Recently, HBO suffered a massive data breach. The hackers stole unreleased episodes of Game of Thrones and have been leaking them before they are broadcast. Episodes of other shows were also stolen. The hackers grabbed 1.5 terabytes of data including sensitive internal documents.
As the FBI warned, ransomware has proven to be a formidable threat costing businesses over $1 billion in 2016, averaging 4,000 attacks per day. Ransomware forces victims to choose between losing access to their files or paying a fee that can range between hundreds and thousands of dollars. Ransomware has already made headlines in the first […]
The passing of Justice Antonin Scalia has brought a wave of speculation about current and future U.S. Supreme Court cases. One area where there might be a significant impact will be the 4th Amendment, which provides the primary constitutional protection against government surveillance and information gathering. A new justice could usher in a dramatic expansion […]
By Daniel J. Solove The SplashData annual list of the 25 most widely used bad passwords recently was posted for passwords used in 2015. The list is compiled annually by examining passwords leaked during a particular year. Here is the list of passwords for 2015, and below it, I have some thoughts and reactions to […]
By Daniel J. Solove Proponents for allowing government officials to have backdoors to encrypted communications need to read Franz Kafka. Nearly a century ago, Kafka deftly captured the irony at the heart of their argument in his short story, “The Burrow.” After the Paris attacks, national security proponents in the US and abroad have been […]
By Daniel J. Solove It is essential that children learn about data privacy and security. Their lives will be fully enveloped by technologies that involve data. But far too little about these topics is currently taught in most schools. Fortunately, there is a solution, one that I’m proud to have been involved in creating. The […]
I am pleased to announce the launch of our new training program, Social Engineering: Spies and Sabotage. This course is a short module (~7 minutes long) that provides a general introduction to social engineering. After discussing several types of social engineering (phishing, baiting, pretexting, and tailgaiting), the course provides advice for avoiding these tricks and […]
A study recently revealed that nearly 25% of data breaches involve phishing, and it is the second most frequent data security threat companies face. Phishing is an enormous problem, and it is getting worse. In a staggering statistic, on average, a company with 10,000 employees will spend $3.7 million per year handling phishing attacks.
by Daniel J. Solove In a recent report (link no longer available), MIT security experts critiqued calls by government law enforcement for backdoor access to encrypted information. As the experts aptly stated: “Political and law enforcement leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom have called for Internet systems to be redesigned to ensure […]
by Daniel J. Solove I’ve really been enjoying the new TV series Mr. Robot on USA. Network. It presents highly-engaging depictions of hacking and social engineering, and it is great entertainment for privacy and security geeks. The protagonist is Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek), a tech who works at a cybersecurity firm in New York City. […]