Content by Jeremy Kirk

The Privacy Penalty for Voting in America

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 16, 2018

Voting in the United States carries a huge privacy cost: states give away or sell voters' personal information to anyone who wants it. In this era of content micro-targeting, rampant misinformation and identity theft schemes, this trade in voters' personal data is both dangerous and irresponsible.

InfoWars: Magecart Infection Points to 'Industrial Sabotage'

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 15, 2018

InfoWars' website was briefly affected by the Magecart payment card skimming malware, a finding that triggered a fiery response from the far right commentary site. But InfoWars is just one in a long line of victims of the malware.

Nordstrom Blames Breach of Employee Data on Contractor

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 14, 2018

The department store chain Nordstrom says it doesn't believe that employees' personal data, which was exposed in an October data breach due to a contractor's error, has been misused. The retailer says the breach exposed no customer data.

Who Hijacked Google's Web Traffic?

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 13, 2018

Google is investigating an unorthodox routing of internet traffic that on Monday sent traffic bound for its cloud services instead to internet service providers in Nigeria, Russia and China. Security experts say border gateway protocol is to blame and no easy fix is in sight.

Election Hacking Probe Gets New Boss After Sessions Quits

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 8, 2018

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Thursday at the request of President Donald Trump. While long expected, the move raises questions about the fate of an ongoing investigation into Russia's election hacking.

Pakistan: Banks Weren't Hacked, But Card Details Leaked

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 7, 2018

Pakistan says the nation's banks have not been hacked, but adds that they are taking defensive steps after nearly 20,000 payment card details appeared for sale online. The State Bank of Pakistan says banks are implementing restrictions on international transactions.

Georgia Patches Voter Website, But Hacking Accusation Stands

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 6, 2018

Georgia quietly fixed two flaws in its voter registration website that could have exposed personal information. How the secretary of state's office discovered the flaws and reacted suggests it may have erred when making a sensational accusation against the Democrats on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections.

Georgia Election Further Complicated by Hacking Accusation

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 5, 2018

Georgia's Republican gubernatorial candidate has accused the state's Democratic Party of attempting to hack the state's voter registration database. The accusation, from Brian S. Kemp, is complicated by his also being the state's current secretary of state, supervising election infrastructure and security.

Australian Shipbuilder Hacked, Refuses to Pay Ransom

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 2, 2018

Australia's largest defense exporter says it hasn't responded to an extortion attempt after ship design schematics were stolen by a hacker. Austal says the material is neither sensitive nor classified.

US Again Indicts Chinese Intel Agents Over Hacking

Jeremy Kirk  •  November 1, 2018

The Justice Department says two Chinese intelligence officers and eight others were indicted for stealing trade secrets that are intended to help the country shortcut technology research. The indictment comes as tension over intellectual property hacking has risen between the U.S. and China.

Crypto-Locking Kraken Ransomware Looms Larger

Jeremy Kirk  •  October 31, 2018

A slick ransomware-as-a-service operation called Kraken Cryptor has begun leveraging the Fallout exploit kit to help it score fresh victims, researchers from McAfee and Recorded Future warn. Absent offline backups, victims have little chance of recovering from its crypto-locking attacks.

Australian Cryptocurrency Theft Highlights Security Mistakes

Jeremy Kirk  •  October 26, 2018

Australian police have charged a woman in the theft of AU$450,000 (US$318,000) worth of the virtual currency XRP, also known as Ripple, in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from a single victim. The case highlights how basic security messaging on protecting cryptocurrency isn't getting through.

Cathay Pacific Says 9.4 Million Affected by Data Breach

Jeremy Kirk  •  October 25, 2018

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific says the personal details of 9.4 million passengers were inappropriately accessed in March, a breach the company confirmed in early May but publicly revealed on Wednesday. That raises questions about whether the airline violated data breach disclosure regulations.

Yahoo Class Action Settlement: A $50 Million-Plus Sting

Jeremy Kirk  •  October 24, 2018

A proposed agreement that would settle a class action suit against Yahoo over devastating data breaches could see the company pay as much as $85 million. That adds to the $35 million fine levied by the SEC earlier this year, showing the high price to be paid for Yahoo's record data breaches.

Where Is the Secret Spying Chip Reported by Bloomberg?

Jeremy Kirk  •  October 23, 2018

Where is the secret spying chip devised by China that Bloomberg reported had worked its way into at least 30 companies, including Amazon and Apple? The report earlier this month alleging supply chain infiltration by China's People's Liberation Army triggered skepticism from the start - and it's growing.