Last Updated on 13 October 2022 by Daniel Steven Furnell, University of Nottingham For more than 15 years, there have been various predictions from tech leaders about the death of passwords. Bill Gates predicted it back in 2004 and Microsoft has predicted it for 2021. There have been numerous similar proclamations in between, alongside ongoing… Continue reading Four ways to make sure your passwords are safe and easy to remember
Category: Online Security
Boris Johnson’s phone: what can hackers do with your mobile number?
Last Updated on 12 October 2022 by Daniel Edward Apeh, Bournemouth University Boris Johnson’s personal phone number has been publicly available on the internet for 15 years, it has been revealed. Listed at the bottom of a 2006 press release, the number has reportedly been accessible online from the time the prime minister was shadow… Continue reading Boris Johnson’s phone: what can hackers do with your mobile number?
The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the SolarWinds hack were all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a ‘wicked’ problem
Last Updated on 11 October 2022 by Daniel Terry Thompson, Johns Hopkins University Takeaways: · There are no easy solutions to shoring up U.S. national cyber defenses. · Software supply chains and private sector infrastructure companies are vulnerable to hackers. · Many U.S. companies outsource software development because of a talent shortage, and some of… Continue reading The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the SolarWinds hack were all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a ‘wicked’ problem
Here’s how much your personal information is worth to cybercriminals – and what they do with it
Last Updated on 10 October 2022 by Daniel Ravi Sen, Texas A&M University Data breaches have become common, and billions of records are stolen worldwide every year. Most of the media coverage of data breaches tends to focus on how the breach happened, how many records were stolen and the financial and legal impact of… Continue reading Here’s how much your personal information is worth to cybercriminals – and what they do with it
ACIC thinks there are no legitimate uses of encryption. They’re wrong, and here’s why it matters
Last Updated on 9 October 2022 by Daniel Gernot Heiser, UNSW Sydney; Lyria Bennett Moses, UNSW Sydney, and Vanessa Teague, Australian National University Australia’s parliament is considering legislation to give new powers to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the Australian Federal Police. These powers will allow them to modify online data, monitor network… Continue reading ACIC thinks there are no legitimate uses of encryption. They’re wrong, and here’s why it matters
Zero-trust security: Assume that everyone and everything on the internet is out to get you – and maybe already has
Last Updated on 8 October 2022 by Daniel Scott Shackelford, Indiana University President Joe Biden’s cybersecurity executive order, signed May 12, 2021, calls for the federal government to adopt a “zero-trust architecture.” This raises a couple of questions. What is zero-trust security? And, if trust is bad for cybersecurity, why do most organizations in government… Continue reading Zero-trust security: Assume that everyone and everything on the internet is out to get you – and maybe already has
A Chinese hacking competition may have given Beijing new ways to spy on the Uyghurs
Last Updated on 7 October 2022 by Daniel Chaminda Hewage, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Elochukwu Ukwandu, Cardiff Metropolitan University When Apple announced in a 2019 blog post that it had patched a security vulnerability in its iOS operating system, the company sought to reassure its customers. The attack that had exploited the vulnerability, Apple said,… Continue reading A Chinese hacking competition may have given Beijing new ways to spy on the Uyghurs
Colonial Pipeline forked over $4.4M to end cyberattack – but is paying a ransom ever the ethical thing to do?
Last Updated on 6 October 2022 by Daniel Scott Shackelford, Indiana University and Megan Wade, Indiana University It took little over two hours for hackers to gain control of more than 100 gigabytes of information from Colonial Pipeline on May 7, 2021 – causing the firm to shut down its fuel distribution network and sparking… Continue reading Colonial Pipeline forked over $4.4M to end cyberattack – but is paying a ransom ever the ethical thing to do?
Study shows AI-generated fake reports fool experts
Last Updated on 5 October 2022 by Daniel Priyanka Ranade, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Anupam Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Tim Finin, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Takeaways · AIs can generate fake reports that are convincing enough to trick cybersecurity experts. · If widely used, these AIs could hinder efforts to… Continue reading Study shows AI-generated fake reports fool experts
The increase in ransomware attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to a new internet
Last Updated on 4 October 2022 by Daniel Michael Parent, Simon Fraser University and David R. Beatty, University of Toronto Make no mistake: We are also in the midst of a digital pandemic of ransomware attacks. The recent ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS USA Holdings Inc. — the world’s largest meat processors —… Continue reading The increase in ransomware attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to a new internet