biometrics

A Look at Biometrics

biometrics The field of biometrics is rapidly growing and expanding. Whether we realize it or not, biometrics are prevalent in our everyday lives. Many consumers may wonder how biometrics work and how they are of use. In this article, a dive into the realm of biometrics will ensue, and explain how it all coincides.   What are Biometrics? To answer this popular question, biometrics are by definition, “the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral characteristics (such as fingerprint or voice patterns) especially as a means of verifying personal identity” (1). Breaking this down, a biometric identifies unique personal features of a person. The retained information can then be… Read More

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Yahoo’s New Big Breach 500 Million Accounts Hacked

Ever since the security breach in 2014, Yahoo has been having an ongoing investigation into the incident.  Last Thursday Yahoo has released a statement about yet another setback for the internet company. Yahoo admits they are not sure of the specifics of the stolen information. However, there is an estimated 500 million accounts that appear as targets. Among this stolen data is email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, hashed passwords, and security questions. Is Yahoo to Blame? Talks of the people to blame for the attack were state sponsored actors under the orders of the Russian or Chinese government. Although it’s hard to tell due to the fact that an… Read More

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Cyber Security’s Weakest Link is Human Beings

  The Weak Link In Security Often times when a company looks into becoming more secure / enhance security, they typically look to add devices, software or settings in place to help defend their network. It’s hard to convince them that the weak links in there network is the employees on them. Convincing employers about the importance of user awareness is an ongoing struggle for tech professionals. In the world of Information Security, we like to think that all the firewalls, antivirus and security settings we put in place keep us safe. Last year in 2015 there was an estimated 781 reports of data breaches. These breaches only account for… Read More

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Apple Devices Vulnerable to Hackers

Many iOS devices could be vulnerable to a specific issue called the  “masque” attack. This basically allows hackers to get into your phone and hijack traffic, as well as disable communication between apps. The way to acquire the malware is through a third party app installer. Many companies use this to install apps that aren’t on the official app store. The hackers disguise their malicious app as something that may be needed. The apps have hidden software allowing them to bypass user control. Apple released a software update in January to help fix this issue (iOS 8.1.3), but one third of devices are still on an earlier iOS. This will not affect many… Read More

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LastPass Security Breach

LastPass, a program that helps you remember all of your passwords and create new, secure passwords, has been hacked. This occurred in early June. The hackers got away with email addresses and the passwords to other accounts and plugins. Fortunately, the master password to any account was not taken, however it is recommended that you change your master password, and definitely change the minor passwords linked to the account. The chief executive of LastPass wrote in a blog on their website: “We are confident that our encryption measures are sufficient to protect the vast majority of users.” More information can be found on their blog and website at https://blog.lastpass.com/2015/06/lastpass-security-notice.html/    

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Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Confirms Breach

According to Brian Krebs of krebsonsecurity.com Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group confirmed a breach at it’s upscale hotel chain.  Mandarin has not confirmed yet on how many of their hotels have been breached at this point.  It is possible that attackers targeted this chain because it is a higher end hotel that can cost near $2,000 per night and would likely have customers with no-limit or high limit credit cards.  These cards would typically go for a higher rate on the black market.    

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Dominos Pizza Hacked – Could Affect Over 600,000 Customers

Hackers are holding the information of over 600,000 Domino’s customers for ransom.  They are demanding $40,000 or they will release the names, email addresses, addresses, and passwords of their customers.  Dominos is holding firm and it does not look like they are giving in.  They are saying that no information has been stolen. Domino’s Pizza Hacked, Customer Data Held for Ransom

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P.F. Chang's Customers Suffer from Credit Card Breach

As of June 10th, the United States Secret Service is now working with P.F. Chang’s China Bistro on a breach investigation that involves a compromise of customer credit cards. According to Brian Krebs (an expert security journalist) credit cards numbers that were used at the restaurant chain started showing up for sale on underground websites ran by cyber criminals. These credit cards were cards that were used at the P.F. Chang’s restaurants. The restaurant chain has over 200 locations throughout the United States.  Although it has not been confirmed yet, several recent breaches have resulted from malicious software that was installed unknowingly on point of sale devices.  The company has… Read More

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