Posts By: OptfinITy

Recently, a terrorist used WhatsApp to send and receive encrypted messages to help plan an attack, and there have been demands by some that there should be a weakening or banning of this type of encryption.  Would this help prevent this type of terrorist communication?  Absolutely not. Some have also called for backdoor systems to… Read more »

There is a new phish in town, and now its targeting iTunes users trying to access their personal information.  This attack is emailed in the form of a receipt which appears to come from your iTunes account listing movies the victim supposedly purchased. There is a link at the bottom which, when clicked, directs the victim to a… Read more »

WordPress recently released a new version of their software which also included an update that fixed a previously undisclosed critical vulnerability.   If left unpatched, hackers could possibly modify the content of any post or page on a WordPress website. Initially this vulnerability was not made public in the hopes of staving off hackers; however, it… Read more »

How to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi: Protecting Your Personal Data Have you ever stopped to think about the safety of the free Wi-Fi network you’re connecting to at your local coffee shop? If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t. But here’s something you might not know—scammers often set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots to… Read more »

Arkansas police are hoping they can use an Echo found at a murder scene, and its recordings, to help with the investigation of a murder.  Echoes only begin recording after hearing the wake word, but background noise/chatter could have activated the device.  Amazon stores all the voice recordings from its devices on its servers.  As… Read more »

Those one billion Yahoo! users’ account information, which was stolen back in 2013, is now for sale on the computer underground market for a total of a little less than one million dollars. So not only is the data currently in the hands of criminals and probably being utilized, but if you have not changed… Read more »

British Hospitals Hit by Ransomware: Are Your Business Systems Safe? Recently, three British hospitals fell victim to a **ransomware attack**, forcing their IT systems offline and leading to the cancellation of routine patient operations. The attack lasted several days, significantly disrupting the hospitals’ ability to provide essential care and services, highlighting the critical impact that… Read more »

Ransomware Attack Impacts LA Population We talk a lot about ransomware, but phishing scams are still just as prevalent and are just as dangerous to companies, their employees, and their clients. This year, a hacker comprised the data of over three quarters of a million LA County employees. This not only includes their employee’s personal… Read more »