What the Hack? Podcast
What the Hack? Podcast
What the Hack? Podcast
What the Hack? Podcast

Data Security

The latest on data breaches and cybersecurity and data security by Adam K Levin.

The talk
Picture this: The car is full. You’re navigating by the side mirrors while doing a mental inventory of everything you packed and wondering if you are going to make it to the realtor’s office in time to pick up the keys for your vacation rental. You have absolutely no idea what the kids are doing in the back seat. Now...
hackers election
When Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump said he hoped the Russian government had found Hillary Clinton’s 30,000 missing emails, he wasn’t just taking a swipe at his opponent. He highlighted a very real and present danger to our democracy. While social media users were atwitter about whether or not The Donald had committed treason—for the record, he didn’t—I don’t...
iPhone Privacy
There’s been a scary increase in successful ransomware attacks against large organizations this year. Specifically, hospitals have found themselves at the mercy of hackers who demand ransom payments to unlock critical system files. Recently, there have been signs that these criminals have moved on to universities, too. The University of Calgary admitted to Canadian media last month that it...
Password
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apparently didn’t read the warning about using different passwords to protect online accounts. Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts were hacked over the weekend. Per the paper, Zuckerberg utilized the same password — “dadada” — to protect each account. That password had appeared last month in a database of more than...
social media hack
Quick, what was your LinkedIn password in 2012? OK, now think of every password you use for every service, and make sure that LinkedIn password isn’t reused anywhere. If ever you needed a reminder not to reuse passwords, here it is. We knew that LinkedIn got hacked in 2012, but at the time we thought only 6.5 million passwords were stolen....
The Social Security Administration sent 352 million notices by snail mail in 2015. With volume like that — much of it containing valuable fraud-enabled information — you’d think the SSA would have a great system for protecting sensitive personally identifiable information from the constant threat of identity-related crime. Think again. Recently, the Office of the Inspector General of the SSA published...
Data Breach
Most data breaches happen fast — in a matter of minutes, according to a new Verizon report — but the impact on you and your credit report could make for a very long lasting financial headache. Cybercriminals institute data breaches to steal your Social Security number, credit card number, bank account information and many other forms of personal financial information. And according...
Maybe the thought actually occurred to you that something was “phishy” about that link, but that’s so 30 seconds ago. You clicked and now your computer screen is locked. Behind that frozen screen lie your personal files — everything from photos to tax documents — all of it encrypted by a third party that promises to return access for...
malware
The internet is a strange and dangerous place, especially when it comes to your personal information. With all the hackers and scammers out there, protecting your information in cyberspace is much more of a challenge these days than simply demonstrating common sense. And you can’t just rely on your bank’s internet security measures anymore. Cyber-thieves have now found another way...
Privacy and security
The only sure thing in the world of information security is that there is no such thing as a failsafe solution. It’s crucial not only to keep abreast of the latest threats out there, but to also act as though the mission is to find your way to safety from the middle of a lawless demilitarized zone that’s lousy...