Enlarge (credit: Google) There’s wide consensus among security experts that physical two-factor authentication keys provide the most effective protection against account takeovers. Research published today doesn’t change that, but it does show how malicious attackers with physical possession of a Google Titan key can clone it. There are some steep hurdles to clear for an […]
Enlarge (credit: Gregory Varnum) The US Justice Department has become the latest federal agency to say its network was breached in a long and wide-ranging hack campaign that’s believed to have been backed by the Russian government. In a terse statement issued Wednesday, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said that the breach wasn’t discovered until […]
Enlarge / Side view of colorful St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square in front of the Kremlin, Russia. (credit: Getty Images) Hackers working for the Russian government were “likely” behind the software supply chain attack that planted a backdoor in the networks of 180,000 private companies and governmental bodies, officials from the US […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) If you’re using an Android device—or in some cases an iPhone—the Telegram messenger makes it easy for hackers to find your precise location when you enable a feature that allows users who are geographically close to you. The researcher who discovered the disclosure vulnerability and privately reported it to Telegram developers […]
Enlarge / A Comcast van in Sunnyvale, California, in November 2018. (credit: Getty Images | Andrei Stanescu) Dozens of state lawmakers from Massachusetts urged Comcast to halt enforcement of its 1.2TB monthly data cap, saying the cap hurts low-income people during the pandemic and is unnecessary because of Comcast’s healthy network capacity. “Network capacity is […]
Enlarge (credit: George / Getty Images) Soaring cryptocurrency valuations have broken record after record over the past few years, turning people with once-modest holdings into overnight millionaires. One determined ring of criminals has tried to join the party using a wide-ranging operation that for the past 12 months has used a full-fledged marketing campaign to […]
Enlarge (credit: Zyxel) Hackers are attempting to exploit a recently discovered backdoor built into multiple Zyxel device models that hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses use as VPNs, firewalls, and wireless access points. The backdoor comes in the form of an undocumented user account with full administrative rights that’s hardcoded into the device firmware, […]
(credit: Pixy) Ticketmaster has agreed to pay a $10 million criminal fine after admitting its employees repeatedly used stolen passwords and other means to hack a rival ticket sales company. The fine, which is part of a deferred prosecution agreement Ticketmaster entered with federal prosecutors, resolves criminal charges filed last week in federal court in […]
Enlarge / Exterior view of a Googleplex building, the corporate headquarters of Google and parent company Alphabet, May 2018. (credit: Getty Images | zphotos) More than 225 workers at Google have formally launched a companywide union membership drive, following an increasing drive toward organization inside the company over the past several years. All 120,000 people […]
Enlarge / Alexa, how do I create something that combines AI with a creepy 1980s toy? (credit: Sean Gallagher) Update, 1/2/21: It’s New Year’s weekend, and Ars staff is still enjoying some necessary downtime to prepare for a new year (and a slew of CES emails, we’re sure). While that happens, we’re resurfacing some vintage […]