Tag Archives: authentication

1.2 billions usernames and passwords stolen

Passwords Stolen

Passwords Stolen
Image courtesy of chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Huge amount of usernames and passwords stolen

500 millions email addresses have been compromised, representing 1.2 billions usernames and passwords stolen by a Russian gang. The breach was discovered by Hold Security .The company did not reveal who exactly is affected, as it usually is the custom in the industry. Big players are involved, and you need to pay Hold security in order for them to recoup the costs, if you want to know if your company is affected.

How can you protect yourself?

One way to stay protected, is to use a password manager to create complex passwords. This allows to use different password for different sites and services. If one set of credential gets compromised, this does not affect the other services.  This is however not of much value if your PC has been compromised, or if the email servers themselves have been compromised.

It looks like so far, the hacked email addresses are only being used for sending spam.

Sources

 NY times

 BBC

Hold Security

Hold Security

Wall Street journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unsecured WiFi Mapped Out.

Buying a wireless router for your home WiFi network, or having it sent to you free of charge by your ISP should guarantee a secure network.

Unfortunately, this is not the case and the list of default passwords for each brand of equipment is well known. If you have a wireless PC or laptop, you just need to look at the list of available networks in the area, and the type of encryption used. The first piece of information is giving you the manufacturer of the router. Few people know how to change the SSID from the default settings, never mind the authentication of the encryption on the network. This means that in a lot of cases, the wireless network can be access by anyone with little or no effort.

In most countries wardriving is legal( looking for open networks). What is illegal is to use the discovered network.

Why is the problem with open WiFi? You could be sharing the data on your computer, reveal your credential for internet banking (for example), and be legally liable for anything illegal taking place from your network .

When are manufacturers and ISPs going to start producing or supplying equipment that can either properly secure itself ? May be what is needed is equipment with a proper set of instructions usable by the general public.

NetSafe has been wardriving in  the suburbs of Wellington, and the results are sobering. Have a look at this article describing the results.

www.stuff.co.nz

NEWTOWN’S WiFi NETWORKS