Cyber Security

A ransomware attack forced the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., to shut itself down on Friday. In response, the U.S. government has declared a state of emergency to keep fuel supply lines open while the Colonial Pipeline Company does its best to get the pipeline back online. It is unclear what impact this shutdown will have on gas supply or gas prices. Experts say it depends on how quickly operations resume. Continue Reading →

As she approached the entrance to the club, she gave the frame of her new prescription AR glasses a gentle squeeze. When she got to the door, it appeared to turn green, indicating recognition that she was over 21 years of age. Then, a message appeared along with a friendly voice asking for the 5 ADA cover charge. She shook her head yes. A moment later, the door opened, which indicated that the transaction had cleared. And so begins a story about life in a trustless, decentralized world − a tale from under the Merkle tree. Continue Reading →

A Turkish crypto exchange boss has gone missing and, according to reports, he took $2 billion of investors’ funds with him (details below). It will be hard to prove he stole the crypto, and it is unlikely to be found or returned. So... how dangerous is crypto? Continue Reading →

Apple held its “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday and, as expected, unveiled a new slate of iPads, iMacs, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s latest and greatest. Continue Reading →

Tomorrow is April Fools' Day, so today (for obvious reasons) is World Backup Day. If you get April Fooled into clicking something you shouldn't have (because it was funny or looked safe) and your computer is transformed into a paperweight, at least your data will be safe. As I always say, "Back up early and often." Continue Reading →

We’re in the middle of a cryptocurrency bubble and an NFT (non-fungible token) craze. For context, the price of a Bitcoin (BTC) is bubbling around $56,000. The price of an Ether (ETH) is just over $1,700. That sounds bubbly, but this column is not about financial advice. I’m going to teach you, step by step, how to build a very small cryptocurrency mining operation so you can get a deeper understanding of the process. Continue Reading →

As part of a smear campaign designed to eliminate her daughter's cheerleading rivals, a woman in Bucks County, Penn., created deepfakes depicting her daughter's rivals naked, drinking, or smoking. Then, according to the Bucks County DA, she sent them to her daughter's coaches and to the victims of her attack with text messages urging the teenaged girls to kill themselves. Continue Reading →

Microsoft has confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for the attacks it announced on March 2 that exploited vulnerabilities in the standalone version of its Exchange Server mail and calendar software. Continue Reading →

Today is a dangerous day for companies that have on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server. Yesterday, March 2, Microsoft announced that it detected multiple 0-day exploits being used in limited and targeted attacks, which means that the hackers know they only have a couple of days left to exploit the hack until the vulnerability is patched. Continue Reading →

Utah will officially launch a COVID-19 contact tracing system today. According to the state's health department, it's built on Apple and Google's exposure notification API. Continue Reading →