By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
State police and cyber security experts have been called in to help manage a ransomware attack that has forced several hospitals in Victoria to go offline.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Alyssia Totham
Ransom-based hacking techniques have primarily been limited to the intangible. We live in a world where unauthorised access to email accounts, bank accounts, and computer systems that may otherwise be private is no longer uncommon.
In some situations, hackers demand a lump sum in return for reinstating control of the accounts and systems to its owners and managers, and otherwise refusing to pay this ransom can likely leave our information and data at the mercy of hackers.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Alyssia Totham
Until recently, a security vulnerability in the social media platform Instagram, allowed Hyp3r to illicitly harvest millions of Instagram users’ data and track their locations.
In a similar manner to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that plagued Facebook following the 2016 US presidential election, this latest example of Hyp3r’s mass data collection was discovered through a journalistic investigation and was not uncovered by the social media platform.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
In the latest installment of this seemingly ongoing tale, Google uncovered (for the second time in a month) security flaws in Apple’s iOS, which put thousands of users at risk of inadvertently installing spyware on their iPhones. For two years.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott and Max Evans
We live in an era where the adoption and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of business advancement and social progression. Facial recognition technology software is used or is being piloted to be used across a variety of government sectors, whilst voice recognition assistants are becoming the norm both in personal and business contexts. However, as we have blogged previously on, the AI ‘bandwagon’ inherently comes with legitimate concerns.
This is no different in the banking world. The use of AI-based phishing detection applications has strengthened cybersecurity safeguards for financial institutions, whilst the use of “Robo-Advisers” and voice and language processors has facilitated efficiency by increasing the pace of transactions and reducing service times. However, this appears to sound too good to be true, as according to a Report by CIO Drive, algorithmic lending models may show an unconscious bias.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott and Karla Hodgson
This month Microsoft reported that its Threat Intelligence Center discovered that IoT (internet of things) devices – a VOIP phone, a printer and a video decoder – were used to gain access to corporate networks in April.
Microsoft have identified Strontium – also known as Fancy Bear or APT28 – as the culprit, a hacker group associated with the Russian government who appear to be targeting government, IT, military and defence, engineering, medical and education sectors. Strontium has been linked to the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s presidential election campaign and of the email accounts of researchers investigating the missile strike on MH17 and the Skripal poisonings. In the last 12 months alone Microsoft has delivered almost 1,400 notifications to those targeted or compromised by Strontium.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Max Evans
We are living in an era of online shopping, where consumers are more willing to hand over personal information for goods and services, and are less suspicious of whom they are divulging their personal information to. As a result, online businesses are in possession of a vast amount of their customers’ personal information. The recent hack of Sneaker Platform Stock-X reminds us yet again of the importance of businesses maintaining comprehensive and up to date security processes, and in particular, the necessity of having an adequate data breach response plan in place.
Stock-X, a platform for the re-sale of sneakers and apparel, was recently hacked, exposing over six million users’ personal data, including their real name, username, password, shoe size and trading currency. According to a Report by TechCrunch, Stock-X’s initial response was to reset customer passwords, stating that it was due to system updates. A spokesperson for Stock-X later disclosed to TechCruch that Stock-X was alerted to “suspicious activity”. TechCrunch reports; however, an unnamed data breach seller had contacted it claiming more than 6.8 million records were stolen from Stock-X in May, and that the records had been put up for sale and sold on the dark web for $300.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott and Karla Hodgson
Remember the time when you first heard about cloud computing and it took you a few moments of quiet contemplation before you wrapped your head around the concept of computing being situated “up there”? Of course today we aren’t surprised to learn that over 80% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by next year and that a new wave of cloud-based security as a service (SECaaS) solutions are rolling in to address the forecasted USD $5.2 trillion per year in cybercrime damage that is expected to impact within the next 5 years.
Based on the software as a service (SaaS) model, SECaaS is a cloud-based managed security service that removes the need for businesses to buy and continually upgrade on-premises hardware and software and keep staff upskilled in the ever-shifting world of cybersecurity risk and protection.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Max Evans
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has published its guidance framework dealing with medical device cyber security for manufacturers and sponsors of medical devices, as well as for consumers, health professionals and other users. This is driven by a number of challenges that regulators face to protect users against cyber security risks, including the alteration of device function, loss to privacy and the alteration of personal health data.
The crux of the framework is based on the TGA view that knowledge is power, in that patients using connected medical devices should be informed about the potential cyber security risks those devices have, and take proactive measures to protect their devices and networks.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
Have you inadvertently given the owners of global, searchable databases of phone numbers and associated names access to your entire contact list?
We suspect that you cannot confidently answer “no”.
In yet another tale of why you should read the terms of use and service of apps and other online products you download or sign-up to use, we’ve recently been exposed to the shock of having your name appear on a complete stranger’s phone, after they’re given your number (but not your name) to call you. We asked the question of how this could happen – and found the answer to be quite alarming.
The Samsung Smart Call function, which is powered by Hiya, boasts that it allows you to “deal with spam the easy way”, by letting you know who is calling you, even if their number is not saved in your contact list. In theory, this is a handy tool, and in the context of robocalls or other unsolicited marketing calls, doesn’t create any privacy issues. But when the database which powers the function contains the names and numbers of (we suspect) millions of private citizens, this becomes quite concerning.
So, how do private numbers (and the names of their associated users) come to be listed in databases such as Hiya? Well, for one, anyone who downloads the Hiya app is given the option to share their contacts. If they do, and your number is saved to their phone, your details will become part of the database. We have no doubt that many who download and use the Hiya app didn’t realise what they were signing up for (or what they were signing up their entire contact list for) – because they didn’t read the terms of use. This also begs the question – are companies like Hiya properly satisfying their privacy obligations merely by asking users to “opt in” to share their contacts?
Hiya is of course not the only “caller ID” app on the market – a quick search of the Apple App store reveals numerous other options for download – including Truecaller, Caller-ID, Sync.ME and CallHelp. In 2018, Hiya reached 50 million active users worldwide, while Truecaller’s website says it has over 130 million daily active users. Those figures of course would barely scrape the surface of the number of names and phone numbers held in their collective databases.
In case you’re wondering how much damage could really be done by a third party having access to your name and phone number – think about all of the things your number is linked to. Your Facebook, your Gmail, maybe even your bank account and credit cards. Information is power – and this is the kind of information that could easily allow hackers to wreak a reasonable amount of havoc. So before you sign-up to a new app, take the time to read the terms of service, because your use could not only be exposing your personal information, but that of your entire contact list.
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