Cyber Security

As of May 2013, 72 percent of online adults use social networking sites, according to Pew Internet and American Life Project. The unfortunate aspect of so many people using social media is that when one of our friends or family members dies, we are forced to not only deal with their identity — in terms Continue Reading →

Hackers have stolen usernames and passwords for nearly two million accounts at Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo and others, according to a report released this week. The massive data breach was a result of keylogging software maliciously installed on an untold number of computers around the world, researchers at cybersecurity firm Trustwave said. The virus was Continue Reading →

The National Security Agency is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world, according to top-secret documents and interviews with U.S. intelligence officials, enabling the agency to track the movements of individuals — and map their relationships — in ways that would have been previously unimaginable. The records Continue Reading →

For the Army to function, it needs to keep track of where its soldiers are deployed. So in 2004, it hired a software company to help locate its units down to their exact positions, even if they were in a moving transport vehicle. The Army allegedly liked the solution so much that it wound up Continue Reading →

Computer scientists have developed a malware prototype that uses inaudible audio signals to communicate, a capability that allows the malware to covertly transmit keystrokes and other sensitive data even when infected machines have no network connection. The proof-of-concept software—or malicious trojans that adopt the same high-frequency communication methods—could prove especially adept in penetrating highly sensitive Continue Reading →

Google’s practice of combining personal data from its many different online services violates Dutch data protection law, the country’s privacy watchdog said on Thursday after a seven-month investigation. The Dutch Data Protection Authority, or DPA, asked Google to attend a meeting to discuss its concerns, after which it would decide whether to take any action Continue Reading →

Last year, the FCC and the Big Four carriers announced that they were developing a national lost-and-stolen phone registry. Now, the wireless industry says that the database is complete. To refresh your memory, last year we explained the point of the new initiative: “The database, which will be maintained by each carrier, will track all Continue Reading →

A Chinese iPhone thief may have atoned somewhat for his crime, sending his victim a handwritten list of nearly 1,000 contact numbers. The list ran to 11 pages. According to state media, the pickpocket took Zou Bin’s phone earlier this month when they shared a taxi in the central province of Hunan. Zou had nearly Continue Reading →

LG has admitted it continued collecting data on viewing habits even after users had activated a privacy setting designed to prevent it. The television maker has apologised to its customers and told the BBC it would issue an update to correct the problem. UK-based IT consultant Jason Huntley, who raised the issue in a blog, Continue Reading →

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is releasing Office 365 Message Encryption, a new service that will let you send encrypted emails to anyone outside your company, in the first quarter of 2014. This means that no matter the end destination of your email being sent via Office 365, Microsoft is adding another level of Continue Reading →