A couple of years ago, I was heavily involved in analysing and reporting on the massive VTech hack, the one where millions of records were exposed including kids' names, genders, ages, photos and the relationship to parents' records which included their home address. Part of this data was collected via an IoT device called the InnoTab which is a wifi connected tablet designed for young kids; think Fisher Price designing an iPad... then totally screwing up the security.
Is your digital assistant taking orders behind your back? Scientists from China's Zheijiang University have proved it's possible, publishing new research that demonstrates how Siri, Alexa, and other voice-activated programs can be controlled using inaudible ultrasound commands.
Last week, security news site KrebsOnSecurity went dark for more than 24 hours following what was believed to be a record 620 gigabit-per-second denial of service attack brought on by an ensemble of routers, security cameras, or other so-called Internet of Things devices. Now, there's word of a similar attack on a French Web host that peaked at a staggering 1.1 terabits per second, more than 60 percent bigger.
"A vulnerability in FitBit fitness trackers first reported to the vendor in March could still be exploited by the person you sit next to on a park bench while catching your breath."
"TalkTalk is facing increasing criticism after belatedly admitting it was the victim of a "significant and sustained" cyber-attack that has led to the theft of the credit card and bank details of up to 4 million customers.
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Large caches of data stolen from online cheating site AshleyMadison.com have been posted online by an individual or group that claims to have completely compromised the company's user databases, financial records and other proprietary information. The still-unfolding leak could be quite damaging to some 37 million users of the hookup service, whose slogan is "Life is short. Have an affair."
The hacking of the dating site Ashley Madison has raised complex questions about online privacy and the safety of personal data, but for the users of the site, which claims to have more than 33 million members in 46 countries, the questions are fairly straightforward: what are the chances my husband or wife will find my profile on the site, and what can I do to stop that happening?
A mediagenic press-release from Proofpoint, a security firm, announced that its researchers had discovered a 100,000-device-strong botnet made up of hacked "Internet of Things" appliances, such as refrigerators