Security

A team of international researchers is currently exploring the possibility that someone could "hack" a person's brain. For now, such a process would require technology that is difficult to obtain. The study is related to Electroencephalography (EEG) ... technology, which is a way of measuring brain activity. EEG was originally developed to diagnose neurological problems. For many years, EEG technology has been extremely expensive and therefore limited to professional medical use. However, today the cost has come down to the point where it can be used in other ways, for other purposes. This ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that a new Virtual Private Network (VPN) hack could be used to steal passwords and other sensitive information. It's called a "man-in-the-middle" attack. Security researcher Moxie Marlinspike first disclosed this VPN hack in a ... security advisory earlier this month. After investigating the issue, Microsoft has acknowledged that the threat is legitimate. Hacker Could Take Control of System, Network "An attacker who successfully exploited...cryptographic weaknesses could obtain user credentials," Microsoft said in its own advisory, released earlier this week. "Those ... (view more)

A newly discovered type of malware is designed to avoid detection by severely damaging a victim's computer once it has harvested sensitive data. The new 'Trojan horse' software is called "Shamoon" by most antivirus companies. It focuses on grabbing ... information housed in the 'Users', 'Documents and Settings', 'System32/Drivers' and 'System32/Config' folders on Windows systems. While this new piece of malware is primarily designed to attack large businesses, some of them specifically by name, it will apparently target home users, as well. Malware Packs Two-Fisted Punch Shamoon is unique in ... (view more)

Apple has warned iPhone users to take care when replying to SMS (Short Message Service) text messages, after a hacker released details about a fundamental security flaw in the iPhone operating system. The flaw could allow pranksters to send bogus ... messages that appear to come from someone else. It could also trick users into following dangerous links or handing personal information to criminals. The revelations come from a "white hat" hacker -- someone who looks for security flaws to pressure companies to improve, rather than to exploit them for personal gain -- who goes by the name " ... (view more)

The international hacking group Anonymous claims it has bypassed Sony security and accessed the account details of ten million PlayStation Network (PSN) users. Sony, which actually did have millions of accounts compromised back in 2011, says this ... current claim is false. Anonymous used its own Twitter account to report the massive hack. "@Sony Hacked, @PlayStation Network Pwned," the tweet read. It has since been removed from Twitter. Another tweet posted later in the day elaborated on this original note, claiming that Anonymous had infiltrated approximately ten million PSN accounts. That ... (view more)

Imagine waking up one day and finding that the digital contents of your smartphone, laptop, and tablet computer have all been wiped out by hackers. This nightmare recently became reality for Wired.com writer Mat Honan, who later discovered that ... major holes in Apple and Amazon security had allowed the hack to occur. The hackers did a lot of damage. Not only did they wipe the contents of Honan's iPad, MacBook, and iPhone, but they infiltrated his Gmail account (and deleted it) and his Twitter account, where they posted a number of unseemly comments. (Source: venturebeat.com ) Amazon's Swiss ... (view more)

McAfee has released a new browser add-on that allows Facebook users to more privately post personal pictures. The app reportedly prevents strangers from viewing these images. Called Social Protection, it's a plug-in that offers two viewing features: ... First, it allows users to blur all their uploaded photos, and allow only the contacts the user selects to see them clearly. Second, the software allows a user to select which images will be blurred. This allows all the other photographs to remain visible to Facebook friends, by default. Images Blurred in Timeline, News Feed Using this new system, ... (view more)

Hackers who support the Syrian government may be responsible for two separate attacks on the Reuters news agency. The hackers' efforts apparently caused false information about the political and military situation inside Syria to appear on the news ... agency's website. The first hack damaged the Reuters blogging platform, a section of the agency's website that allows Reuters correspondents to write personal accounts and opinion pieces under their own name. It appears Reuters reporters can post directly to the site, which may have made the hacker's job easier. Fake Interview Posted On Reuters ... (view more)

A Russian hacker accused of launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against Amazon.com four years ago has now been arrested in Cyprus. The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) is currently trying to have him extradited to the US. ... According to the DoJ warrant used to detain 25-year-old Dmitry Olegovich Zubakha in Cyprus last week, the Russian carried out two attacks on Amazon in 2008. Using botnet-based DDoS tactics, his goal appears to have been to shut down Amazon's Internet servers by overwhelming them with fake traffic. Amazon Faces Massive Traffic Levels Amazon says ... (view more)

An international security campaign has taken down Grum, a hacker-controlled botnet responsible for the daily release of 18 billion spam emails. The takedown effort began two weeks ago, when authorities in the Netherlands pulled the plug on Grum's ... two main servers. Other servers in Panama went offline earlier this week. Grum's last servers were disconnected in Russia, effectively killing the botnet. Group Effort Stops Grum The demise of the Grum botnet was confirmed by security vendor FireEye in a recent blog post. Grum's termination apparently resulted from a group effort. To kill the ... (view more)