Someone — or, as it turns out, a number of someones — might be the proud new owner(s) of a couple books, a bottle of wine and another of bourbon and oh yeah, around $20,000 in cash after a hacker group claims to have beaten Apple’s new fingerprint scanner, Touch ID. This, just a few days after the iPhone 5S descended on the public. [More]
hackers
NYTimes.com Goes Down, Saying It’s “Experiencing Technical Difficulties”
By 8.27.13
Since 2:24 today I’ve been trying to read an article about why I should bring my lunch to work on NYTimes.com but I can’t, and not because I suddenly lost the ability to read. Why? The New York Times Twitter says the site is experiencing “technical difficulties.” But a spokeswoman tells Jeff Bercovici at Forbes.com that: “Our initial assessment is that this is most likely the result of a malicious external attack,” she emails. “We are working to fix the problem.” [via Twitter and Forbes.com] [More]
Manipulating Outbrain Service Allows Group To Hack Sites Of Washington Post, CNN, Time
By 8.15.13
It’s been a few months since we last heard from the Syrian Electronic Army, but the hackers appear to be back in full effect with a short takeover of the sites of the Washington Post, CNN and Time earlier today. You might remember those guys as the group behind hacks of The Onion and the Associated Press this past spring. [More]
Denny’s Wants To Be Like All The Cool Companies, Pretends To Get Hacked
By 2.20.13
With all of the prominent companies getting Twitter-hacked this week, it was only a matter of time before some plucky young firm decided to pretend to get hacked so they could look as prominent as Burger King or Cadillac and soak up all of the free publicity. It happened yesterday, and that plucky go-getter of a company is…Denny’s. [More]
Apple And Amazon Quietly Change Security Procedures After 'Epic Hack'
By 8.8.12
It was inevitable that one of the companies called out in Mat Honan’s piece about a few hackers destroying his digital life would change some of the loophole-laden security procedures that helped the baddies gain access to the tech journalist’s accounts. So we’re relieved to learn that Apple and Amazon have both closed the particular weak spots that allowed a few determined people to reset all of Honan’s key passwords for services like Google and iCloud, and to remotely wipe the hard drives of all of his Apple devices connected to iCloud. [More]
It Took Half An Hour For Hackers To Totally Shred Tech Journalist's Digital Life
By 8.7.12
Hackers wanted access to technology journalist Mat Honan’s Twitter account. It doesn’t just have 16,000 or so followers, but was tied to Gizmodo’s account, allowing for exponentially more mischief and, above all, lulz. So how did they get access to his account and destroy most of his digital life in the process? Knowledge of how different companies confirm customer identities and how their password retrieval systems work are all that a determined person needs to get into your life and mess everything up. The weakest links in this rather insecure chain? Apple and Amazon. [More]
Expert: Credit Card Data On Old Xbox Hard Drives Is Vulnerable (Updated)
By 3.30.12
If you’ve ever gotten rid of an old Xbox 360 hard drive, a determined hacker could find a way to extract your credit card information from the device. As part of a study meant to expose Microsoft’s lax protection of consumer data, researchers bought a refurbished Xbox 360 and used hacking tools to plunder the device for info that identified the previous owner, as well as the owner’s credit card details. They say old data isn’t safe even if the hard drives have been formatted. [More]
Report: Air Force Officials Kept Quiet For 2 Weeks About Drone Virus
By 10.12.11
When news broke last week that some of the Air Force’s drone aircraft had been infected with a virus, Air Force network security experts reportedly found out about the breach when everyone else did. Officials at a Nevada Air Force base may have known about the problem for as long as two weeks and never reported the issue to security. [More]
Mocking Hacker Stock Photo Art
By 8.2.11
It can be so hard to find just the right photo to illustrate a story about hacking. Luckily, stock photo agencies have stepped up to the challenge. [More]
Hackers Say They've Stolen Email Addresses, Passwords Of Sony Pictures And Sony BMG Customers
By 6.3.11
Sony’s troubles with hackers continue. Now that the company has recovered from the PlayStation Network outage and lengthy rebuilding process, hackers claim to have stolen and posted email addresses and passwords from 50,000 Sony customers on the Sony Pictures and Sony BMG sites. [More]
Lockheed Martin Says Hackers Didn't Get Sensitive Info In Data Breach
By 5.30.11
On May 21, hackers breached the defenses of aerospace/defense/security mega-contractor Lockheed Martin, causing cyber detectives to converge at the company’s Washington, D.C.-area headquarters. The experts have yet to track down the origins of the attack, but insist they didn’t make off with any sensitive information. [More]
User Names Stolen From Sony Music's Greek Website
By 5.23.11
Although the Sony PlayStation Network is now back online, the entertainment giant seems to be a prime target for hackers: This time, personal data from an unknown number of Sony customers on its Greek website, SonyMusic.gr, has been stolen—and exposed online. [More]
5 Things To Do When A Company Leaks Your Data
By 5.6.11
What should yo do if you’re a victim of Sony’s recent security breaches — or of similar data leaks at other security-challenged-companies? Our clever cousins at Consumer Reports have come up with a set of tips to help you weather the post-hack storm. Top of the list: Accept free credit-monitoring services that the company offers to its customers, but don’t count on them to catch everything. [More]
Sony, Accused Hacker Call Truce In Settlement
By 4.12.11
Sony’s Itchy and Scratchy-esque tangle with an alleged hacker and his supporters has finally reached its apparent end. The parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement with an injunction that bans the man who took credit for jailbreaking the PlayStation 3 from distributing the offending code. [More]
Cyber Criminals Rent Out Unsuspecting Owners' PCs
By 4.11.11
When nefarious types are in need of remote PCs to do their dirty work, they can turn to underground, invitation-only services that rent out computers owned by marks who aren’t aware their hardware is being prostituted. [More]
Hackers Halt Attacks On PlayStation Network
By 4.8.11
Hackers who claimed responsibility for taking down Sony’s PlayStation Network and attacking other Sony sites earlier this week say they have reconsidered their methods and will stop attacking PSN “at this time.” [More]
Report: Hackers Retaliate Against Sony For Going After One Of Their Own
By 4.5.11
In an episode reportedly linked to Sony’s attempts to take down the alleged hacker who decimated the PS3’s security, a group of hackers reportedly crippled the PlayStation Network and several Sony-related cites. [More]
Hackers Seize Control Of Xbox Cop's Site
By 4.4.11
Xbox Live rule enforcement comes with its risks. A Microsoft employee who serves as director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live suffered an apparent attack from hackers who seized his personal site and Xbox Live account. [More]
