The Equifax data breach compromised personal information for some 143 million Americans, but there are still two other major credit bureaus — Experian and TransUnion — whose digital vaults are filled with the same sensitive info. New York’s top prosecutor is now asking these companies to explain how they won’t be the next source of a massive consumer data leak. [More]
data security
Breach At Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental May Include More Than 1,000 Hotels, Not 12
By 4.19.17
InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates chains like Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, recently admitted that the payment systems in some of its restaurants and bars had been compromised, and released a list of 12 affected locations. It turns out that the list was short by well over 1,000. [More]
Announcing A New Open-Source Privacy Standard For The Internet Of Things
By 3.6.17
At Consumerist, consumer privacy and data security have been growing areas of coverage over the past few years. We regularly write about policies, corporate and government alike, that either threaten or help safeguard your privacy. We cover data breaches big and small, and investigate tips from you, our readers. We offer advice about good practices that can help protect you and your data, and try to give you a heads-up when a company changes something that might affect you. And when your kid’s doll is recording what you say and sending the information to a defense contractor — Consumerist is there.
But we’re excited to announce a new initiative that will allow us to do much, much more. [More]
Heads Up: You May Need To Change Your Passwords On Thousands Of Sites
By 2.24.17
It’s a rough day for users of, well, basically the entire internet: A major vulnerability in a huge web services company has been disclosed, and it means your personal data may have leaked into public view from a whole lot of places. [More]
While You Collect Pokémon, Pokémon Go Collects Your Data
By 7.12.16
Even if you aren’t playing Pokemon Go, you know people — probably a lot of people — who are. And that means you, and your friends, should keep an eye on the permissions the popular app wants to access on your phone. [More]
Hackers Cut A Corvette’s Brakes Wirelessly To Prove It Could Happen To Your Car, Too
By 8.11.15
General Motors gets to join Fiat Chrysler and Tesla in an unenviable lineup this week: Using cheap gadgets and text messages, researchers have proven they can hack that most traditional of cars, the Chevy Corvette. And worse still is that this line of attack will work on basically any car with a computer in it, which is to say… all of them. [More]
Facebook, Firefox Want Adobe To Just Kill Flash Already After More Security Exploits Found
By 7.14.15
The questionable stability and frequent security issues with Adobe’s Flash have long been a running joke among the tech-minded. Although the once-ubiquitous plugin’s star began to wane after mobile browsing took off, it still makes a lot of the content on the internet move. But after the release of yet another potentially disastrous vulnerability recently, the crowd clamoring for an end to Flash has now gone far beyond your local IT office, and includes both Firefox and Facebook. [More]
What Is The FREAK Flaw And How Much Should I, Well, Freak Out About It?
By 3.6.15
There are certain websites that you expect to be secure. The NSA’s and FBI’s sites, for example, or any shopping site you enter your credit card information on. They say HTTPS, and they show a lock, so they’re fine, right? Wrong. A team of researchers this week has announced the finding of a flaw they’re calling FREAK. It interferes with that encryption and makes some sites vulnerable — and it’s everywhere. Not just on laptop and desktop computers, but also on mobile phones and tables. Here’s what you need to know. [More]
Here’s How To Get Rid Of That Nasty Superfish Vulnerability On Your New Lenovo Laptop
By 2.20.15
Computer manufacturer Lenovo rightly caught heat far and wide from every corner of the internet this week after security researchers discovered a massive security flaw that shipped pre-installed as advertising software. Lenovo should never have put the intrusive software on their computers in the first place, but there is some good news today, as the company is now sharing a list of what computers were affected, and how owners of their machines can remove this junk crap from their systems. [More]
iPhone Hacked, Compromising All Your Personal Data
By 7.23.07
Bleeding-edge early-adopters take note: The iPhone may be a sexy little device, but security experts have found a way to hack it and take complete control of the device. Complete and utter vulnerability. Hackers find their way into the phone via the iPhone’s version of the Safari web browser.
