Category: Online Security

Last Updated on 1 October 2022 by Daniel Yasser Morgan, University of Regina Cyberwarfare consists of co-ordinated attacks of mass disruption (AMD). In the June summit between U.S. and Russian presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, cyberwarfare was a topic of discussion. While the Biden-Putin summit appears to be “quite constructive,” cyberwarfare remains perplexing to… Continue reading With cyberattacks growing more frequent and disruptive, a unified approach is essential

Last Updated on 30 September 2022 by Daniel Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, University of Portsmouth Many of us vaguely remember the word “hacktivism” from a decade ago. This was a time before serious ransomware attacks dominated current cybersecurity concerns, when certain hacking techniques were being used to send political messages to governmental and corporate entities. Hacktivism has… Continue reading A decade since ‘the year of the hacktivist’, online protests look set to return

Last Updated on 29 September 2022 by Daniel Bruce Baer Arnold, University of Canberra Medicare card numbers are the latest personal details to be exposed as part of the Optus data breach. Optus has confirmed this affects 14,900 valid Medicare numbers that have not expired, and a further 22,000 expired card numbers. But this isn’t… Continue reading I’ve given out my Medicare number. How worried should I be about the latest Optus data breach?

Last Updated on 28 September 2022 by Daniel Merrill Warkentin, Mississippi State University The headlines are filled with news about ransomware attacks tying up organizations large and small, data breaches at major brand-name companies and cyberattacks by shadowy hackers associated with Russia, China and North Korea. Are these threats to your personal information? If it’s… Continue reading Ransomware, data breach, cyberattack: What do they have to do with your personal information, and how worried should you be?

Last Updated on 27 September 2022 by Daniel Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University and Andrew Woodward, Edith Cowan University Australian organisations are a soft target for ransomware attacks, say experts who yesterday issued a fresh warning that the government needs to do more to stop agencies and businesses falling prey to cyber-crime. But in truth,… Continue reading Is Australia a sitting duck for ransomware attacks? Yes, and the danger has been growing for 30 years

Last Updated on 26 September 2022 by Daniel Jennifer J. Williams, Macquarie University; Jeffrey Foster, Macquarie University, and Tamara Watson, Western Sydney University Optus, Australia’s second largest telecommunications company, announced on September 22 that identifying details of up to 9.8 million customers were stolen from their customer database. The details, dating back to 2017, include… Continue reading What does the Optus data breach mean for you and how can you protect yourself? A step-by-step guide

Last Updated on 25 September 2022 by Daniel Yuan Stevens, Toronto Metropolitan University and Stephanie Tran, Toronto Metropolitan University Cyberattacks are on the rise, impacting people, systems, infrastructures and governments with potentially devastating and far-reaching effects. Most recently, these include the massive REvil ransomware attack and the discovery that the Pegasus spyware was tracking more… Continue reading As cyberattacks skyrocket, Canada needs to work with — and not hinder — cybersecurity experts

Last Updated on 24 September 2022 by Daniel Paul Haskell-Dowland, Edith Cowan University and Roberto Musotto, Edith Cowan University A major journalistic investigation has found evidence of malicious software being used by governments around the world, including allegations of spying on prominent individuals. From a list of more 50,000 phone numbers, journalists identified more than… Continue reading How does the Pegasus spyware work, and is my phone at risk?

Last Updated on 23 September 2022 by Daniel Nick Merrill, University of California, Berkeley You try to use your credit card, but it doesn’t work. In fact, no one’s credit card works. You try to go to some news sites to find out why, but you can’t access any of those, either. Neither can anyone… Continue reading Fight for control threatens to destabilize and fragment the internet

Last Updated on 22 September 2022 by Daniel Dusty-Lee Donnelly, University of KwaZulu-Natal The mobile apps installed on our smartphones are one of the biggest threats to our digital privacy. They are capable of collecting vast amounts of personal data, often highly sensitive. The consent model on which privacy laws are based doesn’t work. App… Continue reading The ‘privacy by design’ approach for mobile apps: why it’s not enough