Tag Archive for: Ignore

Don’t ignore the Apple security updates

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This week, Apple warned customers of security flaws in its devices which could allow hackers to take complete control of a person’s devices. Experts say this exploitation is something to take seriously.

“This is not just kind of a run-of-the-mill bug that maybe you’re hoping your malware program is going to screen out,” Scott Shackelford, Executive Director at IU’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, said.

Apple acknowledged hackers could get into phones and computers and take complete control which is why immediately patching the device is so important.

No one knows when the vulnerabilities were exploited, and Apple has not released how or by whom the issues were discovered.

“There are types of vulnerabilities that nobody knows about until they are actually released,” Mark Ostrowski, Head of Engineering at Check Point, said. “Those are the dangerous ones that you want to be sure you patch right away.”

Cybersecurity experts say it’s important people have turned the automatic patches on within the phone or computer’s settings.

“The issue is, not everybody has those automatic patches turned on or we keep clicking remind me later and as a result, these systems remain vulnerable, usually for some time,” Shackelford said.

Ostrowski said this recent security flaw does not automatically victimize a user.

“You would still have to fall victim to a phishing attack where you’re providing information or going somewhere that someone is luring you to, or I would have had to have gone to a malicious website for this vulnerability to actually take action,” Ostrowski said.

Apple said those with iPhone 6s and later and many iPad models should all immediately patch their devices. Experts advise everyone to keep an eye on their accounts.

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Ignore the GOP’s sudden pivot, Republicans have long worked to undermine Ukraine

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In light of the brutal carnage being perpetrated by the Russian army on Ukraine this week, it’s good to see that most Republicans have found it in themselves to finally condemn the invasion. It obviously wasn’t easy for them. As we’ve just witnessed with the pandemic, they hate to be on the same side as a Democratic president for any reason, no matter how high the body count is. But they have come around, with even the most reluctant Republican now rallying to the side of the Ukrainian people. In fact, some of them have gone so far in the opposite direction that they have become reckless and dangerous:

That may be one of the most irresponsible comments by a sitting U.S. senator in modern memory.  When Graham repeated it on Fox News, even Laura Ingraham was left bewildered.

Of course, many Republicans still blame President Joe Biden for failing to prevent the crisis.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas declared that Vladimir Putin didn’t invade while Donald Trump was in office because Trump was so tough on him, which is, of course, laughable. Cruz’s evidence is the sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (which Trump didn’t even sign into law until the end of his term.) But former national security adviser John Bolton claimed that Trump actually fought all of the sanctions every step of the way, adding, “the fact is that he barely knew where Ukraine was. He once asked John Kelly, his second chief of staff, if Finland were a part of Russia.”

And in a stunning reversal, after boldly insisting for months that he supported Russia over Ukraine, even extolling the virtues of Vladimir Putin, last night Fox News host Tucker Carlson even admitted he was wrong … sort of.

He claimed that he didn’t think the threat was real because Joe Biden had allegedly sent Vice President Kamala Harris to “fix” it so it couldn’t have been that serious. (The president did not send Harris to fix it.) Nobody does smug, unctuous trolling quite like Tucker Carlson.

Nonetheless, it does appear that Republicans have finally recognized that their admiration for the Russian strongman Vladimir Putin may have been a bit of a bad look. And I’m sure they are hoping that no one will remember the last few years of…

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Susan Tompor: Why you can’t ignore the hackers and data breaches, like one at T-Mobile | Business

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Given all the stressors of late — flooded basements, job insecurity, the ongoing pandemic, fears that the delta variant will cause more havoc ahead — I’d daresay many people aren’t worrying a lot about data breaches and ID theft.

But the crooks aren’t giving up.

T-Mobile confirmed last week that it was hit by a “highly sophisticated cyberattack” that exposed names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information for more than 40 million consumers who had applied for credit with T-Mobile.

No phone numbers, passwords or account numbers were reportedly compromised, according to the company. But some question whether that statement ultimately will be updated to indicate that phone numbers were compromised. Some data and screenshots shared by hackers suggest otherwise, according to a report by KrebsOnSecurity.

“T-Mobile customers should expect to see phishers taking advantage of public concern over the breach to impersonate the company — and possibly even messages that include the recipient’s compromised account details to make the communications look more legitimate,” according to a warning at KrebsOnSecurity.

T-Mobile also reported that it confirmed that about “850,000 active T-Mobile prepaid customer names, phone numbers and account PINs were also exposed.”

The company said it proactively reset all the PINs on those prepaid accounts.

Other customers, though, are encouraged to change their PIN by going online into their T-Mobile account or calling the company’s team by dialing 611 on their T-Mobile phone.

Paige Schaffer, CEO of global identity and cyber protection services at Generali Global Assistance, said some people may even want to temporarily delete some of the apps, such as their banking app or credit card app, that they have on their phones as this investigation continues.

If you keep passwords on your phone — which you shouldn’t do — she said you’d want to make sure to delete those passwords, too.

Hacking incidents may seem so common that we only pay attention to big ones these days. But consumers have to be aware that they now must pay closer attention as more information relating to them could be in the hands of…

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Why you can’t ignore the hackers and data breaches, like one at T-Mobile

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Given all the stressors of late — flooded basements, job insecurity, the ongoing pandemic, fears that the delta variant will cause more havoc ahead — I’d daresay many people aren’t worrying a lot about data breaches and ID theft. 



a sign above a store: T-Mobile's data was compromised.

© Alastair Pike, AFP via Getty Images
T-Mobile’s data was compromised.

But the crooks aren’t giving up.

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T-Mobile confirmed this week that it was hit by a “highly sophisticated cyberattack” that exposed names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information for more than 40 million consumers who had applied for credit with T-Mobile.

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No phone numbers, passwords or account numbers were reportedly compromised, according to the company. But some question whether that statement ultimately will be updated to indicate that phone numbers were compromised. Some data and screenshots shared by hackers suggest otherwise, according to a report by KrebsOnSecurity.

“T-Mobile customers should expect to see phishers taking advantage of public concern over the breach to impersonate the company — and possibly even messages that include the recipient’s compromised account details to make the communications look more legitimate,” according to a warning at KrebsOnSecurity. 

T-Mobile also reported that it confirmed that about “850,000 active T-Mobile prepaid customer names, phone numbers and account PINs were also exposed.”

The company said it proactively reset all the PINs on those prepaid accounts.

Other customers, though, are encouraged to change their PIN by going online into their T-Mobile account or calling the company’s team by dialing 611 on their T-Mobile phone. 

Paige Schaffer, CEO of global identity and cyber protection services at Generali Global Assistance, said some people may even want to temporarily delete some of the apps, such as their banking app or credit card app, that they have on their phones as this investigation continues.

If you keep passwords on your phone — which you shouldn’t do — she…

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