Posts Tagged ‘cybersecurity’
There Are Plenty Of RFID-Blocking Products, But Do You Need Them?
hackers can access your credit card data wirelessly, through something called radio frequency identification, or RFID
card has a tiny RFID sensor chip. These chips are supposed to make life easier by emitting radio signals for fast identification. The technology helps keep track of livestock and inventory. It makes automatic payment on toll roads and faster scanning of passports possible, and, starting around 2004, brought us contactless payment with certain credit cards.
REI and other companies sell a range of RFID-blocking products and say the number of customers looking for travel bags and credit card sleeves has been growing. That’s despite the fact that the percentage of credit cards with RFID chips in the U.S. is extremely small.
Still, people are worried about electronic pickpocketing — worried enough to strap on RFID-blocking fanny packs, even skinny jeans. In 2014, the San Francisco-based clothing company Betabrand partnered with Norton Security to create the first pair of denim with RFID protected pockets.
Eva Velasquez, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, says from a consumer perspective, deciding whether to invest in RFID-blocking technology is all about evaluating risk. In the next few years, there will undoubtedly be millions more of these cards on the market.
if you’re worried about e-pickpocketing but don’t want to spend much money, you can make your own blocking wallet or wrap your cards or passport in a thick piece of aluminum foil. According to Consumer Reports, that works as well as most RFID protectors on the market.
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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
Girl Scouts to Earn Badges in Cybersecurity
The education program is being developed in a partnership between the Girl Scouts and Palo Alto Networks. Jun 23, 2017
https://securitytoday.com/articles/2017/06/23/girl-scouts-to-earn-badges-in-cybersecurity.aspx
The education program, which aims to reach as many as 1.8 million Girl Scouts in kindergarten through sixth grade, is being developed in a partnership between the Girl Scouts and Palo Alto Networks, a security company, the organization said in a press release.
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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity
You’ve Been Hacked! Explaining Cybersecurity to Students in an Interconnected Era
By Jacob Batchelor 06/01/17
https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/06/01/youve-been-hacked-explaining-cybersecurity-to-students-in-an-interconnected-era.aspx
Here’s an easy way to explain IoT hacks to students:
- A hacker accesses a device, like a webcam, through its internet connection. Devices with weak security or easy-to-guess passwords make easy targets.
- The hacker can then infect the device with malware, a type of computer virus that takes control of a device.
- The hacker now has a number of options. He or she can use the device to spy, infect other devices or attack a target like the servers (centralized computers that store network data) targeted in the October 2016 attack.
- Research the manufacturer. Are they reputable? Have they previously been hacked? Big, established companies based in developed countries are usually the safest.
- Read up on security features. Is the device password-protected? Can you set your own password? If so, make it a strong password that uses numbers, letters and symbols — avoid common words or phrases.
- Regularly check for updates. Good companies will regularly update the software on their devices to protect against vulnerabilities.
- Ask yourself — do you need it? Make sure internet-connectivity is something you really need on the device you’re using. In many cases, internet-connectivity is not necessary for the device to function properly.
a few tips that students can use to protect their privacy while using smartphones:
- Research apps before signing up for them. Is it from a reputable developer? Has it had security issues in the past? Use the same approach as when researching IoT devices.
- Look over the terms of service. What information does it require? Does it track or store your data? Can the developer sell your information? All of these questions are important to consider.
- Be careful when linking apps to your social media accounts. Giving apps access to your social media accounts makes them vulnerable to hacking. Is there a good reason for the accounts to be linked? Can you sign up without linking to a social media account?
- Use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires authorization beyond a password when using unrecognized devices such as entering a code sent to your cellphone. As apps allow, be sure to use two-factor authentication which will make it more difficult for hackers to access the information stored in your apps.
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more on hackers in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=hacker
Berkeley Launches Online Master of Information and Cybersecurity
By Joshua Bolkan 11/16/16
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/11/16/berkeley-launches-online-master-of-information-and-cybersecurity.aspx
The University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information (I School) has tapped a private partner to help launch a new online program, Master of Information and Cybersecurity (MICS).
Dubbed cybersecurity@berkeley, the new program was developed in collaboration with the university’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity and College of Engineering.
The 27-unit course will use 2U’s online learning platform for live, weekly meetings. Between sessions, students will have access to interactive content designed by MICS faculty. Students will also have the opportunity to visit campus to meet faculty and classmates and attend lectures and workshops curated specifically for students in the program.
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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity
Carnegie Mellon Researchers Create Data Visualization Tool to Identify Cyber Attacks
By Rhea Kelly 11/07/16
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/11/07/carnegie-mellon-researchers-create-data-visualization-tool-to-identify-cyber-attacks.aspx
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University‘s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute have developed a new tool for analyzing network traffic and identifying cyber attacks. The tool uses data visualization to make it easier for network analysts to see key changes and patterns generated by distributed denial of service attacks, malware distribution networks and other malicious network traffic.
presented the tool last week at the IEEE Symposium on Visualization for Cybersecurity in Baltimore, MD.
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more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Search
A Voice Cuts Through, and Adds to, the Intrigue of Russia’s Cyberattacks
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more on Eastern European hackers in this IMS blog:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2016/06/22/ukrainian-hacker-and-fbi/
Google Researchers Create AI That Builds Its Own Encryption
BY TOM BRANT OCTOBER 28, 2016 04:45PM EST
http://www.pcmag.com/news/349154/google-researchers-create-ai-that-builds-its-own-encryption
Alice and Bob have figured out a way to have a conversation without Eve being able to overhear, no matter how hard she tries.
They’re artificial intelligence algorithms created by Google engineers, and their ability to create an encryption protocol that Eve (also an AI algorithm) can’t hack is being hailed as an important advance in machine learning and cryptography.
Martin Abadi and David G. Andersen, explained in a paper published this week that their experiment is intended to find out if neural networks—the building blocks of AI—can learn to communicate secretly.
As the Abadi and Anderson wrote, “instead of training each of Alice and Bob separately to implement some known cryptosystem, we train Alice and Bob jointly to communicate successfully and to defeat Eve without a pre-specified notion of what cryptosystem they may discover for this purpose.”
same in German
Googles AI entwickelt eigenständig Verschlüsselung
Google-Forscher Martin Abadi und David G. Andersen des Deep-Learning-Projekts “Google Brain” eine neue Verschlüsselungsmethode entwickelt beziehungsweise entwickeln lassen. Die Forscher haben verschiedene neurale Netze damit beauftragt, eine abhörsichere Kommunikation aufzustellen.
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more on AI in this IMS blog:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=artificial+intelligence
Privacy groups slam DHS social media proposal
By Sean Carberry Aug 23, 2016
https://fcw.com/articles/2016/08/23/dhs-social-carberry.aspx
The Department of Homeland Security’s proposed policy to collect information on the social media profiles of foreign travelers violates the rights of travelers and their American associates, according to privacy groups.
n a strongly worded rebuke of the proposed Customs and Border Protection policy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that the rule change would do little to enhance national security and would open the door to greater spying on Americans.
Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers by adding requests for social media identifiers to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization and I-94W forms.
As FCW reported in June, the rule change came on the heels of a number of policies CBP initiated after criticism from Congress that potential terrorists could be exploiting the VWP, which allows citizens of 38 countries to enter the U.S. without a visa for up to 90 days.
Other human rights groups and civil liberties organizations submitted a joint letter to CBP stating that “DHS collection of online identity information is an intelligence surveillance program clothed as a customs administration mechanism.”
In more supportive comments delivered to CBP, the Center for Data Innovation said that just as universities, employers and lenders check social media profiles of potential clients, DHS should collect social media information from foreign travelers.
More on hackers and crackers in this blog:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=hacker
Power, Privacy, and the Internet
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/gallery/2014/feb/07/power-privacy-and-internet-conference/
- Governments, Corporations and Hackers: The Internet and Threats to the Privacy and Dignity of the Citizen:
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/126066881/download?secret_token=s-QvmZz&client_id=0f8fdbbaa21a9bd18210986a7dc2d72c
- The Internet and the Future of the Press
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/126066391/download?secret_token=s-v6mpP&client_id=0f8fdbbaa21a9bd18210986a7dc2d72c
- The Internet, Repression and Dissent
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/126066389/download?secret_token=s-Udzom&client_id=0f8fdbbaa21a9bd18210986a7dc2d72c
Merkel calls for separate EU internet
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2014/02/merkel-calls-separate-eu-internet-201421955226908928.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/edward_snowden_here_s_how_we_take_back_the_internet
The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2015/12/03/surveillance-age-and-librarians/