Recently, vulnerabilities in SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) have been highlighted in the news. While stories like these highlight individual instances showing the threat possibilities, a recent study on SIM swaps sheds light on how easy an adversary could take over your phone number. Using no previous knowledge of the user besides the name and phone number of the … [Read more...]
TikToks banned by the Army, but is it safe?
As reported by Military.com, the Army recently banned the app TikTok from use on phones. "It is considered a cyber threat," Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa, a spokeswoman for the Army said in the Military.com article. This comes after Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, both members of the Armed services intelligent committee, requested an investigation of the … [Read more...]
What Macy’s Payment System Breach Means To You
As reported by Techradar, hackers related to MageCart compromised Macy’s online payment system early last month. MageCart consists of a loose group of hackers around the world that compromise primarily magneto payment systems. By inserting malicious code into Macy’s online payment page, they captured all payment card information needed to comprise user credit cards. They data … [Read more...]
Public VPNs Don’t Always Make You Any More Secure
Recent news on a compromised NordVPN server highlights a concern that when you want to use a public VPN, it doesn’t necessarily add any additional security. Some VPN providers want you to think that simply using a public VPN will make your connection perfectly secure, but this doesn’t hold true. While a compromised VPN connection allows hackers access to your Internet traffic, … [Read more...]
Statistical Analysis for Security and Elections
In a press release earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of State is adding additional security to their voting systems as part of a test, but not what you might expect. The program will use statistical analysis to review election results as a part of a “risk-limiting” audit . While normal election audits take significant time and money, a risk-limiting audit provides … [Read more...]
