Data Security

Apple’s iOS 12 update includes a workaround that can allow a hacker to access a device’s photos and contacts without having the passcode to unlock it. It does not, however, allow unauthorized users full access to the device, and executing the workaround isn’t exactly an easy thing to do. Security research Jose Rodriguez recently posted a Youtube video showing...

Google announced that it will be shutting down consumer use of the long-ailing social platform Google+ after it was revealed that a security bug dating back more than six months was not disclosed by the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google may have opted not to disclose the bug at least in part to avoid regulatory scrutiny, though...

Amazon revealed a breach of customer data last week, but it wasn’t a data breach of the usual variety. Rather than falling prey to a cyberattack or having hackers exploit unsecured code, customer email addresses were leaked by an employee to an online reseller in exchange for money. What you need to know: 1.) A crime was committed, and...

High-profile Instagram accounts are being targeted by ransomware attacks and phishing schemes, with evidence suggesting that many account holders are paying the attackers. According to a Motherboard report, hackers are infiltrating and gaining access to Instagram accounts by posing as representatives from branding giants to purport a proposed partnership with the victim. The scammer typically sends a link to the...

Facebook announced today that a security bug in its WhatsApp messaging service that allowed hackers to take control of users’ phones has been fixed. The vulnerability affected the WhatsApp app on both iPhone and Android devices.It allowed hackers to take control of accounts simply by having their victims answer a video call. The bug was initially discovered by Google Project...

Kanye West and Donald Trump really are brothers from different mothers; both like making headlines--doesn’t much matter how or why, and they share the same taste in hats. But one of the biggest revelations from West’s surreal visit to the Oval Office this week was that the security code for his iPhone was 000000. Why on earth, people ask,...

The credit card data and travel records of roughly 30,000 employees of the U.S. Defense Department have been compromised in a data breach. The hack was first detected on October 4th, but may have occurred months ago and could have affected more accounts than initially reported. Despite this, the Pentagon has tried to downplay the potentially wider scope of...

A bill seeking to standardize data breach notifications for the financial industry at the federal level was passed this week by the House Financial Services Committee. Bill H.R. 6743, also called the Consumer Information Notification Requirement Act, is an amendment to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act with the purported aim of creating a national standard to notify consumers if a financial...

The social media companies Facebook and Reddit are publicizing “War Rooms” set up to closely monitor their network content for election tampering. Facebook in particular experienced significant backlash for their site’s role in disseminating information created by Russian “troll farms” where false and misleading new stories and advertisements were propagated to discredit then-candidate Hillary Clinton as well as to...

The personal information of roughly 75,000 people was leaked in a data breach of the Healthcare.gov system October 13. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the breach October 19, after detecting “anomalous activity in the Federally Facilitated Exchanges,” but offered assurances that Healthcare.gov is still active and operational. “I want to make clear to the public that HealthCare.gov and...