Why ATMs are easy to hack
Security researchers claim ATM machines are usually not that difficult for hackers to penetrate. Once they’re inside, they can steal money, or banking details from unsuspecting victims.
Now, researchers from Kaspersky Lab have investigated what makes ATMs such an easy target for hackers, and came to two conclusions: both software and hardware are easy to access and temper with.
Hacker finds Facebook backdoor leaking usernames and passwords
The use of bounty programs to track down security vulnerabilities in websites and software is increasingly common these days, and it's a tactic employed by Facebook. One bounty hunter -- or penetration tester -- hacked his (or her… they are anonymous) way into the social network and made the shocking discovery that someone had already installed a backdoor.
Orange Tsai managed to compromise a Linux-based staff server and found there was already a piece of malware in place syphoning off usernames and passwords. These account details were being transmitted to a remote computer, and after revealing this to Facebook, Tsia pocketed $10,000 as a reward.
It cost HOW MUCH to crack the San Bernardino iPhone?!
There are a lot of questions still to be answered about the San Bernardino iPhone that saw the FBI and Apple go head to head. After something of a battle, the FBI found someone to crack the iPhone. But who exactly did it? How did they do it? Will Apple be told how to do it in private? But one question that has also been lurking in the background is just how much it cost to hack into a single iPhone.
Now we know the answer. Not precisely, but we have a pretty good idea. Perhaps unsurprisingly, cracking the iPhone at the center of one of the most interesting technology cases in recent history, was not cheap. In a somewhat roundabout way, FBI Director James Comey revealed that the cost was more than $1.34 million.
Cyber-criminals run things like a business
This cyber-crime thing has gotten to a point where we now really need a digital Batman to fix everything. Security firm Symantec has recently released its Internet Security Threat Report, revealing that cyber-criminals are almost as good as state-sponsored attackers.
They’re highly skilled, well-organized and structured like a business. Here’s what Kevin Haley, director at Symantec Security Response says:
Hackers love Microsoft's PowerShell
PowerShell, a scripting language inherent to Microsoft operating systems, is largely used to launch cyber-attacks, a new report suggests.
The Unified Threat Research report, released by next-generation endpoint security (NGES) firm Carbon Black, says that 38 percent of incidents reported by Carbon Black partners used PowerShell.
Immigration officials allowed to hack phones of refugees and asylum seekers
The British government secretly rolled out powers that permitted the immigration officials to hack the mobile phones of asylum seekers and refugees, the Observer reveals. The Home Office has confirmed the hacking powers which have sparked outrage from privacy and human rights groups.
Since 2013, immigration officials have not only been permitted to hack into migrants' phones and computers, but also to install surveillance equipment in homes and detention centers. With concern about governmental plans for the snooper's charter and the privacy invasion this entails, claims that the powers are needed to "deal effectively with all immigration crime" are likely to fall on deaf ears.
For $500 you could look through your competitor's email
So you want to snoop through your competition’s email? Yeah, we can make that happen, but it’ll cost ya! How much? You’d be surprised. Secure Works’ researchers have dug deep into a popular cyber-crime forum to find out how much it costs to hire a hacker to do your dirty work, and the results, somewhat surprising, have been published in the Secure Works report.
Apparently, the luxury of reading your competitor’s email will cost you $500 (£353). To make things even better, the hacker will not change the email’s password or anything, so it will be pretty darn hard for the victim to realize they're being spied upon.
FBI briefs senator about how it cracked San Bernardino iPhone, but keeps Apple in the dark
It turned the case of the century in to the case that didn’t really happen. The battle between Apple and the FBI came to a sudden end last month when the US Justice Department said it didn’t need the iPhone manufacturer's help, and then successfully hacked its way into the iPhone in question.
With the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone seemingly successfully cracked, the FBI last night revealed to Senator Dianne Feinstein just how it managed it. There are no current plans to share this information with Apple, but FBI Director James Comey revealed that the tool that was brought in only works on the iPhone 5c.
Chinese censors spring into action to erase mentions of Panama Papers from the web
The Panama Papers that leaked following the Mossack Fonseca hack turned the spotlight on the rich and famous seemingly involved in money laundering and tax evasion schemes. High profile names from the world of politics appear in the papers -- including close friends of Russian President Putin and the father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
The leaked 11.5 million files, spanning 2.6 TB of data, include references to the relatives of at least eight current or former Chinese officials, says the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Chinese censors have now gone into overdrive, working overtime to eliminate all mentions of this from Chinese websites.
Mossack Fonseca hack exposes shady financial practices of world's rich and famous
One of the largest data breaches in history has resulted in the leak of eleven million confidential documents -- around 2.6TB of data -- from financial firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the most secretive companies in the world.
According to the BBC, the leaked documents reveal how "Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax". The client list features some of the world’s richest and most influential people -- including 12 current or former heads of state -- and their irrepressible greed has now been laid out for all to see. The data shows how thousands of off-shore shell companies have been created in order to hide money from the tax man and also reveals "a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring involving close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin".
Many Brits now do not trust online banking
Almost half of people living in the UK (48 percent) fear either their identities, or their banking data will be stolen. Those are the results of a new survey from financial technology company Intelligent Environments. According to the report, the fear is well founded, with 20 percent of Britons being victims to some type of cyber-crime, either identity theft or bank details theft.
The report reveals a cybersecurity map of Britain. In it, it says that Birmingham is most concerned with cybersecurity, with 57 percent fearing banking information theft, and 59 percent identity theft. Birmingham is followed by Newcastle and Cardiff.
FBI cracks San Bernardino iPhone without help from Apple
The US justice department has announced that it has successfully cracked the iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino shooter, Syed Farook. The FBI was able to unlock the phone without help from Apple, ending the lawsuit that had pitted the FBI against Apple.
In a statement, the Justice Department said: "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple." It has been thought that Israeli security firm Cellebrite was helping the FBI, but the question now has to be asked about the security of other iPhones and whether law enforcement agencies will use the same technique to access data in the future.
China praises hacker who tried to steal US military secrets
Tensions could be set to mount between the US and China after the Communist government's Global Times newspaper praised Su Bin, the Chinese "government soldier" who pled guilty to trying to steal military secrets from US defense contractors.
Despite the Chinese government having previously said that it does not support cybercrime or online espionage, the state newspaper used an editorial to say "Su Bin deserves respect whether guilty or innocent". The hack was designed to gather data about, amongst other things, the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and C-17 military transport aircraft.
90 percent of US federal agencies are vulnerable to data threats
According to new research 90 percent of IT security leaders in US federal agencies say they feel vulnerable to data threats.
In addition 61 percent have experienced a past data breach, with nearly one in five indicating a breach in the last year. This is among the findings of the US Federal Government Edition of the 2016 Vormetric Data Threat Report from enterprise data protection company Vormetric and 451 Research.
Security is a major concern for Internet of Things users
A survey by mobile and Internet security firm BullGuard of over 6,000 UK residents has illustrated just how widespread the Internet of Things (IoT) has already become, while also highlighting serious security concerns among consumers.
IoT is growing and will become more pervasive in the near future as consumers, whether knowingly or not connect more smart devices to the internet. Many consumer household items are now smart or internet enabled by default. Additionally over a quarter of consumers in the survey are planning to buy IoT devices in the next 12 months alone.
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