Screen shot 2012-02-22 at 2.10.37 PM
iphone
iOS Bug Allows Access to Contacts Without a Passcode

If you think that your iPhone is impenetrable thanks to its security passcode, think again. A new bug has been exposed in iOS 5.0.1 that allows unauthorised access to contacts and the calling features of the iPhone.

medium_4613f0db0390a4125371ce5788937257
privacy
Microsoft Says Google Secretly Planted Cookies in Internet Explorer Too (Updated)

Fresh off the report that Google was bypassing the privacy settings of Safari users by installing cookies that could track browsing habits, Microsoft has discovered that Google has been doing the same thing on Internet Explorer. This is not good.

facebook-hack-jailed
security
UK’s Facebook Hacker Jailed for Eight Months

26-year-old Glenn Mangham, who admitted hacking Facebook from within his bedroom at his parents' house in York, has been jailed for eight months. At least it now means he's moved out of mum & dad's house.

medium_1dd6ec9a7a356c0d7810afc81e777f76
security
The Simple, Brilliant Way to Stop RFID Robbers

The money of the future won't be cash, or even sliding plastic—it'll just be a wave of the hand, we're all told. RFID-enabled credit cards sound great, but add an unprecedented theft risk. So how about an on/off switch?

Google logo
google
Google’s iPhone Privacy Invasion (Updated)

A report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that Google has been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of Safari users, by tracking the browsing habits of people, even if they thought they had blocked such monitoring.

medium_1ddd6fb13266f86bcc646f107a25b7ac
privacy
Twitter Saves Your Address Book’s Contents for 18 Months

Twitter, did you learn nothing from Path's recent kerfuffle? Customers do not like it when you remotely store their personal information, especially without telling them.

medium_2bfdb6c778b381a99e425a0d42bda632
china
Travelling in Modern Day China Requires Cold War Era Secret Agent Skills

If Kenneth G. Lieberthal were anything but a China expert at the Brookings institution, his travelling-in-China security procedures would read like the product of a paranoid mind that watched too many spy movies as a kid:

medium_3aaf81c486fb9270470d8824fb9fd859
hacking
Microsoft Store India Hacked, Passwords Leaked

Another day, another technology giant hacked. This time, it's Microsoft's Indian web store that's been attacked by the EvilShadow team. The big problem: Microsoft was storing passwords as plain text.

Google Wallet hack
google
Google Wallet Has Been Hacked Again, Now Without Root

That's twice. In two days. Yesterday, security firm Zvelo discovered a potential exploit against rooted phones. Today, tech blog TheSmartphoneChamp discovered how to accomplish the same feat on non-rooted phones. This is not good news for the supposed pre-Olympics rollout.

Screen Shot 2012-02-09 at 21.42.22
watch this
Watch As Zoo Keepers Struggle To Contain a Deadly Rhino Piñata

Even zoos have to prepare for worst-case-scenarios, like when an animal escapes its enclosure. But I'm not so sure the paper mache rhinoceros used at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo really drives the point home of how dangerous this could be.

medium_7f88f4d6ad308b9332df8e3296c9745d
foxconn
Foxconn Hacked, Making Its Passwords Publicly Available

Foxconn has more to worry about. As well as struggling to deal with allegations of exploitative working conditions in its factories, it's now had the bad fortune of being hacked, having login and password information spread across the web.

Google Wallet Cracker
security
Google Wallet’s PIN System Has Been Cracked But Don’t Panic Just Yet

The security PIN system that Google Wallet users have to enter to verify transactions has been compromised. Thankfully, the chances of your wallet being used against you is relatively low — assuming you haven't rooted your phone, that is.

Europe Vrs Facebook
facebook
How a Single Student Is Transforming Facebook’s Privacy Policy in Europe

To most people that know him, Max Schrems is a typical law student from Austria. To Facebook, he is a massive pain in the ass. Outsmarting their attorneys, bombarding them with legal complaints and forming activist groups, he plans to transform Facebook's privacy policy in Europe.

medium_b70520b7c7aae2966151cd25bb66ea66
security
Hackers Demanded £30,000 to Sit on Stolen Symantec Source Code

According to email transcripts posted to Pastebin yesterday, and confirmed by the company, a group of hackers attempted to extort £30,000 from Symantec in exchange for not releasing its stolen PCAnywhere and Norton Antivirus source code.

medium_72a9a262448dc7799d214ce99d313373
hacking
New "Man in the Browser" Attack Bypasses Banks’ Two-Factor Authentication Systems

The banking industry often employs two-step security measures—similar to Google Authenticator—as an added layer of protection against password theft and fraud. Unfortunately, those systems have just been rendered moot by a highly-advanced hack.