hacking

Wal-Mart Hacked: Is Credit Card Data Safe?

Chris Dannen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:05:06 -0400

Source code for Wal-Mart's point-of-sale computer system was hacked and siphoned into Eastern European computers in 2005 and 2006, Wired.com reported today. The scale of the attack calls into question whether major retailers have been adequately complying with credit-card security standards that have been in place for nearly a decade.

Security Expert Proves Hacking the Smart Grid Is a Snap

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:00:09 -0400

As with all wirelessly-connected electronic devices, smart meters--and in turn, the smart grid--are vulnerable to hackers. And if the smart grid is hacked, well, there goes the neighborhood's (or the city's) power.

Pirate Bay Not Dead After All

Chris Dannen — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:12:15 -0400

Just two days ago it seemed as if former torrent network the Pirate Bay was going to be scuttled forever, as deals for its acquisition fell apart and its users held a hacking vigil in remembrance. But now it appears that that the company involved in the potential acquisition, Global Gaming Factory X, may indeed make the sale go through.

Hacking, Like The Weather, Is Seasonal

Kit Eaton — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:04:42 -0400

Hackers, malicious and otherwise, are just people--that's easy to forget, but it also means their hacks are subject to human habits too. A recent survey by Tufin Technologies suggests that the summer and weekends are low hacking periods.

As Pirate Bay Sinks, Cyber-Attacks Mourn It

Chris Dannen — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:23:38 -0400

The popular peer-to-peer torrent network Pirate Bay will not go quietly. That's the message of deliberate attacks on the Pirate Bay's Internet service provider, perpetrated today as the company attempted to comply with a Swedish court's demand that the site be scuttled.

Facebook and Twitter Attacks Were Political, and Personal

Kit Eaton — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:20:10 -0400

Distributed Denial of Service attacks on Web sites are an increasing pest on the Web, but the latest bunch this week had a bizarre, and disturbing twist: They were aimed at a single user's Web presence.

The Best (and Worst) Hacks of Defcon Computer Security Conference 2009

Kit Eaton — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:54:37 -0400

Computer security is a famously murky world that tends to generate alarmist headlines--like the ones about Apple's vulnerabilities from last week. Defcon 2009 has just finished, and lived up to this reputation in many, surprising, ways.

Your iPhone Could Kill Cellphone Towers, Steal Your Identity

Kit Eaton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:09:46 -0400

That iPhone in your pocket is nasty. If you're not careful about screening SMS's it can steal your personal details. And if you're careless enough to jailbreak the thing, it can kill cell-phone masts. Seriously--even Apple says so.

Palm Pre Code Leaks, Indie Apps Follow

Kit Eaton — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:09:49 -0400

Coders have been hard at work since this past weekend's Pre launch delving into the digital innards of the phone. By tweaking the Reset Doctor, designed to resurrect a crashed phone, they've found all of webOS's root code, and that's led to the first independently developed Palm Pre "apps."

Update: The Facebook Phishing Scam Continues

Chris Dannen — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:25:43 -0400

Last week I wrote about a phishing and malware scam that has plagued Facebook for weeks. It wasn't quite a virus, because it affected Mac users--but it wasn't entirely Web-based either, because some of the links it hawked were malware download sites. All in all, a pretty standard phishing scheme, with some clever scripting that allowed it to propagate itself inside Facebook. But how did it get in there to begin with?

Pentagon Says F-35 Classified Designs Have Not Been Stolen

Kit Eaton — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:23:34 -0400

A national security panic spread through the Internet yesterday after a report by The Wall Street Journal suggested "terabytes" of classified data on the F-35 Lightning II had been stolen by hackers. Today the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin responded to the allegations saying they are untrue, and I believe them.

What Happens if the Smart Grid Gets Hacked?

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:05:32 -0400

We've made a tacit agreement with the Internet to let it handle our business transactions, shopping, and daily communications, and yes, we've also agreed to accept the risk that our online lives could be disturbed by hackers. But once all of our energy use is orchestrated by a smart grid relying on wireless Internet protocols, there's no LifeLock identity-theft protection or malware blocker that can help us.

FAA Hacked; Obama Orders Review of Federal Cyber Security

Chris Dannen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:12:47 -0500

Hackers breached the network of the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this week and gained access to sensitive records, according to an aviation trade publication. The FAA breach has prompted President Obama to order an immediate review of federal cyber security.

The hackers reportedly gained access to the personnel files of 45,000 FAA workers, of which 48 files were opened and copied. The computer systems that superintend air traffic control were not breached.

Mac Rumors Live Hacked During Apple Keynote (NSFW)

Kevin Ohannessian — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:50:06 -0500

Mac Rumors, among the most popular and best-known websites covering Apple, was hacked during its live coverage of today's MacWorld keynote presentation. Readers were shocked when one of the liveblog's auto-updating text messages said: "Steve Jobs Just Died." Many thought this was a poorly worded joke, but then a retraction was posted shortly after. From there the text messages got more esoteric and vulgar.

Tech Watch: Hackers on Obama's Network, Hookers on Craigslist

Chris Dannen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:30:05 -0500

According to CNN and Newsweek, sources within the campaigns of both Sen. John McCain and President-elect Barack Obama are saying that their computer networks were infiltrated by hackers from undisclosed international locations.

The Biggest Hack Exposed: How Safe is the Web Really?

Rip Empson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:23:39 -0400

Last week, the Department of Justice cracked the biggest case of credit card and identity theft in U.S. history. Oh, snap. Last Tuesday, Federal prosecutors charged 11 hackers with the theft and sale of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers. The thieves charged with the crime allegedly hacked into the wireless networks of nine major retailers, including BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, TJ Maxx, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, and Sports Authority.