Security, Spoken

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Security News This Week: 'AutoSploit' Tool Makes Unskilled Hacking Easier Than Ever Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

Another week, another death by a thousand leaks, from the operational security failure of fitness app Strava exposing the locations of military bases around the world to Russian hacker group Fancy Bear dropping the latest round of stolen documents from Olympics-related organizations. And then there was that other, congressionally orchestrated release of a certain classified memo, a highly politicized move whose importance security experts are still debating.

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Reading Between the Lines of the Devin Nunes Memo Feb 05, 2018

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After weeks of Twitter users demanding Congress #ReleaseTheMemo, the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Republican Devin Nunes, disclosed the contentious four-page report to the public Friday, after President Donald Trump signed off on its release. And while, as expected, the document alleges that federal law enforcement officials abused their surveillance powers in investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, national security experts see something very different.

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Here’s What Happens If ‘Magnificent Bastard’ Mueller Gets Fired Feb 02, 2018

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Bob Mueller is famously nonchalant amid life’s toughest moments. Much of that public calm stems from the fact that he’s a Magnificent Bastard and, specifically, the lessons of December 11, 1968.

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Hackers Have Already Targeted the Winter Olympics—And May Not Be Done Feb 02, 2018

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The Olympics have always been a geopolitical microcosm: beyond the athletic match-ups, they provide a vehicle for diplomacy and propaganda, and even, occasionally, a proxy for war. It stands to reason, then, that in 2018 they've also become a nexus of hacker skullduggery. The Olympics unfolding next week in Pyeongchang may already be the most thoroughly hacked in the games' history—with potentially more surprises to come.

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A Devastating ATM Hack Swept the World—And Finally Hit the US Feb 01, 2018

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In July 2016, ATM hackers in Taiwan raked in more than $2 million using a new type of malware attack that manipulated machines into spitting out tons of cash. The method, dubbed "jackpotting," quickly spread across parts of Asia, Europe, and Central America, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of stolen cash. By November 2016, the FBI issued a warning that "well-resourced and organized malicious cyber actors have intentions to target the US financial sector” using this approach.

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Cryptocurrency Scams Are Just Straight-Up Trolling at This Point Jan 31, 2018

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Facebook announced in a blog post Tuesday that it would ban cryptocurrency advertising from the platform entirely. The company said that many ads for cryptocurrency investment opportunities, like initial coin offerings, were “not currently operating in good faith.” Facebook has a point. Take Prodeum for example, a Lithuanian cryptocurrency startup that appeared online Thursday. By Monday, it was gone.

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The Strava Heat Map and the End of Secrets Jan 31, 2018

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A modern equivalent of the World War II era warning that “loose lips sink ships” may be “FFS don’t share your Fitbit data on duty.” Over the weekend, researchers and journalists raised the alarm about how anyone can identify secretive military bases and patrol routes based on public data shared by a “social network for athletes” called Strava.

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Look Out: Chrome Extension Malware Has Evolved Jan 30, 2018

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You already know to be wary of third-party Android apps, and even to watch your back in the Google Play Store. A flashlight app with only 12 reviews might be hiding some malware as well. But your hyper-vigilant download habits should extend beyond your smartphone. You need to keep an eye on your desktop Chrome extensions as well. These handy little applets give you seamless access to services like Evernote or password managers, or put your Bitmoji just a click away.

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Security News This Week: Dutch Spies Snooped on Russia's Elite Hackers Jan 29, 2018

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This week’s security news featured a healthy blend of politics, hacks, and the looming threat of apocalypse. What more could one hope for! The Doomsday Clock, which the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists uses to measure how close humanity sits to its own destruction, ticked 30 seconds closer to midnight this week. We’re now at two minutes to doom, the closest we’ve been in decades.

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Mueller's Team Has Interviewed Facebook Staff as Part of Russia Probe Jan 29, 2018

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The Department of Justice's special counsel Robert Mueller and his office have interviewed at least one member of Facebook's team that was associated with President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter. The interview was part of Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and what role, if any, the Trump campaign played in that interference.

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