Vulnerability researcher Olivier Beg from Amsterdam has been handsomely rewarded with one million airmiles by United Airlines, after finding some 20 security holes in the company’s software.
A security researcher has taken umbrage at Italian malware developer Hacking Team after discovering that his open source exploit tools were included in Android surveillance software sold to governments around the world.
Collin Mulliner, well-known in security circles for exposing vulnerabilities in mobile devices, published a blog post Tuesday that attempts to set the record straight. To wit: his tools—which among other things surreptitiously capture conversations and other sounds within earshot of infected Android phones—were used without permission or notice by Hacking Team. He learned about the use only after the breach of Hacking Team computers, which resulted in a 400-gigabyte leak of confidential company documents, including these e-mails showing company engineers discussing Mulliner’s tools.
In Tuesday’s post, Mulliner wrote:
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Early on in “The Matrix,” Neo wakes up sitting in his desk chair to see a prompt on his PC monitor – “follow the white rabbit” – that ultimately leads him to the man he’d wanted to work with. Judging by a series of discussions on Hacker News, Google may be employing similar tactics.
Some programmers have reported receiving a prompt on their screen while browsing information on Python programming that invites them to Google Foobar, where they can solve difficult coding problems. No one can log into the site unless they’ve logged in before, suggesting that it’s an invite-only page. Here’s how a Hacker News user described his invitation:
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Scripps News reporters discovered 170,000 Lifeline phone customer records online that contained everything needed for identity theft. After requesting an interview with the COO of TerraCom and YourTel, the reaction was kill-the-messenger style; the reporters were called “Scripps Hackers” and threatened with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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