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Security flaw leaves cars vulnerable to being hacked

Researchers say they’ve discovered a security flaw that can affect any vehicle featuring “controller area network” systems – AKA a “CAN bus” – which is basically the network that interconnects components in a car. The “CAN bus” interconnects things like parking assist features, electric windows, and engine control units.

Researchers say hackers can access the connection and bombard it with error messages until the system shuts down to protect its other components. An attacker can therefore theoretically switch off safety features like airbags, ABS brakes, power steering or perhaps even lock someone out of their car.
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Hackers release names of professional footballers who allegedly failed drug tests

Hackers have reportedly released information on professional footballers who have allegedly failed drug tests registered by UK Anti-Doping (UKad) agency, as well as information about which footballers have been given Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) for otherwise banned medications during the 2010 World Cup.

Famous names include ex-Premier League players Carlos Tevez, Dirk Kuyt and Gabriel Heinze.

Another 21 professional footballers were named as having TUEs.
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Equifax admits hacking may have exposed 145 million customers’ personal information

Consumer credit reporting agency, Equifax, has been subject to a hacking that may have led to vital information being stolen, including the following: Full names; Birth dates; Postal addresses; Social Security details; Driver’s Licence numbers.

Reuters reports that some 209,000 consumers’ credit card information may have been accessed.

This is a breach on a monumental scale, and legal action will no doubt follow the incident. This breach is all over the news, and has been deemed as “one of the largest data breaches” to have occurred.
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HBO files stolen in colossal cyberattack

On 27^th July 2017, cybercriminals reportedly hacked their way into HBO’s database, stealing a gigantic 1.5 terabytes of data.

HBO (full name The Home Box Office) produces some of the world’s best known and critically acclaimed TV ‘series, documentaries, movies, sporting events’ and more. The stolen data includes video footage, internal documents and emails.

So far, no ransom has been demanded for the safe return of the data, leading the company to fear the worst: leaks.
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UniCredit data breach puts 400,000 customers at risk

Based in Milan, UniCredit Banca is the largest bank in Italy whilst maintaining a global reach with its banking and financial services. Unfortunately, the bank was subject to two security breaches that may have compromised hundreds of thousands of customers’ information.

It’s believed that hackers may have stolen personal data and certain financial information. Customer account numbers may be compromised but UniCredit has assured the public that account passwords were not accessed and therefore unauthorised transactions cannot be made.

Or so we hope…
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Avanti self-service food vending kiosks hacked

U.S. payment kiosk vendor, Avanti Markets, recently fell victim to a malware scam. The U.S. kiosk vendor’s innovation is to take away counter services and replace them with an all-serving vending machine that covers whole sandwiches, fruit, drinks and junk food with one payment system.
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Boomerang Video Ltd fined £60,000 by the ICO for compromising user data over a cyberattack

Boomerang Video Ltd owns and controls an online website where customers can rent or buy video games through their payment web application. Users log in and have a choice of video games for various consoles that are physically sent to them and then returned to their warehouse after the customer has finished playing the game.

The online platform requires certain information for a customer to sign up to their services, including a username, password and bank details to pay the monthly subscription fee.

Unfortunately, their app was targeted in a cyberattack and was successfully hacked in December of 2014.
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Government digital service department leaks personal information

Many people may have a false sense of security that the Government are able to protect us and our data. Over the years, this belief has decreased massively given there are growing trends of data breaches, with hacks and leaks scarily becoming the norm.

This is exemplified in the Government’s digital service website – www.data.gov.uk – who recently fell victim to a security breach. A spokeswoman said that a database containing usernames and email addresses was discovered on a system which was accessible to the public. This was only discovered during a routine security review.

So, if the government can’t protect themselves, how can we expect them to protect us?!
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77 million user account details hacked from popular education platform Edmodo

Reports of the recent Edmodo data breach inform us that around 77 million unique user account details were stolen from the popular education platform.

This online platform is widely used throughout U.S. and Canadian schools to support learning by allowing students, teachers and parents to access learning plans and homework. Media outlet Motherboard reported that nearly 77 million users account details were for sale on the dark web.
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Members of Parliament and Peers fall victim to brute force hacking attack

A cyber-attack on the U.K Parliament has prompted concerns over national security as rumours are pointing the finger-of-blame towards a hostile state for the hack.

On the 23^rd June 2017, a “sustained and determined cyber attack” was carried out. The hacker(s) attacked MP and Peer IT systems to reportedly get into their email accounts, and were successful in gaining access into 90 accounts.

Although this is only 1% of the 9,000 accounts on the same system, it’s nevertheless worrying in terms of exactly what information hackers may have obtained…
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