hackers

The Home Depot recently revealed that its systems had been hacked, leaving approximately 56 million customer credit cards and 53 million email addresses vulnerable to cybercriminals. Now, the retailer is apparently blaming Microsoft's Windows ... operating system (OS) for its security vulnerabilities, and has reportedly switched many top-ranking employees to Macintosh computers and iPhones. The Home Depot announced additional findings of its security breach on November 6, 2014. In the days that followed, customers whose data was affected received an email from the company, which read: " ... (view more)

Several of the world's most popular messaging applications have failed a security test carried out by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping defend civil liberties in the digital environment. In ... essence, the EFF found that messaging apps like Facebook Chat and Yahoo Messenger just don't do enough to protect user data. The EFF, which published its findings earlier this week, studied 39 messaging applications. The list included voice and video calling programs, mobile texting applications, and instant messaging services. Only Six ... (view more)

A new report from a government auditor suggests that the United States Healthcare.gov web site is missing basic security features. The most alarming findings include ineffective cyber security controls, such as resilient passwords and stable ... security patching. Healthcare.gov represents the central hub of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act, which is intended to offer U.S. citizens an easier method of finding and acquiring health insurance. However, since the site's launch in October 2013 it has suffered from stability problems, with issues lingering well into 2014. ... (view more)

A new report suggests that consumers are concerned about digital security threats -- like the rapidly spreading 'Backoff' malware -- but very few make any changes in an effort to better protect their most sensitive information. The report comes from ... Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab, which recently carried out an online survey of 11,000 people based in 23 countries. (Source: kaspersky.com ) Kaspersky's survey revealed that over three-quarters of all respondents use several devices to connect to the Internet. About one in four respondents said they do most of their Internet ... (view more)

A new report suggests that roughly one thousand American businesses have been victimized by 'Backoff', a form of malware that exposes customers' most sensitive information, including credit card data. Backoff made headlines late last year when ... retail giant Target was hit , exposing credit card data of roughly forty million customers. Now, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Center (NCCIC) and U.S. Secret Service are suggesting that many more businesses have been exposed by the same malware. If an infection occurs, the Backoff malware is capable of recording keystrokes ... (view more)

A new survey suggests that the majority of hackers carry out their work simply because they find it fun and thrilling. The survey also found that only a small portion of hackers do their work in pursuit of financial gain. The survey was carried out ... by Washington-based security firm Thycotic, which asked hackers attending last week's Black Hat conference (held in Las Vegas, Nevada) what motivated them. More than half of the respondents, or 51 per cent, said they hack for the "fun" and "thrill" of it. Just 19 per cent, or about one in five of the hackers surveyed, said ... (view more)

A major financial news outlet has accused Target of missing clear warning signals that it was being hacked and customer data put at risk. Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States, next to Walmart. In December 2013, Target ... confirmed that hackers had stolen credit card data from 40 million customers. The attack happened approximately 19 days after American Thanksgiving (November 28, 2013). The theft not only affected customers who had used credit cards online, but in stores as well. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Target had already set up a security center in ... (view more)

Microsoft's latest Patch Tuesday release fixes several security vulnerabilities currently marked "critical" -- the firm's highest security rating. Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fixes are always rolled out starting the second Tuesday of each month, but ... sometimes take longer to reach consumers depending on Internet availability. This month's Patch Tuesday includes five security updates, two of which have been marked critical. One of those critical fixes addresses a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, Microsoft's web browser. This month's updates are particularly ... (view more)

Kickstarter, a popular site for raising money for technology and art projects, has been hit by hackers. The site says no credit card information was compromised but warns users to review their passwords. Kickstarter is a popular "crowdfunding" web ... site. It lets members of the public pledge money towards a project, usually as a pre-order for a finished product; the pledgers only have to hand over the cash if the project reaches a set funding target. The most successful such project was Pebble, a wristwatch device that used Kindle-style electronic ink to display information from a ... (view more)