Monday, November 23, 2015

I find it interesting that there was no mention of how the malware got into all those terminals. Do we have hackers on a road trip? More likely, they are loading the malware as an update. And that is really disturbing from a security viewpoint.
54 Starwood Hotels Ransacked By Credit Card Gobbling Malware
Dozens of Starwood hotels around the country were hit with malware that enabled cyber thieves to access credit and debit card information from point of sale terminals. The malware affected a variety of locations on Starwood properties, including restaurants, gift shops, and other places where customers might have swiped a payment card.
A total of 54 Starwood hotels (PDF) fell prey to the malware, including places like the Walt Disney World Dolphin - A Sheraton Hotel in Orlando, Florida, and over a dozen Westin hotels spanning the continental U.S. and Hawaii.




If you don't have everything you need to steal money, try extorting it from your victims.
The opportunistic and empty threat that is data breach victim extortion
… Let me explain how these blackmail attempts work, what the extortionists are looking for and how they’re becoming an increasingly common thing in the wake of a major data breach. Oh – and we’ll see if anyone is actually paying the bastards as well.




It is possible, if you know who is doing it.
How to Opt-Out of Interest-Based Advertising and Stop the Ads from Following You
… . To give you an example, if you search for ‘hotels in singapore’ on a travel website, you’ll see that almost every website you visit later will have ads arounds Singapore hotels. Whether you are reading news on CNN, checking out cooking videos on YouTube or reading your Facebook newsfeed, the ads are likely to be around the same them – Singapore hotels.
In other words, the ads follow you on the Internet even after you have switched to a different website. Online advertisers, with the help of browser cookies, are able to track you across the web and serve relevant advertising.
If you would not like web companies to use your past online behavior to target ads on your computer, you do have an option to easily opt-out. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Amazon and other web advertising networks offer simple ways to help you opt-out of targeted advertising.




Toss the baby with the bathwater? The whole purpose is to make the cards like cash. If the cards become a hassle, terrorists will go back to cash.
The Latest: France wants controls on prepaid bank cards
… The French government says it wants to tighten the rules on the use of prepaid bank cards as part of a crackdown on extremist financing.
Finance Minister Michel Sapin says the aim is to restrict the ability of extremists to use such cards for anonymous money transfers.
He says Europe-wide rules are needed to ensure the user's identity is checked when they apply for and use the cards.
Sapin said Monday that those who carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris used prepaid cards. He didn't elaborate.




Interesting.
Ancient History Encyclopedia
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on Nov 22, 2015
Ancient History Encyclopedia is the global leader in ancient history content online, boasting the highest number of monthly visitors of any dedicated website… Our team of ten volunteers is passionate about history: We want to inspire our readers with the stories of the past, making history engaging and exciting. Here you’ll find high-quality articles, videos, interactive maps, and books on ancient history. All contributions are reviewed by expert volunteers who wish to share their knowledge. Ancient History Encyclopedia is entirely run by volunteers from all over the world. Our core team hails from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Germany, and Italy. We’re always looking for people from all walks of life to join our team.”




Amusing and I expect tomorrow's will be for the Democrats.
The Perfect Republican Stump Speech