Internet Hackers: Kitchen Antennae

[Abishai100]

The NSA (National Security Agency) is supposedly monitoring all kinds of Internet communications, suspecting that foreign terrorists are hacking into American networks to obtain vital information about our culture, economy, and political street-talk and high-level communiques.

In many ways, the Internet hacker is the modern-day warlock, destabilizing globalization routes and networks.

Many Internet hackers are amateurs who do it for pure mischief or recreational fun; but some do it for stealthy information decryption activities designed for self-profit (i.e., online credit card files) or for espionage (i.e., government emails).

Internet hacking represents a modern crime management problem, and the NSA is like America's "Cyberspace Scotland Yard."

We could feel better about such destabilization threats, perhaps especially since American entertainment programs distribute art images about populism-inspirational network-defender comic book 'super-heroes.'






en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cyber_Command

 

[XPostFacto]

The NSA (No Such Agency) is actually the one doing the spying.

 

[Abishai100]

Elsa's Egghead


A certain German stewardess named Elsa working for Lufthansa is on vacation and writes in her diary, "I noticed an unusual rainbow today in the German countryside, outside of Berlin, and I wondered if it was possibly produced by acid rain rather than natural rain."

Elsa decided to post on the Internet, "Is it unusual to think that a German citizen could spot such an eco-anomaly outside of Berlin?"

The NSA was monitoring the Internet 'sector' she happened to be posting on and wondered if it was an unusually subversive comment and whether or not Elsa was possibly working for the Taliban (perhaps criticizing the negative eco-effects of Western industrialization).

This hypothetical monitoring was somehow construed as a metaphoric 'telekinetic' achievement by the NSA. After all, the Internet is simply a silent brainiac network communications bulletin board (an 'electrical' telephatic railroad if you will).

So does such a story make us feel better (or worse) about Internet hackers and hypothetical NSA responses?

Maybe sociology has become colloquialized because of the Internet.

 

[waltky]

Apple iPhone users are being targeted in a new phishing scam...

New Apple ID scam steals your data
April 20, 2016 -- Apple iPhone users are being targeted in a new phishing scam, tricking users into giving up their Apple passwords and other personal information.

The scam arrives as a text message, telling the recipient their Apple ID or iCloud account information is about to expire and should be updated immediately. The user clicks on a link and to verify your account, "they ask for your name, address, even your passport information," said security expert Slawek Ligier of Barracuda Networks.

After you input your name and password, it will tell users they've been locked out for "security reasons" and to unlock it, they will have to give various other pieces of valuable personal information, security expert Graham Cluley. Ligier describes the scam as "really dangerous," and advises Apple users if you copy and paste the link in the text to your browser and it doesn't look completely legitimate and familiar, delete the text.

It is a scam that has been tried before on email, but as an extra tip, look at a legitimate Apple site and compare the company's real domain name to one in the text and users should be able to spot trouble right away.

New Apple ID scam steals your data

See also:

Tomorrow's Buildings: Help! My building has been hacked
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 - There are millions of buildings being connected to the net, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attack, so should we be worried?

In 2013, Google - one of the world's pre-eminent tech companies - was hacked. It wasn't its search engine that was attacked or its advertising platform or even its social network, Google+. Instead, it was a building. Two cybersecurity experts hacked into its Wharf 7 office in Sydney, Australia, through Google's building management system (BMS). One of them, Billy Rios, says: "Me and my colleague have a lot of experience in cybersecurity, but it is not something that people couldn't learn. "Once you understand how the systems work, it is very simple."

He found the vulnerable systems on Shodan, a search engine that lists devices connected to the internet, and then ran it through his own software to identify who owned the building. In the case of the Google hack, the researchers had no nefarious purpose, did no damage and informed Google about the vulnerabilities they found. According to Mr Rios, who runs security company Whitescope, there are 50,000 buildings currently connected to the internet - including research facilities, churches and hospitals, and 2,000 of those are online with no password protection. "That is 2,000 buildings where you can access systems that heat and cool the building and potentially gain access to the controls of the doors," he says.

Martyn Thomas, a professor of IT at Gresham College in the UK, tells the BBC: "It is beyond doubt that attempts to attack building management systems are happening all the time." Making a building smart generally means connecting the systems that control heating, lighting and security to the internet and the wider corporate network. There was a compelling reason for doing this, said Andrew Kelly, principal security consultant at defence company Qinetiq. "Energy savings are the biggest factor in connecting building management systems to the corporate network," he says. "It gives those who run the building better control and offers between 20 to 50% in energy savings." But it also makes them less secure.

There are various scenarios where a hacked building could have dire consequences. Imagine, for instance, a malicious attack at an old people's home where, in the depth of winter, hackers gain control of the heating system and shut it down. Or a hospital where hackers take over the lighting or electricity system. Or thieves who walk into a building they want to rob simply by overriding the system that controls the security. And if any of these feels like a Hollywood film script, think again. In 2013, the US Department of Homeland Security revealed hackers had broken into a "state government facility" and made it "unusually warm".

MORE

Australia Unveils $220 Million Strategy to Boost Cyber Defenses
April 21, 2016 — PM Turnbull, a former online entrepreneur, said hacking costs his country around $780 million per year

Australia says it is building up its capability to thwart cyber crime. Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull recently unveiled his $220 million Cyber Security Strategy, aimed at boosting the nation's defenses against online assaults by hackers on individuals, businesses and governments. Turnbull said defenses need to be boosted against foreign hackers because of what he called the unprecedented “scale and reach of malicious cyber activity.”

To help in this effort, the prime minister is seeking closer collaboration between the government and businesses, and appointing a special ambassador to coordinate efforts with foreign governments. Australia has also admitted that it has the capacity to respond to threats by launching cyber attacks of its own. Although Turnbull did not elaborate on what techniques or technology could be used if the government launched such cyber attacks, he said the use of “offensive cyber capability” was subject to stringent legal oversight.

Dr. Tobias Feakin, a government adviser and head of the International Cyber Policy Center at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says online threats are becoming more serious. “If you're a big business, you're probably having to deal with thousands of instances each week. Prime Minister Turnbull is clearly focused on this issue. It's an issue that, you know, he's incredibly interested in. He's one of the most technically astute leaders that this country's ever had, if not, to be honest, globally. So he's engaged on this topic,” said Feakin.

Last year China was suspected of infiltrating Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. The bureau has a direct link to the Defense Department and it is thought the intrusion was an attempt to steal information. Beijing denied any involvement. Now for the first time, the government in Canberra has confirmed that the security breach did take place, although there has been no official declaration of who was responsible.

Australia Unveils $220 Million Strategy to Boost Cyber Defenses