Chinese hacking, spying and espionage: It’s not a novel plot, it’s real life.
And the real life plot thickens. The Feds are talking about stricter visa restrictions to keep Chinese nationals from US cyber conferences this summer, like the ones in Las Vegas. This is an attempt to slow down espionage. This includes the upcoming Black Hat and Def Con conferences. Leaders of this conferences aren’t liking this at all. Founder Jeff Moss tweeted, “…I don’t think it helps build positive community.” Some say the restrictions are pointless. Others call it ‘terrible’ and some even hinted racism. And it’s already happening. Last week, as many as twelve Chinese citizens were denied visas to attend a Space Fountain conference in Colorado.
I have to agree with the Black Hat and Def Con leaders on this one. What do these restriction bans going to accomplish? What they’re doing is punishing every Chinese visitor for something a handful of individuals did. That’s just ridiculous. And I don’t it will stop espionage. From what it sounds like, the conference leaders are siding with the potential visitors. This energy should be spent holding those already suspected of espionage accountable. But this decision borderlines racial discrimination. These conferences are supposed to be open and free societies, regardless of nationality. And how ironic this is from the same Feds that condoned the NSA spying on us all?
No catchy lead for this story; just the alarming truth. Online shopping/bidding giant EBay was hacked…months ago.
EBay was hacked between February and March 2014. It’s believed usernames, passwords, and non-financial information may have been compromised. They claim they were aware of the breach only a couple of weeks ago. The online bidding giant insists no fraud was done and nobody was ripped off. EBay urges customers to change their password, whether they were hit or not. From all the reports I’ve researched, Pay Pal, a pay service created out of EBay, has not been hit. That’s a relief and a blessing right there. We don’t want that can of worms opened.
Some security experts see other issues playing out. Some criticized EBay for not telling the public for weeks and not discovering it for months. Some say the time for passwords is almost over. Richard Parris, author of online security website Intercede, suggests websites need to find new ways of authorization. Mr. Parris suggests a system like two-factor authentication, kind of like what we use in our banking system. For example, when a log on to check what’s on my debit card, I have to go through a password, then answer a question only I would know (ex. What was your first pet’s name? Who was your kindergarten teacher?) I have to agree with Parris’s assessment. First of all, how many of us have problems forgetting or mixing up passwords? How many cases have we heard of hackers obtaining passwords? What should, or what can be done, to keep us safe online?
Minnesota is known for it’s many, many lakes, extremely cold winters and a huge mega-mall. Now it’s known to take a huge stance against cell phone theft.
As of July 1, 2015, every smartphone and cell phone in Minnesota will be required to have a preloaded anti-theft functionality. In other words, every phone sold in this state starting July 2015 must have an anti-theft tool or app. Governor Mark Dayton hopes this combats cell phone theft, especially violent incidents. Governor Dayton isn’t alone in his concern. Minnesota senators are pushing to make this a federal law. University of Minnesota police say nearly two-thirds of on crime campus is cell phone theft, many of those by armed robbery. Minnesota isn’t alone in fighting cell phone theft. Back in February, California introduced a bill combating cell phone theft.
The statistics are alarming. Did you know every minute, 113 portable phones are lost or stolen? It’s competing with ID theft as the fastest growing crime in the US today. So I actually agree with Minnesota in passing this law. Now I know what some of you might say: Should the government be getting involved at all? Shouldn’t we wait for cell phone companies to take care of this? Isn’t this big? brother? In the case of cell phone theft, and how fast it’s rising, I say give this law a try. But make sure people’s rights and securities aren’t being infringed upon. Is an anti cell phone theft mandate right for your state, or the whole nation in general?
Snapchat is one of the most popular message apps around. What makes it so popular is that you can send videos, messages, and other posts and it disappears seconds later. At least, that’s what we thought.
According to various reports, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accusing Snapchat of collecting users’ information without their knowledge or approval. They say Snapchat failed to tell users their messages could be saved without users’ knowledge. The FTC adds video snaps aren’t encrypted when it gets to the recipient. Back in January, Snapchat was hacked and over 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers were compromised. Snapchat is agreeing to settle. Snapchat hadn’t admitted to these charges…but they haven’t denied them either.
I’m going to see where this goes, but I’m not liking it. I find it ironic a government agency is calling out a private corporation. Remember, around this time last year, it was discovered the NSA was checking out our computers and digging in our smartphones. But I can’t let Snapchat off the hook either. If they had been up front with their consumers this situation would’ve been a lot more tolerable. Why did it take a FTC investigation to bring this to light? I’ve already heard people say they’re never going to use Snapchat again. That goes to show you it only takes one breach of trust to destroy the whole relationship. Will you continue to use Snapchat?
Just weeks after they cut off support for Windows XP, Microsoft is facing a hacking threat, and XP won’t be protected.
Software company Fire Eye Inc. discovered a ‘zero day’ threat. This means before Microsoft discovered the venerability, the hackers already struck. Now, they’re fighting a bug that could exploit Internet Explorer. In fact, according to Fire Eye, a hacker group is using this bug to target US and military and financial institutions. Their cause is called, “Operation Clandestine Fox’. As Microsoft works ceaselessly to fix this bug, it’s advised we disable Adobe Flash, because the hacking can’t take place without it.
But it doesn’t matter what Windows XP users do. That’s because XP users won’t receive support against this bug. So basically, if XP’ers get hit by Operation Clandestine Fox, tough luck. So that’s touch luck for nearly a quarter of all PC users because they’re still on Windows XP. If that’s you, then what are you waiting on? Just think, it would have switched by now, you would have probably been protected by now. We hate to say we told you so, but we’re telling you so. And after this threat is cleared, what about the next one? You’re living in a fairy tale world if you don’t think there will be a next one. So to my Windows XP’ers: What’s it going to take to get you to upgrade?
In the last several hours, it’s been announced arts and crafts store Michaels Inc suffered a security breach. As many as 3 million credit/debit cards may have been compromised.
According to their own statement, they noticed something was wrong as early as January 2014 and began notifying their customers. It took weeks of intense investigation. But through independent security firms, it was discovered subsidiary Aaron Brothers was attacked by sophisticated malware. These affected accounts are feared to contain payment card numbers and expiration dates. It’s believed customer names, addresses, emails and PIN numbers are not at risk. Micaels Store said 54 physical stores were also hit. Sales between May 2014 and January 2014 are at risk.
This comes in the wake of the Target credit breach during the 2013 holiday shopping season, where around 40 million accounts were compromised. I also think of Neiman Marcus, who earlier this year, endured the theft of over a million accounts. It may seem hopeless because the culprits’ technology is getting more sophisticated. But there are ways you can fight back. Check your card amounts, statements and transactions. Check them often! If anything seems out of whack, cancel the card and ask for a new one to prevent further damage. Don’t depend on credit monitoring services to do it for you. At best, they can alert you after the fact. What are some ways of prevention?
