One of the things that makes IKEA furniture appealing to people is that, with a bit of ingenuity and some tools, the not-terribly-expensive furnishing can be “hacked” into something different and cool. And since 2006, IKEAhackers.net has been a repository for a number of these DIY tricks. After nearly a decade of existing without hassle from the plywood-loving Swedes, the site now has to get rid of all its advertising or give up the IKEAhackers URL. [More]
hacks
Teens Hack ATM, Then Show Bank How Easily They Did It
By 6.10.14
Like something out of an ’80s movie starring a precocious teen with a computer his absentee parents bought him for his birthday, a pair of teenagers in Winnipeg used an ATM operator’s manual and some good old-fashioned guesswork to gain unauthorized access to a Bank of Montreal ATM — and then told the bank about what they’d figured out. [More]
Report: Almost Half Of American Adults Were Hacked In The Last Year
By 5.28.14
If you’ve felt like there hasn’t been a day in the last year without a warning of some new hack on big businesses and services you use and have had to change your passwords and keep an eye on your accounts as a result, you’re not alone — not by a long shot. A new report says about half of American adults were the victims of hackers in the last 12 months. [More]
eBay Asking Users To Change Passwords Following Hack
By 5.21.14
Another day, another hack attempt on a major online business. This time it’s eBay, which announced this morning that it will be asking users of the online marketplace and auction site to change their passwords following an attack on its system by cyber criminals. [More]
Tax Fraudsters Stealing Companies’ Databases of W-2s To File Your Taxes Before You Do
By 4.15.14
You’re great at security: you manage your long, secure passwords effectively, you shred all of your sensitive documents thoroughly, and you check your credit report and your online statements frequently. Good job! But all the micromanaging in the world can’t prevent you from being a victim of tax fraud if a hacker intercepts your W-2 and all of the information in it before it ever even gets to you. [More]
Card Canceled After Target Data Breach Hit With Fraudulent Charge Anyway
By 3.12.14
The massive holiday season Target data breach is the gift that just keeps on giving consumers more headaches. Replacing a compromised card may not be enough to prevent fraud, it turns out: criminals may still be able to charge purchases to your old account even if you thought it was closed. [More]
Massive Data Breaches Could Lead To Americans Finally Getting Smarter Credit Cards
By 2.4.14
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from Target’s chief financial officer about the massive data breach that hit the company during the holiday shopping season last year. [More]
Today In Major Credit Card Breaches: Hotels, Hotel Restaurants
By 2.3.14
Major credit card hacks: they’re not just for big box retailers or upscale department stores anymore. The newest place your credit card info is being stolen from? Hotels. [More]
GoDaddy Admits Maybe It Should Have Helped User With Hijacked Account
By 1.30.14
Earlier this week, developer and long-time Twitter user Naoki Hiroshima lost his coveted, valuable Twitter handle (@N) after hackers took control of his personal website via GoDaddy and held it hostage until he released the account. Last night, GoDaddy finally admitted that maybe it should have listened to Hiroshima when he first contacted the company. [More]
CFPB Outlines Common Sense Ways You Can Protect Yourself From Hacks
By 1.27.14
On the heels of yet another announcement of a consumer information hack, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a consumer advisory to help consumers protect themselves and where to get help if they suspect their information has been compromised. [More]
Homeland Security Warns Retailers About Malware Used In Target Hack
By 1.17.14
While you might imagine other big retailers sitting back and having a good ol’ chuckle at the expense of Target, the reality is more like they’re all shaking in their boots. Because if a massive data breach could hit Target, it could happen to any merchant (and probably will hit more). The government wants retailers to be ready, and has released a bunch of information about the methods used in the attack to prepare them. [More]
Starbucks Admits That Its iPhone Mobile Payment App Stores Unencrypted Personal Info
By 1.16.14
UPDATE: Starbucks has announced it will release an updated, more secure version of its app. [More]
![Target Data Breach Manages To Keep Getting Worse; Now It’s 70 Million Customers’ Data Stolen [UPDATE]](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/stoptargeta.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Target Data Breach Manages To Keep Getting Worse; Now It’s 70 Million Customers’ Data Stolen [UPDATE]
By 1.10.14
UPDATE: The bad news just keeps on rolling in. Reports now indicate the 70 million customers whose names, addresses, and e-mails were breached are in addition to the original 40 million stolen credit cards, bringing the total number of affected folks potentially to as many as 110 million. [More]
Snapchat CEO Not Really Into Idea Of Apologizing For Hack That Leaked Millions Of Phone Numbers
January 3, 2014
While Snapchat might be working on a fix to the app that allowed phone numbers and user names for 4.6 million users to be leaked online, the CEO of the company doesn’t exactly feel like an apology is in order. “[I]n a business like this if you spend your time looking backwards, you’re just gonna kill yourself,” CEO Evan Spiegel explained on NBC’s Today on Friday morning. [via Re/code] [More]
Snapchat Says It’ll Release More Secure Version Of App In Wake Of Hack
By 1.3.14
This week many Snapchat users were likely shocked to found out that 4.6 million usernames and the phone numbers connected to them were leaked online by a group of hackers. In response to the hack, Snapchat says now that it will release an updated version of its app that will allow users to opt out of the “Find Friends” feature that was exploited. [More]
Artist Turns 4.7 Million Hacked LinkedIn Passwords Into 8-Volume Book
By 12.23.13
Remember back in 2012 when someone hacked LinkedIn and revealed that millions of user passwords had been stored in plain-old cleartext? German artist Aram Bartholl has compiled, printed and bound 4.7 million passwords into “Forgot Your Password?,” an eight-volume set that visitors to next month’s Unpainted media art fair in Munich will be able to thumb through. [via Boing Boing] [More]
Stolen Target Credit Card Info: The Perfect Holiday Gift For the Criminals On Your List
By 12.20.13
Merry Christmas, and be sure to check your online statements: security investigations reveal that the tens of millions of credit card numbers stolen from Target shoppers in the weeks since Thanksgiving are indeed flooding the black market and making their way around the world. [More]
Look On The Bright Side, Target: At Least These 3 Credit Card Hacks Were Bigger Than Yours
By 12.20.13
Target is probably having a very unmerry holiday season right now dealing with the credit card breach that likely affected about 40 million accounts. Target might be the retail version of a sad Charlie Brown at Christmas right now, but hey, it could be worse. No, really. [More]
