Posts Tagged ‘hackers’
What Cybercriminals Do With Your Personal Data
When hackers attack a company's systems and steal your personal data, what risk does that pose to you and other victims? How much is your name and email address worth to cybercriminals anyway? To find out what's really at stake, CIO.com asked security experts six key questions about data security breaches.
Why is this information valuable to cybercriminals?
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="248" caption="What do cybercriminals do with your information?"][/caption]
Personal information is the currency of the underground economy. It's literally what cybercriminals trade in. Hackers who obtain this data can sell it to a variety of buyers, including identity thieves, organized crime rings, spammers and botnet operators, who use the data to make even more money.
Spammers, for example, might get a fresh list of email addresses to which they can send Viagra and Cialis offers. They make money (say $1 per click) off response rates or website/pop-up ad impressions. Meanwhile, identity thieves could use the email addresses to create a phishing scheme designed to trick people into giving up their bank account or credit card numbers.
Read the rest of this CIO.com article by
Biggest Consumer Danger: Identity Theft Not Stolen Credit Cards
In the United States, if you use a credit card from MasterCard (MA), American Express (AXP), Visa (V) or Discover (DFS), typically you are protected from fraud on any amount over $50.
Almost all online retailers have become smart and store your credit card numbers separate from the rest of your information (which Zappos has done). Zappos seems to have (also) followed the standard practice of encrypting passwords. Unfortunately, even encrypted passwords or ‘hashes’ in security terminology are sought after by criminals.
In theory, hashes are difficult to crack, but in practice criminals can run hashes through computer programs and easily pick out weak passwords. Given enough computer power, even moderate and strong passwords are usually not too difficult to crack.
Read the rest of this article by Forbes, by Nigam Arora, 17 January 2012 by clicking this link.
Hackers Accessed 24 Million Zappos Customers’ Account Details
The Amazon-owned e-commerce firm has revealed that it was the target of a cyber attack that gained access to its internal network, including the accounts of 24 million of its users.
Though the company says that no complete credit card numbers were revealed in the breach, the intruders may have accessed customers’ names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, addresses, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and encrypted passwords. Zappos says it’s taken the precaution of resetting the passwords of all its customers and directing them to set a new password upon visiting the site.
Read the rest of this story at Forbes by Andy Greenberg on 15 January 2012 by clicking here
Feds Arrest 14 ‘Anonymous’ Suspects Over PayPal Attack, Raid Dozens More
Federal agents arrested 14 suspected Anonymous members Tuesday on charges of participating in denial-of-service attacks against online payment service provider PayPal.
The majority of the individuals were allegedly acting as part of Anonymous, a loosely connected group of online griefers who took credit for denial-of-service attacks last year against PayPal, Visa and Mastercard after the payment service providers announced they would stop processing donations intended for the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks.
... two others were arrested in connection to related crimes.... for allegedly hacking the Tampa Bay InfraGuard website in June and uploading three files to the site.
InfraGuard is a government-private sector group, with branches across the U.S., that partners private companies with the FBI and other government agencies to fight crime and share information about security.
Read the complete WIRED.com July 19th 2011 article by Kim Zetter by clicking here
Sony faces jittery shareholders after cyberattack on PlayStation Network
Sony's stock price has fallen 30 percent this year, compared with a roughly 6 percent decline in the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average.
The Tokyo-based company estimates the hacks will cost 14 billion yen ($173 million) in increased customer support costs, freebie packages to welcome back customers, legal fees, lower sales and measures to strengthen security.
Read the rest of this AP article by Tomoko A. Hosaka on Silicon Valley's MercuryNews.com
Interview by Kate Delaney, America Tonight Talk Show with Jeff Maynard, BSI, CEO Regarding Internet Security
CEO of BSI, Jeff Maynard, was interviewed by Emmy-award winning talk show host, Kate Delaney this week about Internet Security and how she experienced getting her email hacked recently. Jeff shared tips on what not to do and what to think about with adding higher level security and authenticating your user with biometrics. Signature biometrics has been tested to be the most secure method of identifying the person trying to gain access to your data and devices.
We invite you to listen to this brief interview with Kate click here.
Kate Delaney is a seasoned national broadcast personality and is one of only two women to ever host a Sports Radio Talk Show in a Top 10 market - WFAN, New York and KRLD, Dallas. Her guests have included some of the biggest names in politics, entertainment and sports - Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Senator Joe Biden and Libby and former Senator Bob Dole, George Lucas, Leslie Neilson, Bette Midler, O.J. Simpson, Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman Ted Williams, Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas.
About America Tonight: it's a topical, fun, interesting and covers everything from breaking news to contemporary lifestyle issues. It's watercooler talk and then some. It'll make you ...
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New Study from ID Analytics Shows over 2.5 Million Deceased Identities Fraudulently Being Used
The identities of nearly 2.5 million deceased Americans are used improperly to apply for credit products and services each year, according to a new study released today from ID Analytics'
