Tag Archives: Hack

Get Ready For A World Of Hackable Cars

by Elizabeth Weise, USA Today

“If you’ve got GPS or Bluetooth access or a WiFi hotspot in your car — which is coming — there’s a wide range of hacks for getting in,” [one expert said.] … The convergence between connected cars and nefarious hackers (as opposed to research hackers) is coming, say [others. … One expert] says he does caution friends to avoid the dongles popular with some auto insurance companies that allow them to monitor a car’s actions. It’s one thing to trust Ford or Chevrolet. But with those, he said, “you’re not even trusting your insurance company, your’e trusting whoever they bought the dongle from.” Read More ›

Something New to Worry About: Connected Toy Security

by Bree Fowler, Associated Press

boy with stuffed toys reading

Rapid7 researchers examined the Fisher Price Smart Toy, an interactive stuffed animal for children aged 3 to 8 that connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi. They also took a look at HereO, a GPS smartwatch that allows parents to track their child’s location. In both cases, they found that the toys failed to safeguard children’s information such as their names and in the case of the watch, their location, storing it on remote servers in such a way that unauthorized people could access it by masquerading as legitimate users. … Toy-related security problems began to grab headlines late last year. Read More ›

Apple Mobile Devices Vulnerable To App Attack, FireEye Says

by Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News

Apple mobile devices can leak users’ information through an attack using apps distributed outside the company’s App Store, a prominent Silicon Valley security company disclosed Tuesday. … Hackers could offer a mobile app through the Web that would mimic a legitimately downloaded application on a user’s device, siphoning important information such as login info or emails. An example provided showed that a third-party app called “New Flappy Bird” could replace the Gmail app and access cached emails, using the same “bundle identifier” that Apple uses for the Gmail app. Read More ›

This Is How Your Gmail Account Got Hacked

by Jose Pagliery, CNN Money

It takes only 3 minutes to scan your email for valuable stuff. They’re looking for any email that shows your bank account information and images of your real life signature. They also search for login credentials for other accounts at Amazon or PayPal. They use the email search feature, looking for phrases like “wire transfer,” “bank” and “account statement. Safety tip: Perform this search yourself. Go ahead and erase any email with this sensitive data. Don’t leave this stuff lying around. Read More ›

JPMorgan and Other Banks Struck by Hackers

by Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times

Computer screen data

Hackers struck a number of U.S. banks in coordinated attacks this month that siphoned off gigabytes of data, including checking and savings account information, in what security experts described as a sophisticated cyberattack. Aside from JPMorgan, it was not clear which other banks were infiltrated. A security firm had warned companies that they should be prepared for cyberattacks from Russia in retaliation for Western economic sanctions. The American banking sector has been a frequent target for hackers in recent years, with the vast majority of attacks motivated by financial theft. Read More ›

Apple’s fingerprint recognition technology concerns senator

by Bree Fowler, San Jose Mercury News

If hackers get a hold of your thumbprint, they could use it to identify and impersonate you for the rest of your life, Senator Franken said in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Read More ›