Earlier this week, I reported on cyber attacks and those who fight to prevent them. So that got me thinking: What are the worst cyber crimes and cyber attacks of all time?
10. The LA Traffic Light Attack: In 2006, Los Angeles, CA traffic engineers went on strike, The perfect opportunity for two hackers to lengthen red lights and further?snarl traffic in a city that’s notorious for crawling. Two disgruntle engineers were eventually sentenced to probation.
9. Mafia Boy: In 2000, 15-year-old Michael Calce slowed down?and interfered?with?web traffic. He did this to major sites, like?CNN and Yahoo, even ?caused security concerns in the White House.?Mafia Boy?shed light on how easy it was for anyone to attack any site anytime.
8. FBI Virus: In 2012, this virus wouldn’t let victims go until it paid at least $200. It’s scary because it’s dressed up to look life a federal site, but it isn’t. One analyst said 40 percent of CP repair issues have to deal with this virus. I don’t know how much money this malware ripped off, but this virus was universal and sly!
7. Citigroup Attack: In 2011, this mega bank lost 2.7 million dollars and over 200,000 customers’ personal info to thieves. The fact it happened to an international bank reminds us nobody is safe!
6. Conficker: Perhaps the most overrated worm of all time. Okay, so it did infect tens of millions of systems, and?survived a lot of destruction attempts. But I put it on this list because of the media hype and fear this?worm produced. I like to call it ‘The virus that cried wolf’.
5. TJ?Maxx and Marshalls: This Massachusetts??bases retail chain had 45 million debit and credit cards compromised. This super data breached cost TJ Maxx and company over a quarter billion dollars.
4. Albert Gonzales: He was part of the TJ Maxx?scheme, as well as?hacking into Hannaford Brothers Supermarket,?Dave and Busters and 7-11. He and his gang compromised over 100 million debit/credit cards worldwide. He won the longest?ever prison term for hacking: 17-25 years.
3. Max Vision:??He was a security researcher who crossed over to the dark side.?In 2006,?he created?one of the largest cyber criminal?markets of all time with 6,000 members! His organization, Carders Market, compromised 2 million?accounts and?ripped?approximately $86 million dollars.
2.?Epsilon: This marketing and email handling service for banks like JP Morgan was hacked in 2011. Some estimated up to $4 billion dollars was stolen. Fortunately, more emails than cards were compromised, so it could be far less.
1. Original Logic Bomb: Never heard of this one? It occurred in 1982, long before the Web as we know it. During Cold War tensions, the US blew up a Soviet Siberian gas pipe line. This burst caused technological and natural chaos. It also demonstrated the power of hacking years before most ever heard of the word.
If you know of ay cool cyber attacks worthy of this list, we’d love to hear from you.
Yesterday, I reported on Google’s billionth monthly user. So it got me thinking: What are some of my most memorable You Tube Moments? I’m basing these on impact, coverage and my bias opinion.?Let the debate begin!
10. Ted Williams😕 This homeless man was discovered and his voice can melt butter! Since his discovery, he became an American sensation. His struggle with drugs/alcohol touched the hearts of millions.
9. Baby Talk: Check out the deep conversation between these two twin?babies. They make more sense than Congress these days.
8. Bullied Bus Monitor: For several years, the savagery of school bullying has made headlines. This video?brought the cruelty to our very conscious, and hopefully, brought shame?and repentance to the teasers.
7. Michael ‘Kramer’ Richard’s Meltdown: In Nov. 2006, this Seinfeld star was heckled wile performing?and went on a racist rant, using the n word several times and talked of lynching.?It one of the earliest episodes of celebrity bad behavior caught on You Tube.
6. Joplin, MO Tornado: These brave souls?survived an F-5?tornado while huddled in a?fridge at the back of a gas station. The audio is guaranteed to give anyone goose bumps.
5. Sweet Georgia Brown: This woman survived a house fire, and gave us the most popular phrase since ‘Dynamite’! We got time for that!
4. Justin Beiber Discovered😕 He was an obscure teenager singing and playing the drums, putting up his talents on this social medium. Producers, including Usher, saw these videos and?by 2010, he’s one of the greatest teen idols of this generation, if not all time.
3. 4 Year Old Cries Over Election: Out of the mouths of babes. By Oct. 2012, most Americans were sick of the fighting, the negative ads?the arguing, just the contempt this election brought out. This girl spoke for all of us!
2. Middle East Revolutions: In 2009, Iranian president Ahmadinejad won an election against moderate and?reformer Hossein Mousavi. Many Iranians protested what they considered?a crooked election. Their government tried to hush the protest, but You Tube made their voices be heard. Before long, You Tube and other social media exposed other revolutions in that region.
1. PSY Gangnam Style: This was the first video to get a billion hits. It created the biggest (and if you ask me, the most annoying) dance craze since Macarena. In 2012, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing it. And You Tube was the main medium to launch the sensation. What’s next?
According to Google, You Tube now has one billion users on a monthly basis. And if international census takers are right, the Earth’s population stands out at over seven billion. Yep, 15% of the world’s population use Google monthly, if not daily. No wonder why people are flocking to it.
It’s become a part of our daily culture. Sweet Georgia Brown’s “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That” has become the quote of the age. We’ve learned dances like Gangham Style and Harlem Shake.? Don’t have the money or backing to make a movie? Just throw it up on You Tube, and who knows, a major producer might see it. It’s given a voice to the voiceless,?like the uprisings in the?Middle East .? It’s exposed our bad?behavior. Remember the case of the elderly bus monitor bullied by junior high students??And don’t party too hard. Your actions might get caught on You Tube for all the media and ?world to see. Just ask New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
What next then? You Tube still has work to do. It’s still censored in much of China. It’s trying to expand to the Middle East, like the very conservative Saudi Arabia. It’s not the first social media site to reach a billion. As of today’s posting, Facebook has 1.06 billion regulars, more than what You Tube has.
What’s your favorite use for You Tube? It’s my favorite source to get news. Don’t look at me like that; over 70% of Americans don’t trust mainstream media. I’m addicted to old commercials and I thank them for bringing those back. Surely you’ve seen those cute videos like babies talking and pets interacting? What’s your You Tube guilty pleasure?
Most of you know about the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic that was?scheduled to come out in April,?but will be released later due to marketing issues. ?You know Aston Kutcher portrays the role of Jobs in this movie. How many of are looking more forward to seeing iSteve?
That’s right: A comedy website called Funny or Die is bringing us a web spoof of the Apple founder and CEO called iSteve. It will be released in April 15 only on the Funny or Die website. It’s over an hour long, the longest production they’ve ever had. It’s a very humorous take based on light research. In?iSteve, Jobs?will be portrayed by? Justin Long, who starred in the 2004 Ben Stiller comedy hit Dodgeball. Funny or Die has brought us hilarious stuff before. Have you seen Zero Dark Thirty? The plot is as follows: Navy SEALS try to lure Bin Laden out with a puppy and pizza! If they’re brave enough to tackle?an issue?that sensitive, you know iSteve is going to be good.
If I had to choose between iSteve and Ashton Kutcher’s movie, I’d watch iSteve. I doubt I’ll even watch the ‘real’ biopic. I know there are some who will say this spoof is blasphemous. I say lighten up! Most of us already know about Steve Jobs and his many contributions to society. Most of us already know Jobs wasn’t perfect, to put it mildly! Plus, we all need to laugh in this day and age. And isn’t spoof a great form of flattery? Saturday Night Live has been doing it for almost 40 years. What would you rather see: a lighthearted online comedy or some tearjerker focused on Steve Jobs’ not so notable deeds?
There are two things I can’t live without: Netflix and Facebook. With Netflix, I can watch old cult favorites few ever heard of. Ever hear of Welcome to Arrow Beach? With Facebook, everyone on my page is talking about Scandal. Now, both?of these addictions?are coming together.
Now, you can share your Netflix?favorites by?connecting to Facebook. ?You can track what your friends watch, as they can your watching habits, and you can rate and recommend. If something is so sorry you don’t want others to watch it, just click ‘Don’t Share’. When I look at what’s on TV and in the movies?today, I’m going to be clicking on ‘Don’t Share’ a lot! Don’t go rushing to share right away; it’s going to take a few more days for the social features to be put in place.
So I’m looking forward to this Netflix feature. And if you’re not a Netflix member, here’s yet another reason to become one! I can’t wait to share my favorites with my FB friends. They’re always bragging about their favorites. This is also a good debate tool. What I plan to do is tell people why it’s my favorite, and I want to hear why it’s theirs. But don’t expect me to share any romance chick flicks! So are you excited about this next phase of social networking as I am? What shows are movies will you be sharing? And which ones will get the dreaded ‘Don’t Share’ treatment?
I love my iPod touch, I also love the free apps in the app store so for you today, here are my top 10 Free iTune apps:
10. Find My?iPhone: Fortunately, I’ve never been in the position to?use this, but I misplace a lot of things. This would?lessen a lot of worry and frustration.
9. Amtrak: Yes, I still take the train. A month ago, I?checked this app and saw?my train was?45 minutes late. Saved me a lot of wasted time at the station.
8. Yelp: Where’s a great restaurant?near me? Where’s a?great bar? Where’s a coffee shop??The Yelp app will tell me.
7.?ESPN?Score Center: I can keep up with my favorite?teams, and?my favorite team’s scores, without the heart attack of watching the game itself.
6. Weather Channel: Where I am, this is heaven sent! We have a saying “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” It changes that fast.
5. MP3 Music Downloader:?You mean I can get my favorite music free and legally?and without the guilt?!
4. Bible: I can get?it in my favorite version and take it with me anywhere. Since it’s portable,?I guess that eliminates excuses.
3. Yahoo Mail: What if an?important email gets to me and I’m nowhere near a desktop?
2.?Facebook: How cool is it to keep up with your friends and update them from where you are now?
1. You Tube: I can watch all my videos and a?whole host of things in the palm of my hand. I got time for that!
I am sure most you have these but if not check them out.? Think I missed something?? Let me know.? I am always happy to hear what people would put into their top 10 free apps in the iTunes app store.
