Weekend Update

A quick Saturday digest of cybersecurity news articles from other sources.

Cop awarded $585K after colleagues snooped on her via license database

A local story made the international press.  Why do Twin Cities and Minnesota cops think the driver’s license database is a dating app?  Krekelberg alleged that 58 fellow officers broke a federal privacy law by searching for her driver’s license data without any reason.

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13
JUL
0

Identity Theft, law and policy, passwords, robotics, Software vulnerability, Weekend Update

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Replacements for Passwords

I have been saying for some time now that passwords by themselves are no longer an effective form of security.  Too easy to hack, too easy to crack.  Currently my go to recommendation is any form of two-factor authentication.  Something like the Google Authenticator App or Yubikey are good choices for your second authentication factor.

On the horizon there are other authentication options that may replace passwords entirely.  Here are a few:

  • DNA ...
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7
JUN
0

authentication, cybersecurity, multi-factor authentication, passwords

Weekend Update

A quick Saturday digest of cybersecurity news articles from other sources.

Update Your TOR Browser

Update your Firefox to version 66.0.4 and your TOR browser to version 8.0.9 to fix the problem with intermediate certificate verification.

FTC Releases Article on Keeping Children Safe Online

Original release date: April 26, 2019

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released an article with tips for parents to keep their ...

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25
MAY
0

cybersecurity, NSA, passwords, Weekend Update

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Weekend Update

A quick Saturday digest of cybersecurity news articles from other sources.

Tax Identity Theft: Protecting Your Credit and Finances

Check this out from the Simple Dollar.  Tax-related identity theft is a growing problem in America, and the more security breaches, information hacks and digital business we do as a society, the more consumers who fall victim to it. In fact, in 2016 alone, thieves stole more than $21 ...

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23
MAR
0

Android, Apple, authentication, crypto-currency, Facebook, Identity Theft, passwords, Weekend Update

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Collections 1-5 – Is This The Biggest Data Breach Ever?

Troy Hunt, of HaveIBeenPwned fame, on January 17 reported what may be the biggest data breach ever.  Collection #1 is a set of email addresses and passwords totalling 2,692,818,238 rows.  That’s right, 2.6 billion rows.   773 million records, from over 12,000 files, with a total size surpassing 87 gigabytes.  That’s a lot of personally identifiable information ...

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4
FEB
0

cybersecurity, Identity Theft, passwords

Irainian Phishing Campaign Attempts to Bypass 2FA

A new phishing campaign by the Iranian state-sponsored group known as “Charming Kitten” is using new tactics to trick users out of their passwords and both SMS and app generated two-factor codes.  Charming Kitten is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.  This campaign has been ongoing since October 2018.  Information on this attack was released on December 18, 2018 by Certfa Lab.

Targets of these attacks are high-ranking individuals in the financial ...

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16
JAN
0

cybersecurity, passwords, Phishing

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Authentication without Passwords?

I have been warning about the weakness of the password for a number of years.  Passwords no longer provide strong security.  Passwords are too easy to crack using automated techniques, and are stored insecurely in many environments.  Most passwords are too short, or easily guessable.  Many users reuse the same password on multiple sites.  But the password remains the most popular form of authentication among most users.  Two-factor and multi-factor authentication ...

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31
DEC
0

authentication, cybersecurity, passwords

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