TIL that the Soviet Union was issued a top-level internet domain just before its 1991 collapse. The domain was never deactivated and has since become a haven for cybercriminals due to its lack of regulation. from r/todayilearned
Tons of Hackers Are Hanging Out in Old Soviet Cyberspace
https://gizmodo.com/tons-of-hackers-are-hanging-out-in-old-soviet-cyberspac-510829003
Until recently, the .su domain has been the home of weird, but legitimate sites. But when the administrators for Russia’s .ru got a little more strict about what they would and wouldn’t allow, scammers and hackers alike began to migrate to the out-dated .su, which saw its population of sites double in 2011, and again in 2012.
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Old Soviet Union domain name attracts cybercriminal interest
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/old-soviet-union-domain-name-attracts-cybercriminal-interest
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more on the Internet in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Internet
Vietnam’s battalions of ‘cyber-armies’ silencing online dissent from r/TechNewsToday
Vietnam‘s cyber-army, also known as Force 47, was deployed to counter the content on social media platforms deemed critical of the way the authorities handled the situation.
Vietnam’s Force 47 is run by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to hack anti-government websites and spread pro-government messages online, and is believed to be at least 10,000-strong.
Digital rights campaigners accuse Vietnam of attempting to replicate China’s “Great Firewall” by regulating and censoring the internet with the cybersecurity law.
Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Facebook has complied with the legislation, which requires the American tech giants to open local data storage facilities inside Vietnam by January 1.
Vietnam has a population of 96 million. With more than 60 million Facebook users, it is the platform’s one of the fastest-growing markets.
FBI Warns Educators and Parents About Edtech’s Cybersecurity Risks
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-09-14-fbi-warns-educators-and-parents-about-edtech-s-cybersecurity-risks
The FBI has released a public service announcement warning educators and parents that edtech can create cybersecurity risks for students.
In April 2017, security researchers found a flaw in Schoolzilla’s data configuration settings. And in May 2017, a hacker reportedly stole 77 million user accounts from Edmodo.
Amelia Vance, the director of the Education Privacy Project at the Future of Privacy Forum, writes in an email to EdSurge that the FBI likely wanted to make sure that as the new school year starts, parents and schools are aware of potential security risks. And while she thinks it’s “great” that the FBI is bringing more attention to this issue, she wishes the public service announcement had also addressed another crucial challenge.
“Schools across the country lack funding to provide and maintain adequate security,” she writes. “Now that the FBI has focused attention on these concerns, policymakers must step up and fund impactful security programs.”
According to Vance, a better approach might involve encouraging parents to have conversations with their children’s’ school about how it keeps student data safe.
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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity
https://www.facebook.com/techinsider/videos/1012559098942446/
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spoofing” and is a common, illegal tactic to get people to answer robocalls, which are illegal in the U.S. unless you have asked to be put on a call list.
Robocalls are the top complaint at the Federal Communications Commission, with more than 4.5 million in 2017, up from 3.4 million in 2016.
One way to cut down on unwanted calls is to put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry.