Category «Other»

How QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains

Scott Ruoti, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Tennessee discusses security issues respective to QR codes. He states that these codes are not inherently dangerous. They are simply a way to store data. However, just as it can be hazardous to click links in emails, visiting URLs stored in QR codes can also be risky in several ways.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Spyware

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 23, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Report Finds Identity Fraud Up 167% In USPS Change Of Address Requests; Cell carriers can use your web history for ads; The FBI is breaking into corporate computers to remove malicious code – smart cyber defense or government overreach?; and Microsoft Teams Adds an Emergency Call Alert.

Subjects: AI, Conferencing Software, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Data Mining, Federal Legislative Research, KM, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 16, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Data From Friends and Strangers Show Where You Are; TSA’s Terrorist Watch List Comes for Amtrak Passengers; Facial recognition not required as tax ID – yet. But the tech spreads; You’re muted… or are you? Videoconferencing apps may listen even when mic is off; and Mismanaged Cloud Services Put User Data at Risk.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Privacy, Social Media, Travel

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 9, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Blockchain can power up government processes, GAO says; How QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains; Thieves hit on a new scam: Synthetic identity fraud; and Report: One in four employees who made security mistakes lost their job.

Subjects: AI, Blockchain, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 2, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Almost 50M US Residents Lost Health Data in Breaches Last Year; FCC Adds Kaspersky and Chinese Telecom Firms to National Security Threat List; Why digital ID for airport check-in is taking so long; and Hackers Are Impersonating Police to Subpoena People’s Data.

Subjects: Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Legal Research, Open Source, Privacy, Travel

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 26, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: How to secure your home and office network: FBI: Americans lost $7B in 2021 to Internet crime; The best DNS blockers and firewalls; Bank’s Machine Learning Systems Are Ripe for Sabotage; Blockchain: Financial and Non-Financial Uses and Challenges; and DHS seeks to automate video surveillance on ‘soft targets’ like transit systems, schools.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Blockchain, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Privacy, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 20, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Report: Cybersecurity teams need nearly 100 days to develop threat defenses; Russian General Killed After Using Unsecured Phone; A sustainable look at secure device destruction; and Ukraine reportedly adopts Clearview AI to track Russian invaders.

Subjects: Blockchain, Business Research, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 12, 2022

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: 2022 Guide to Internet Privacy Resources and Tools; Russia creates its own TLS certificate authority to bypass sanctions; Twitter quietly launches Tor service in the face of Russian censorship; Decentralized identity using blockchain.

Subjects: Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Offense v. Defense

The goal of this paper by Andrew Pittman, MSU Law-3L, is a call for a new strategy on cybersecurity. Pittman’s paper begins with real life incidents of cybercrime attacks on critical infrastructures abroad and in the U.S. Second, it defines what is offensive cybersecurity vs defensive cybersecurity and the U.S. strategies. Third, it explores the potential reasoning behind the discrepancy and some lasting effects. Finally, it explores the pre-mentioned combination of solutions to implement a more defensive approach on cybersecurity.

Subjects: Computer Security, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, Encryption, Financial System, Firewalls, Information Management, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Spyware