Security, Spoken

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Banned From the US? There’s a Robot for That Jun 06, 2017

Show notes

Two telepresence robots roll into a human-computer interaction conference. Sounds like the beginning of a very nerdy joke, but it really happened (#2017). A few weeks ago in Denver, Colorado, a robot I was piloting over the internet from my computer in Idaho stood wheel-to-wheel with a similar ‘bot in a pink skirt controlled by a researcher in Germany. We huddled. We introduced ourselves by yelling at each other’s screens.

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Don’t Buy Into Putin’s Latest Misdirection on Election Hacking Jun 05, 2017

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Vladimir Putin conceded on Thursday that maybe, just maybe, “patriotic” citizen-hackers from Russia could interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. Atacit acknowledgement of interference in the US election? An unsubtle mockingof the US following rescinded sanctions? Could be! Mostly, though, you can consider this just another page fromPutin’s playbook of misdirection. “Hackers are free people like artists,” Putin saidat the St.

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Inside Google’s Global Campaign to Shut Down Phishing Jun 02, 2017

Show notes

At the beginning of May, a phishing scam flooded the web, disguised as a typical Google Docs request. Some of the emails even appeared to come from acquaintances. If victims clicked through and granted seemingly innocuous permissions, they exposed their entire Gmail account to whoever was behind the scam. It was an explosive scheme. And Google responded in kind. “We convened what we call a war room,” says Mark Risher, Google’s director of counter-abuse technology.

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Don’t Read Too Much Into That Successful Missile Defense Test Jun 01, 2017

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The United States successfully tested its interceptor missile defense system on Tuesday, essentially shooting an incoming missile out of the sky. An impressive technological feat to be sure, one the Pentagon likens to hitting a bullet with another bullet. But as proof that such a system could defend the US against a North Korean attack, it still misses the mark.

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Instead of Banning Cheaters, Pokémon Go Trolls Them Hard May 31, 2017

Show notes

Now that the generalized Pokémon Go craze has subsided, the more captivating effort to catch ‘em all may be game developer Niantic’s ongoing battle against cheaters. Its latest evolution: Not banning bad actors, but banishing them to poké-purgatory. As detailed by Pokémon Go enthusiast subreddit The Silph Road, a recent Pokémon Go update targets players who use bots to trawl the globe for valuable Pokémon.

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How to Spring Clean Your Digital Clutter to Protect Yourself May 30, 2017

Show notes

You’re using strong and unique passwords. You’re on the lookout for phishing emails. And you’ve set up two-factor authentication on every account that offers it. Basically, you’re acing Personal Cybersecurity 101. But with new threats popping up all the time, you may be looking for other proactive steps you can take to protect yourself. Here’s an easy one: Clean up your digital junk.

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A Clever New Way to Protect Your Data at the Border Could Also Add Risk May 29, 2017

Show notes

Over the last few months, the US and other countries have seen an uptick in border searchers—including those of smartphones and laptops. There are several precautions you can take to defend your privacy, the most recent of which is a clever new feature from password-manager 1Password. But while it could secure your digital stuff, it could also introduce new risks.

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A WannaCry Flaw Could Help Some Windows XP Victims Get Files Back May 26, 2017

Show notes

Since the WannaCry ransomware ripped through the internet late last week, infecting hundreds of thousands of machines and locking up critical systems from healthcare to transportation, cryptographers have searched for a cure. Finding a flaw in WannaCry’s encryption scheme, after all, the could decrypt all those systems without any ransom. Now one French researcher says he’s foundat least a hint of a very limited remedy.

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Think Before You Tweet In the Wake of an Attack May 25, 2017

Show notes

Monday night, a suicide bomber took the lives of at least 22 people—including an 8-year-old girl—at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. Almost instantly, images and video of the devastating attack overtook Twitter timelines and Facebook News Feeds. As natural and understandable a response to horrific events that might be, it also threatens to amplify the chaos that terrorists intend.

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Hackers Are Trying to Reignite WannaCry With Non-Stop Botnet Attacks May 24, 2017

Show notes

Over the past year, two digital disasters have rocked the internet. The botnet known as Mirai knocked a swath of major sites off the web last September, including Spotify, Reddit, and the New York Times. And over the past week, the WannaCry ransomware outbreak crippled systems ranging from healthcare to transportation in 150 countries before it an unlikely “kill-switch” in its code shut it down.

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