It’s no secret that the Internet of Things (IoT) is growing rapidly, as droves of new wearables, smart appliances and more come online each year. Unfortunately, many of these connected devices harbor security vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can leverage to launch DDoS attacks and other nefarious campaigns. To make matters worse, some would-be “hero” hackers have taken it … [Read more...]
Pew Research Spreading Misinformation
Pew Research recently asked adults in the US some basic digital knowledge questions as a part of a research study. Out of 10 questions asked, only 20% scored 70% or higher with correct answers. There are some concerns about the questions Pew used though. While the survey asks some good questions, one of the questions doesn’t relate to digital knowledge. It asks to identify a … [Read more...]
Linux Vulnerability: sudo Configuration File
Joe Vennix of Apple Information Security discovered a vulnerability pertaining to the ever popular “sudo” command used in Linux systems. If you’re not aware of what sudo is used for, sudo allows non-administrative users (e.g., normal, unprivileged users) to execute commands as another user or, most commonly, the superuser (i.e., root). This is sometimes necessary to have access … [Read more...]
You Hack Me, I Hack You
Is it ever appropriate to hack the hacker who hacked you? That is, is it ever right to hack back in retaliation? I’ll leave that question up to you but technically it is still illegal. However, in one case a victim-turned-vigilante not only served their own justice, but also shared some love with the impacted community as well. On October 10, 2019, HackRead released a story … [Read more...]
Healthcare Data Incident
In June 2019, The Methodist Hospitals, Inc. identified unusual activities within employee email accounts. They immediately started an investigation, working with third-party forensic investigators to assess the scope of the issue at hand. On August 7, 2019, the investigation revealed that two employees fell victim to a phishing email that allowed an unauthorized actor access to … [Read more...]
