Due to lack of basic security controls, millions of network-connect electricity meters a.k.a. “smart meters†in Spain are susceptible to cyberattacks. Recently, a two security researchers discovered a weak encryption on the smart meters the government relies on in order to improve energy efficiency across the nation. Read more about this story and the findings the researchers will present to Black Hat Europe conference here.
A Video Poker Bug Made These Men Rich—Until Vegas Called Their Bluff
Thanks to a simple flaw in the systems of Game King video poker games, two men discovered a way to win jackpots up of thousands of dollars without even needing to play a single poker hand. However, as is the way of these things, this particular gamble had a heavy cost. Read more about how they found the flaw and how the FBI got involved here.
Teachers Attempt to Teach Children Not to Post Humiliating Photos Online by Humiliating Student
A 15-year-old school girl sat in awe as a picture of her in a bikini was shown to her entire class. Where did the school obtain the photo? Why, from her Facebook page in order to teach a lesson that everything you post online is up for grabs. Is it an important lesson to teach youngsters discretion when sharing images or views on social media? Yes. However, the school didn’t have to sacrifice a student’s dignity to get the point across.
“But if a school can do this, then so could anyone! It was a strict lesson but it reached to all the class.†Listen, if I was teaching children the dangers of pickpockets, you’d arrest and fire me if I demonstrated the danger by lifting the purse or wallet from one of the students. Also, there are so many ways a teacher can give a lesson like that without exploiting and singling out students. What do you think? Leave a comment below and check out this for more details.
Put the Dog Down: The POODLE SSLv3 Vulnerability
Late last week, the news had broken that POODLE SSLv3 had been attacked and the system compromised. A vulnerability within POODLE SSLv3 allows attackers to decrypt encrypted website connections, allowing them access to online accounts, social networks, and email. Google, Firefox, and other browsers are currently disabling it until a solution is reached. For more information and a full report, please click here.
850K Oregonian Jobseekers Got More Then Their Resumes Exposed
The Oregon Employment Department’s WorkSource Oregon Management Information System (WOMIS) recently discovered a vulnerability that compromised the private information of over 850,000 registrants. While the system was taken down and patched before all 1.9 million jobseekers’ accounts were compromised, there are still many affected by this breach. Much of the information stored is personal info used in filling out job applications such as names, addresses, social security numbers, and so on.
So far there are no reports that any of the data has been used, but all the affected accounts have been requested to change their passwords and other security information. The Department also offered identity theft protection to the affected jobseekers if requested. Read more about this story here.