network security Archives - Cyber Protection Group

Hotel Wifi – Is It Secure?

October 11, 2019

Whether traveling for business or going on a vacation, many travelers face the same dilemma. Is the hotel wifi safe to use? It’s easy to connect to and free, so what’s the worst that could happen? Let’s find out. Hotels focus on hospitality, not network security. When the average consumer stays at a hotel, do you think their first concern is the security of the provided wireless internet? No. More likely, they may wonder whether or not internet is provided in general. If it is, that’s a plus, and the end of thinking about hotel wifi. Further, the main concerns of hotel staff and management is to… Read More

Credit Card Skimmers – How do they Work?

October 4, 2019

Picture this: You’re running late for work. In a rush, you race to your car and hop in. On the way, you notice your gas light is on. Quickly, you pull into a gas station and whip out a credit card. Not paying attention, you slide the card in the terminal and begin pumping your gas. Within minutes you are back on the road, hoping you make it to work before your meeting starts. Later that day, you receive a call from your bank for exuberant charges out of area on your account. How could this happen? You just used your card for gas this morning… right? … Read More

Significant Locations – How Your iPhone is Tracking Your Every Move

September 20, 2019

Hidden within your iPhone is a list of locations. What are the locations you may ask? Oh, nothing really just everywhere you’ve ever been since you have had your iPhone. No big deal, right? WRONG. Now, if that statement at the beginning of the article caught you by surprise, it should. As an avid iPhone user, I have always had a feeling location services were tracking my iPhone. Further, if you think about it, many apps use location services to provide their service. For example, the weather app, maps, and so many more. So when I came across the Significant Locations “feature” I definitely needed to take… Read More

The Breakdown of the New iPhone 11

September 13, 2019September 13, 2019

New Apple Devices As September rolls around every year, the buzz is always surrounding what Apple will release next. On September 10, 2019, Apple unveiled several new additions to some of our favorite devices. The list includes the iPad, Watch and of course, the iPhone. For me personally, I always look forward to seeing the new features of the next great iPhone and IOS. So, today we will be looking at the all new iPhone 11 and it’s plethora of new features. The iPhone 11 To begin, Apple released two new iPhones ranging in price and hardware features. The new release included the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11… Read More

What is a Deep Fake?

September 6, 2019

Things are not as they may seem… Imagine this: you turn the news on after work. First the broadcaster speaks on the weather conditions for tomorrow. Next they mention the station will be showing a clip of the president from a press conference. You continue to listen to the news while doing things around the house. The channel announces that President Donald Trump is beginning to speak. After finishing your tasks, you sit down to watch the end of the press conference. But, what you see is extremely alarming. On the TV, it looks as though Putin is speaking instead of President Trump. How can this be? It’s Trump’s… Read More

Social Security Number Suspension Scam is on the Rise

August 30, 2019

“This is a call from the Social Security Administration Office. Your Social Security Number has been suspended due to suspicious activity” . -Cue panic and frantic actions. The Mysterious Caller Last week while I was sitting in my office, my phone began ringing repeatedly. I didn’t recognize the number, so I never answered the call. Following, I noticed that the mysterious caller left a voicemail. I begin to to play the voicemail, expecting to have “won” one million dollars or a dream vacation. I predicted the call correctly for the most part. The call did come from a scammer. The scary part though, they pretended to be… Read More

New Instagram “Privacy Policy” is a Hoax

August 23, 2019

Deadline day is hitting Instagram. Will a post on your feed actually protect your data from being used against you in court? Let’s find out. If you scrolled through your Instagram feed within the last week, you may have come across a post like this: This “contract” popped up on hundreds of thousands of account across the app. Users who posted this picture ranged from everyday users to celebrities. Some of the high profile “posters” include: Judd Apatow, Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Debra Messing, Taraji p Henson, Beyoncé’s mom, and Wacka Flocka Flame (via @TaylorLorenz on Twitter). This lead to the post spreading fear and confusion… Read More

Fake iPhone Lightning Cords Could Allow Hackers to Take Over Your Devices

August 16, 2019

cords Have you ever borrowed a charger cable? You may want to think about it the next time your iPhone is on 10%. Hacker Summer Camp Last week in Las Vegas, Black Hat 2019 took place. This conference brings tech giants, programmers, security professionals and more together to share ideas and innovation in the field. Throughout the conference, expos and panels are happening so that researchers can share their work and bring awareness to the need for cyber security. One researcher that caught the attention of many goes by the name MG. This researcher crafted a malicious tool of attack, and made it look completely harmless. Further, he… Read More

AT&T Employees Bribed to Unlock Devices and Install Malware

August 9, 2019

From an Outsider to an Insider AT&T discovered that from 2012 to 2018 that their own employees took bribes from an outsider and worked against the company. To begin, news of the attack on AT&T began to make headlines when the Department of Justice released a statement regarding the issue. To summarize, the DOJ charged a Pakistani man for bribing AT&T employees with over one million dollars to unlock customer devices and install malware. Further, as investigations began, more details emerged about the person responsible. Law enforcement placed Muhammad Fahd, a 34 year old man from Pakistan under arrest earlier this year in Hong Kong. Continuing, officials extradited Fahd this… Read More

Capital One Data Breach

July 30, 2019

Capital One Data Breach Capital One is one of the biggest banks in the United States. So, when the news broke of their data breach yesterday (July 29, 2019) customers and the population in general began to panic. What Happened? To begin, Capital One released a statement informing customers and the public of a data breach. In the statement, the bank reported that roughly 100 million US customers and 6 million Canadian customers were among the affected in the data breach. The customer information at risk includes, “credit card applications, including names, addresses, zip codes/postal codes, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and self-reported income”. Continuing, within that… Read More