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Check out this article! It's about a recent security breach of heathcare.gov that was made possible due to a test server with a default password that hadn't been changed and a lack of regular security scans.

A breach in supposedly secure keys given to employees by private companies vindicates previous warnings by cryptographers that companies should use more difficult keys, and that companies have not been cautious enough using such keys because of their assumed security.

The thing I found very interesting about this article is the discussion about ex-NBA owner Donald Sterling. Yes, his comments were horrifying, but he said things in the privacy of his home. I guess what I, and this article, are trying to say is that privacy is dead and all information is vulnerable.

This video talks about a hack done by a group of Russian hackers that gained access to 1.2 billion records, and discusses the idea that perhaps passwords are no longer the best way to protect our information. It's a quick video, but what was interesting to me was that I hadn't even considered that something other than the current password system could protect our information.

More on Equifax, this from a Vanderbilt professor, Sarah Igo.

Here's another company that's been hacked.

Interesting that ~35% of 1000 surveyed have upped the strength of their passwords, but only 6% turned on two-factor ID, which was a major cause of the iCloud hacks going undetected for so long.

It seems that two-factor authentication would not have prevented those iCloud hacks (according to this piece: http://www.tuaw.com/2014/09/02/think-iclouds-two-factor-authentication-protects-your-privacy/), but since Apple has now changed the triggers for two-factor to include things like iCloud access, two-factor will be more helpful going forward. So it is a little surprising that more people haven't enabled it.

I'm also reminded of the ACLU's Chris Soghoian's point (https://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/lessons-celebrity-icloud-photo-breach) that one reason people have crappy Apple passwords is that Apple makes you use your password so darn often. I know I get frustrated when I have to enter my (crazy long) Apple password on my iPhone just to download a free app.

College students should be on the lookout for breaches in their social media accounts. In this digital age, college kids put most of their information on their social media accounts and should take the necessary precautions to create secure passwords.

Bruce Schneier on the Equifax hack

Schools have a responsibility to protect your information, but it can be vulnerable to release or data breaches. Be careful when giving out personal information and try to educate yourself on your rights as a student so that you can best protect yourself.