Information

Why your data is more valuable than you may realize

The data trail you leave behind whenever you’re online is bigger – and more revealing – than you may think “The lampposts are listening to me; I am sure that the adverts I see online are from a conversation I had walking down the street.” Yes, someone I know claims this is happening to them. If you are in some way related to the cybersecurity and/or privacy industries, then you will have heard similar claims,…

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S3 Ep119: Breaches, patches, leaks and tweaks! [Audio + Text]

by Paul Ducklin BREACHES, PATCHES, LEAKS AND TWEAKS Latest epidode – listen now. Click-and-drag on the soundwaves below to skip to any point. You can also listen directly on Soundcloud. With Doug Aamoth and Paul Ducklin Intro and outro music by Edith Mudge. You can listen to us on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and anywhere that good podcasts are found. Or just drop the URL of our RSS feed into your favourite…

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Dutch suspect locked up for alleged personal data megathefts

by Paul Ducklin The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands [Dutch: Openbaar Ministerie] has just released information about an unnamed suspect arrested back in December 2022 for allegedly stealing and selling personal data about tens of millions of people. The victims are said to live in countries as far apart as Austria, China, Columbia, the Netherlands itself, Thailand and the UK. Apparently, the courts have taken a strict approach to this case, effectively keeping the…

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US Reiterates $10 Million Reward Offer After Disruption of Hive Ransomware

Following the shutdown of the Hive ransomware operation by law enforcement, the US government has reminded the public that a reward of up to $10 million is offered for information on cybercriminals. Authorities in the United States and Europe announced on Thursday the results of a major law enforcement operation targeting the Hive ransomware. More than a dozen agencies collaborated to take down the Tor-based leak website used by the group and other parts of…

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Mastodon vs. Twitter: Know the differences

Looking for an alternative to Twitter and thinking about joining the folks flocking to Mastodon? Here’s how the two platforms compare to each other. From restructuring their workforces to facing big fines, big tech companies have been on a roller coaster ride recently – but certainly none quite as much as Twitter. Indeed, Twitter has entered a whole new era since Elon Musk became the company’s owner and CEO last October, and you can bet…

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UK Gov Warns of Phishing Attacks Launched by Iranian, Russian Cyberspies

The United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published an advisory to warn organizations and individuals about separate spearphishing campaigns conducted by Russian and Iranian cyberespionage groups. The advisory focuses on activities conducted by the Russia-linked Seaborgium group (aka Callisto, Blue Callisto and Coldriver) and the Iran-linked TA453 (aka Charming Kitten, APT35, Magic Hound, NewsBeef, Newscaster and Phosphorus).  The NCSC noted that the two groups covered by the advisory have similar tactics, techniques and…

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Experian Glitch Exposing Credit Files Lasted 47 Days

On Dec. 23, 2022, KrebsOnSecurity alerted big-three consumer credit reporting bureau Experian that identity thieves had worked out how to bypass its security and access any consumer’s full credit report — armed with nothing more than a person’s name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. Experian fixed the glitch, but remained silent about the incident for a month. This week, however, Experian acknowledged that the security failure persisted for nearly seven weeks, between…

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5 valuable skills your children can learn by playing video games

Gaming can help your children build and sharpen a range of life skills that will stand them in good stead in the future Videogames are now so popular that the number of players worldwide topped 3 billion last year! The boom goes far beyond gaming consoles and the most recognized gaming platforms, such as PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo, as it reaches across PCs and right into our pockets via our smartphones. From casual gaming to…

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GoTo admits: Customer cloud backups stolen together with decryption key

by Paul Ducklin GoTo is a well-known brand that owns a range of products, including technologies for teleconferencing and webinars, remote access, and password management. If you’ve ever used GoTo Webinar (online meetings and seminars), GoToMyPC (connect and control someone else’s computer for management and support), or LastPass (a password manangement service), you’ve used a product from the GoTo stable. You’ve probably not forgotten the big cybersecurity story over the 2022 Christmas holiday season, when…

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Learning to Lie: AI Tools Adept at Creating Disinformation

Artificial intelligence is writing fiction, making images inspired by Van Gogh and fighting wildfires. Now it’s competing in another endeavor once limited to humans — creating propaganda and disinformation. When researchers asked the online AI chatbot ChatGPT to compose a blog post, news story or essay making the case for a widely debunked claim — that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe, for example — the site often complied, with results that were regularly indistinguishable from similar…

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