Free Republic

Apple's Siri will listen to anyone — even hackers. French researchers have discovered a way to remotely gain access to Siri and Google Now on iOS and Android, respectively. The research team from ANSSI — a French government agency specializing in information security — were then able to control the intelligent personal assistants by using headphones with built-in microphones as antennas. Hackers could use radio waves transmitted from the antenna of the headphones to eavesdrop on private conversations, send the device browser to a malware site or shoot spam and phishing messages through email and social media sites — such...

Hackers got malware-infected email through to the then-secretary of state. Hackers linked to Vladimir Putin’s Russia tried to gain access to Hillary Clinton’s insecure private email account at least five times while the Democrat presidential candidate served as U.S. secretary of state. The disturbing revelation comes months after retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said the chances Clinton’s private email account was hacked were “very high.” At the time the former top Obama administration intelligence official implied Clinton should have been fired as the nation’s top diplomat. “As a military officer, if I said I was doing something for...

Discount broker Scottrade said on Friday that it was the victim of a cyber attack from late 2013 to early 2014 that compromised client names and addresses in a database with information on some 4.6 million customers. The firm said it learned about the attack from federal law enforcement officials who were investigating the theft of data from Scottrade and other financial services firms. The company did not identify other potential victims. FBI officials could not be reached for comment.

Russia-linked hackers tried at least five times to trick Hillary Rodham Clinton into infecting her computer systems while she was secretary of state, newly released emails show. It is unclear whether she was fooled into clicking any attachments to expose her account. Clinton received the virus-riddled emails, disguised as speeding tickets from New York, over four hours early on the morning of Aug. 3, 2011. The emails instructed recipients to print the attached tickets—and opening them would have allowed hackers to take over control of a victim’s computer. Security researchers who analyzed the malicious software in September 2011 said that...

The Office of Personnel Management announced Wednesday that 5.6 million people are now estimated to have had their fingerprint information stolen. That number was originally thought to be about 1.1 million, OPM said in a statement. About 21.5 million individuals had their Social Security Numbers and other sensitive information affected by the hack. According to OPM, "federal experts believe that, as of now, the ability to misuse fingerprint data is limited." The office acknowledged, however, that future technologies could take advantage of this information. An interagency working group—to include FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department representatives—plans to review...

The IRS "believes" that a major cyber breach that allowed criminals to steal the tax returns of more than 100,000 people originated in Russia, two sources briefed on the data theft tell CNN. On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service announced that organized crime syndicates used personal data obtained elsewhere to access tax information, which they then used to file $50 million in fraudulent tax refunds.

Infidelity. Sexual fetishes. Drug abuse. Crushing debt. They’re the most intimate secrets of U.S. government workers. And now they’re in the hands of foreign hackers. It was already being described as the worst hack of the U.S. government in history. And it just got much worse. A senior U.S. official has confirmed that foreign hackers compromised the intimate personal details of an untold number of government workers. Likely included in the hackers’ haul: information about workers’ sexual partners, drug and alcohol abuse, debts, gambling compulsions, marital troubles, and any criminal activity. Those details, which are now presumed to be in...

A recently discovered group of malware that infects jailbroken iPhones has gathered the login information for more than 225,000 Apple accounts, and is believed to be one of the largest breaches of Apple accounts ever. The malware, dubbed KeyRaider by its discoverer, found its way to victims via websites that hosted repositories of Cydia software. Cydia is an app that allows users of jailbroken iOS devices to access software and apps locked phones can’t normally access. The malware then steals Apple account information by intercepting iTunes traffic from the device. Palo Alto Networks (PAN) and WeipTech, which found the vulnerability,...

http://www.wired.com/2015/08/happened-hackers-posted-stolen-ashley-madison-data/ Wired link, can't post excerpt.

Hackers from Syria and Iran are on the prowl to hold a neighborhood or city's gasoline supply up for ransom, or, worse, cause it to spill and explode, with Washington being high on the target list, according to a new report. The report, issued over the weekend by a group of digital security sleuths, found that a number of groups, including the notorious Syrian Electronic Army — known for hacking news groups — are looking for soft targets they can take control of easily through the Internet, and use to cause a variety of mayhem. The report shows that retail...

Storyline: Gloria is a young woman of the Depression. She has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless, having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past. While recovering from a suicide attempt, she gets the idea from a movie magazine to head for Hollywood to make it as an actress. Robert is a desperate Hollywood citizen trying to become a director, never doubting that he'll make it. Robert and Gloria meet and decide to enter a dance marathon, one of the crazes of the thirties. The grueling dancing takes its toll on Gloria's already weakened...

Apple’s vaunted reputation for safety and security has taken some hits recently. Just this week came news of DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE — a bug in Apple’s OS X operating system that has allowed a malicious program to take complete control of Macs. *snip* When it comes to security flaws, Windows and OS X are now about tied, says Morey Haber, VP of technology at corporate security software maker BeyondTrust.

A YouTube video message purportedly by the group Anonymous has issued a warning for U.S. police chiefs, Waller County police, and in particular, the Waller County Sheriff’s Department. In a threatening demand, the group told the Waller Sheriff’s Office, “We all know where you live. No mercy for murders.” The group plans protests in 35 cities throughout the U.S. on Saturday, August 8th. They pledge on August 8th to “rage against the corrupted system that killed Sandra Bland and continues to commit injustice across this country.” The group demands that Texas DPS trooper Brian Encinia, who stopped and arrested Bland...

fficials tell NBC News that Russia launched a "sophisticated cyberattack" against the Pentagon's Joint Staff unclassified email system which has been shut down and taken off line for nearly two weeks. According to the officials, the "sophisticated cyber intrusion" occurred sometime around July 25 and affected some 4-thousand military and civilian personnel work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This story is developing. Please check back for further updates.

Researchers have spotted a wave of attacks targeting Macbook users.Hackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in Apple’s OS X operating system to install malware on Macbooks.Malwarebytes Apple security expert Thomas Reed reported uncovering the attacks in a threat advisory.The vulnerability was uncovered by security researcher Stefan Esser at the end of July. It relates to the way Apple OS X version 10.10 logs software errors and can be used by hackers to forcibly install software on Macbooks.Reed said the current attacks targeting the flaw install a variety of malicious programs. These include the VSearch and Genio adwares and MacKeeper junkware.Adware...

A researcher is advising drivers to halt the use of a mobile app for General Motors Co's (GM.N) OnStar vehicle communications system, saying hackers can exploit a security flaw in the product to remotely unlock cars and start engines. "White-hat" hacker Samy Kamkar posted a video on Thursday saying he had figured out a way to "locate, unlock and remote-start" vehicles by intercepting communications between the OnStar RemoteLink mobile app and the OnStar service. Kamkar said he plans to provide technical details on the hack next week in Las Vegas at the Def Con conference, where tens of thousands of...

Are modern computer-heavy vehicles vulnerable to being hijacked by computer hackers? They are indeed, as computer security hasn't kept pace with what hackers can do.

Hackers took control of a car and crashed it into a ditch by remotely breaking into its systems from 10 miles away whilst sitting on their sofa. In the first such breach of its kind security experts cut out the engine and applied the brakes on the Jeep Cherokee, sending it into a spin. The US hackers said they used just a laptop and mobile phone to access the Jeep’s on-board systems via its wireless Internet connection. They claim that more than 470,000 cars made by Fiat Chrysler could be at risk of being attacked by similar means - including...

Hackers have stolen and leaked the personal details of users of Ashley Madison – a site that hooks up people who want to have affairs. A group or individual known as The Impact Team claimed to be behind the attack and that it had data on all of Ashley Madison's 37 million users and its partner sites, Cougar Life and Established Men, all owned by Canada's Avid Life Media (ALM). The Impact Team claims to have access to the company's user database and is threatening to release all of the information unless the site is taken down. So far the...

Hackers are threatening to expose information on over 30 million users of AshleyMadison.com, a website for cheating spouses famous for its tagline “Life is short. Have an Affair.” A group of hackers called The Impact Team reportedly has posted some data already and is demanding that parent company Avid Life Media shut down AshleyMadison and a sister site, EstablishedMen.com, according to Krebs On Security, a blog run by former Washington Post reporter Brian Krebs. The Toronto-based Avid Life Media said Monday it closed the breach in its computer system and was working with law enforcement. How the hackers got in,...