Security

Ever get the feeling you're being watched? Those people involved in the transportation industry get that feeling a lot, primarily because their vehicles are often tracked by employers using global positioning system (GPS) devices. To avoid this ... eerie feeling, a New Jersey-based engineer began using a GPS 'jammer'. The only problem: every time he went near New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport, his jammer screwed up the facility's critical satellite systems. Cheap Jammer Throws Off Airport's GPS Guidance System Until recently Greg Bojczak was an employee for Wharton, New Jersey-based engineering ... (view more)

Those people who paid more than $5,000 for a high-tech 'smart' toilet could be in for a shock. A major design flaw means it's easy for hackers to cause annoyance, irritation -- even financial loss. The Satis toilet boasts a wide range of ... computerized features, such as an automated bidet and air drier and built-in speakers that play a personalized selection of music. The toilet can even be programmed to release a soothing fragrance. Owners control these features using a special app for Android devices (though it can also be controlled through buttons on the toilet itself). The app offers ... (view more)

It's hard to imagine seeing internationally-renowned actor Will Smith at a conference for hackers. But the star of 'Independence Day' and 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' made a splash at the recent Defcon hacking event held this past weekend. The ... Defcon hacker conference was started two decades ago. Originally, it was little more than a party for a network of hackers who got to know one another through BBS, or Bulletin Board Systems. (Source: defcon.org ) In the years since, Defcon has become a friendly meeting ground for computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, government workers ... (view more)

Edward Snowden, the former technical contractor for the United States' National Security Agency (NSA) who leaked critical details about NSA surveillance, has been granted asylum by the Russian government. He's also been offered a job. Snowden leaked ... information about NSA surveillance earlier this year. That prompted a media firestorm focusing on the ultra-secretive NSA and resulted in U.S. federal prosecutors charging Snowden with espionage and theft of government property. Snowden then fled the United States and until recently he was living in a Moscow airport. However, the U.S. ... (view more)

A prominent security firm says browser vendors like Mozilla, Microsoft, and Google aren't doing enough to protect your privacy. In a recent report, NSS Labs suggested that features like "Do Not Track" represent half-hearted efforts to keep users' ... personal data safe. Do Not Track is designed to protect browser users' privacy by requesting that websites avoid tracking them through cookies, the small pieces of data sent from a website and stored in a user's web browser. Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Safari currently offer some form of Do Not Track. ... (view more)

A newly-published report says that more than four in five of the most popular smartphone and tablet applications put users' personal data at risk. The problem: these apps send critical user information to app developers. The study comes to us from ... Appthority, a company that specializes in monitoring mobile applications. It looked at 400 apps, including 100 of the most-purchased and 100 of the most-downloaded apps for iOS and Android. (Source: appthority.com ) Overall, the firm found that 83 per cent of apps (including 93 per cent of free apps and 78 per cent of paid apps) displayed "risky ... (view more)

Security researchers at the University of Texas have reportedly used global positioning system (GPS) technology to remotely take control of a ship. Shockingly, they pulled off the scheme without being detected by the ship's crew. Fortunately, the ... attack was part of a controlled experiment carried out with the permission of the ship's owners. The researchers were able to use bogus GPS data to control the ship's navigation. It's the first time researchers have been able to successfully alter GPS data rather than simply blocking or "jamming" a signal. The researchers say they were able to change ... (view more)

Outsourcing has become a popular way for big companies to save money. One example: offering 'bug bounties' that encourage independent researchers to help prevent security nightmares. According to a new study completed by University of California ... Berkeley researchers, it's far cheaper for technology firms to use these freelance security experts than expand an existing in-house security team. The study examined the bug bounty programs (otherwise known as vulnerability reward programs, or VRPs) used by two of the Internet's biggest firms: Google and Mozilla, makers of the Chrome ... (view more)

It's estimated that up to 99 per cent of all Android smartphones are vulnerable to a new security vulnerability. The bug involves two of the main security measures used on phones running the popular Android operating system from Google. The first ... security measure affected by the bug is the security check used on all applications that run on an Android phone. Every application has a cryptographic signature, which is a code that confirms the application is genuine. The signature directly correlates to the contents of the application itself, meaning that any attempt to tamper with the contents ... (view more)

Facebook says six million of its users have had their personal data exposed. The issue stems from a security bug that allowed email addresses and phone numbers to be easily accessed by a user's Facebook 'friends'. The problem is associated with ... Facebook's friend recommendation algorithm, which is designed to help users find old friends, family, and contacts and establish new relationships with them. Facebook uses uploaded personal data, including email addresses and contact lists, to find new 'friends'. This system can also be used to invite friends who are not yet Facebook members to join ... (view more)