has considered it for you and released its second annual McAfee Most Hackable Holiday Gifts list.The company first surveyed people to find out what average consumers plans to purchase and what they know about securing their new devices. The findings included that the average consumer lacks “awareness about the potential risks associated with emerging connected devices, such as drones (20%), children’s toys (15%), virtual reality tech (15%) and pet gifts (11%).”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One and a half minutes is all it took after plugging in an internet-connected security camera for the camera be infected with malware.Unlike the average Jane or Joe Doe who would not want their security camera to be immediately infected with malware, Rob Graham, CEO of Errata Security, called it “fun” to watch the infection happen. He tweet-documented his experience.Graham purchased an inexpensive device – this $55 IoT security camera made by JideTech.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One and a half minutes is all it took after plugging in an internet-connected security camera for the camera be infected with malware.Unlike the average Jane or Joe Doe who would not want their security camera to be immediately infected with malware, Rob Graham, CEO of Errata Security, called it “fun” to watch the infection happen. He tweet-documented his experience.Graham purchased an inexpensive device – this $55 IoT security camera made by JideTech.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Today I watched an interesting Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing about “Understanding the Role of Connected Devices in Recent Cyber Attacks.” The attacks refer to when insecure IoT devices infected with Mirai malware hammered DNS provider Dyn in October.The hearing included testimony, as well as submitted prepared remarks, from Dale Drew (pdf), CSO and senior vice president of Level 3 Communications; crypto and privacy guru Bruce Schneier (pdf); and Dr. Kevin Fu (pdf), who helped shock the world years ago by saying pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators were vulnerable to hackers. You can read the experts’ testimonies for specific concerns and suggestions, but this is primarily based on paraphrased commentary during the hearing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Today I watched an interesting Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing about “Understanding the Role of Connected Devices in Recent Cyber Attacks.” The attacks refer to when insecure IoT devices infected with Mirai malware hammered DNS provider Dyn in October.The hearing included testimony, as well as submitted prepared remarks, from Dale Drew (pdf), CSO and senior vice president of Level 3 Communications; crypto and privacy guru Bruce Schneier (pdf); and Dr. Kevin Fu (pdf), who helped shock the world years ago by saying pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators were vulnerable to hackers. You can read the experts’ testimonies for specific concerns and suggestions, but this is primarily based on paraphrased commentary during the hearing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Have you wondered if your internet-connected devices are infected with Mirai malware and were part of the DDoS attacks?In response to the recent IoT DDoS attacks, researchers at Zscaler analyzed IoT traffic patterns not only on the days of the DDoS attacks on Dyn and Krebs on Security, but going back to July.While Zscaler does not believe any of the devices connected to Zscaler Cloud had been compromised and used in the IoT botnet attacks, ThreatLabz researchers analyzed the security of five security cameras, three smart TV entertainment devices, three smart network printers and scanners, two DVRs and NVRs, two IP phones and a partridge in a pear tree. The last one of course was just to see if you were paying attention: no partridges were harmed in the course of this research.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Ms. Smith