Identity Thieves Hijack Cellphone Accounts to Go After
Virtual Currency
Hackers have discovered that one of the most central
elements of online security — the mobile phone number — is also one of the
easiest to steal.
In a growing
number of online attacks, hackers have been calling up Verizon,
T-Mobile U.S., Sprint and AT&T and asking them
to transfer control of a victim’s phone number to a device under the control of
the hackers.
Once they get
control of the phone number, they can reset the passwords on every account that
uses the phone number as a security backup — as services like Google, Twitter
and Facebook suggest.
… But a
particularly concentrated wave of attacks has hit those with the most obviously
valuable online accounts: virtual currency fanatics like Mr. Burniske.
Within minutes
of getting control of Mr. Burniske’s phone, his attackers had changed the
password on his virtual currency wallet and drained the contents — some
$150,000 at today’s values.
Most victims of
these attacks in the virtual currency community have not wanted to acknowledge
it publicly for fear of provoking their adversaries. But in interviews, dozens of prominent people
in the industry acknowledged that they had been victimized in recent months.
Another Hack that is so simple you wonder why more people
don’t try it.
Francisco Memoria reports:
Last month, CCN reported on CoinDash’s ICO being hacked.
Hackers
managed to change the address on its website and made over $9
million. Now, despite not making as much
money, a hacker managed to compromise Enigma before its ICO in a similar way,
and has netted over 1,500 Ether (over $500,000) from the community.
Enigma, a project started by MIT
graduates whose ICO was scheduled for September, didn’t lose any money itself,
as the hacker only managed to get his hands on the company’s website, mailing
list, and Slack group.
Read more on CryptoCoins
News.
I’m sure my students need this, but it too may be too much
to read.
Unfortunately, with most fine print being exceedingly wordy, it can be a
challenge to wade through all the legalese and understand what it all means. That’s where TOSDR comes in.
TOSDR (Terms of Service Didn’t Read) is a site that breaks
down and rates the terms and conditions on numerous sites. Sites are rated from Class A (very good) to
Class E (very bad). In addition, TOSDR
points out the good and bad things about each site, giving you insight into how
they are rated.
Perspective. Middle
of the road is boring! But do Facebook
followers translate into votes?
Highly ideological members of Congress have more Facebook
followers than moderates do
by on
Pew – “The most liberal and conservative members of the
115th Congress have attracted more Facebook followers than moderates, according
to a new Pew Research Center analysis. In both legislative chambers, members’
ideology is a strong predictor of the number of people who follow them on
Facebook. The most liberal and most
conservative House members had a median of 14,361 followers as of July 25,
compared with 9,017 followers for those in the middle of the ideological
spectrum. The median number of followers
for the Senate’s most liberal and conservative lawmakers was 78,360, while
moderates had 32,626. (These figures
reflect each member’s total number of followers since the creation of their
official Facebook page, not the number gained since the 115th Congress began.) The Center’s analysis determines each lawmaker’s
ideology based on a score calculated through their congressional roll call
votes. This widely
employed measure, created by two political scientists in the 1980s, assigns
each member a score that falls between -1 (most liberal) and +1 (most
conservative)…”
Perspective. Facebook: The Social Network for old people?
Instagram, Snapchat Adoption Still Surging in US and UK
… eMarketer has
reduced its usage estimates for US monthly Facebook users ages 12 to 17 and 18
to 24. Yet for the same age groups, we
have kept unchanged or adjusted higher our usage estimates for Snapchat and
Instagram, suggesting younger social network users are turning away from
Facebook in favor of other platforms.
Facebook’s community of monthly users in the US will grow
2.4% this year to 172.9 million people, a figure slightly higher than
previously forecast due to increased
adoption by older internet users.
But the social network’s monthly user base among the
marketer-coveted 12 to 17 age group will fall 3.4% vs. 2016 to 14.5 million
people—the second consecutive year of expected usage declines by this group and
one that will have accelerated from the 1.2% slip seen in 2016.
… “We see teens
and tweens migrating to Snapchat and Instagram. Both platforms have found success with this
demographic since they are more aligned with how they communicate—that is,
using visual content.
Perspective.
The Promise of Artificial Intelligence
by on
Center for Data Innovation: “Artificial intelligence (AI)
has the potential to dramatically transform huge swathes of the economy and
society for the better, and as the technology continues to
make headlines many countries are developing plans to ensure they can take full
advantage of these benefits. Below is a
high-level overview of a number of national-level policies some countries have
undertaken to take advantage on the technology. While it is not intended to be an exhaustive
list of every policy initiative countries have launched around AI, it is meant
to show the most significant ones. Canada,
China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all taken
high-profile steps towards advancing AI over the past two years. These range from prospective research about
the potential impacts of AI to large amounts of funding and ambitious strategic
plans to bolster national capacity to take advantage of the technology. While it appears the United States is the
early leader in developing and adopting AI, many other countries are working
diligently to surpass it as they recognize the importance that this technology
will have on economic competitiveness…”
But of course, Mark is not running for office… Will Trump start bad-mouthing Facebook?
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/347357-trump-reportedly-eyeing-mark-zuckerberg-as-a-2020-threat
Trump reportedly eyeing Zuckerberg as a 2020 threat
President Trump apparently sees Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg as a threat to his reelection campaign in 2020.
Zuckerberg is a part of a list of potential 2020
Democratic challengers whom Trump is watching, Politico
reported Monday. The list includes
dozens of individuals who could throw their hat in the ring for the
presidential race, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
On the Republican side, Trump allies are reportedly
keeping an eye on a possible primary challenge from Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
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