XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Thursday 16 January 2014

For The First Time Hackers Have Used A Refrigerator - to send malicious emails -

For The First Time Hackers Have Used A Refrigerator - to send malicious emails - 



Security researchers at Proofpoint have uncovered the very first wide-scale hack that involved television sets and at least one refrigerator.
Yes, a fridge.

This is being hailed as the first home appliance "botnet" and the first cyberattack from the Internet of Things.

A botnet is a series of computers that seem to be ordinary computers functioning in people's homes and businesses, but are really secretly controlled by hackers. The Internet of Things, is a new term in the tech industry that refers to a concept where every device in your house gets its own computer chip, software, and connection to the Internet: your fridge, thermostat, smart water meter, door locks, etc.

To a hacker, they all become computers that can be hacked and controlled.

In this case, hackers broke into more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets, such as home-networking routers, connected multi-media centers, televisions, and at least one refrigerator, Proofpoint says. They then used those objects to send more than 750,000 malicious emails to enterprises and individuals worldwide.

In the press release, Proofpoint explains:

The hack happened between December 23, 2013 and January 6, 2014, and featured waves of malicious email, typically sent in bursts of 100,000, three times per day, targeting enterprises and individuals worldwide.
About three-quarters of the emails were sent by regular computers, but the rest, slightly more than one-quarter, were sent by hacked home appliances.
Hackers didn't have to be amazingly smart when breaking into home appliances. Many times they gained access because the home owners didn't set them up correctly, or used the default password that came with the device.
Most homes are not yet a part of the Internet of Things, and looks like hackers will already be there to greet them when they arrive.

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Google Accused Of Violating Canadian Privacy Law - used sensitive personal information to target health-related ads - 


Google Inc. used sensitive personal information to target health-related ads at users, in violation of privacy law in Canada, a Canadian privacy watchdog said Wednesday. The agency said its investigation was triggered by a complaint from a man with sleep apnea, who said he was "followed" by ads for devices geared to treating the condition after conducting online searches on the illness. "As Canadians spend more and more time online, they create a digital trail that can reveal a great deal about a person," the agency's interim privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier said in a statement. "Organizations such as Google must ensure privacy rights are respected in this complex environment." Google has agreed to "take steps aimed at stopping the privacy-intrusive ads," the agency said. Google could not immediately be reached for comment. Google shares were up 0.1% in Wednesday trades.

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Edmonton airport staff let go teen found with Explosive - called police four days later -

Edmonton airport staff let go teen found with Explosive - called police four days later - 



The agency responsible for airport screening says its staff made a mistake when they confiscated an explosive device from a passenger’s bag but let the young man get on a plane rather than calling police.
Mathieu Larocque, spokesman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, said staff in Edmonton should have contacted police right away, not four days later.
He said a review was conducted after the incident last fall and some screening employees were suspended.
“There were people disciplined and they were required to take extra training,” Larocque said Wednesday. “The procedure is to call the police and it didn’t happen or it happened very late in the process.”
News of the foul-up only made headlines this week. Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt issued a statement earlier Wednesday calling the incident unacceptable.
“The safety of Canadians and the travelling public is our government’s top priority,” Raitt said. “This individual should not have been allowed to board his flight, and it is unacceptable that CATSA waited four days before seeking the RCMP’s assistance.”
She said she planned to call the president of the agency to discuss the matter further.
Skylar Murphy of Spruce Grove, Alta., pleaded guilty last month to possession of an explosive substance while at the Edmonton International Airport on Sept. 20. He was 18 at the time, but has since turned 19.
Murphy was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $100.
Court documents describe the material seized from his carry-on luggage as “black powder” and some reports say it was a 15-centimetre pipe bomb with a fuse wrapped around it.
CBC and The Edmonton Journal quoted sources as saying a screening officer tried to return the device to Murphy when it was found, but the teen didn’t want it back.
The media outlets reported Murphy made the device while fooling around with friends and mistakenly left it in a bag he was taking on a trip to Mexico with his family.
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RCMP spokeswoman Josee Valiquette said officials with the security authority notified police on Sept. 24 about the seizure. Officers arrested Murphy on Sept. 27 at the airport, following his return flight home.
Larocque said it’s procedure for screening staff to immediately call police if they find something suspicious. “Our screening officers are not police officers and they can’t charge anybody with a crime.”
Officers are stationed at major airports. It’s up to them to decide if a passenger should be arrested or allowed on a plane, said Larocque.
He said training for screening staff across the country is being updated to emphasize the procedure.

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Air Canada loses snowboards ahead of athlete's Olympic qualifier -

Air Canada loses snowboards ahead of athlete's Olympic qualifier - 

Snowboards FILES Jan. 16/14

This week is Tim Laidlaw's last chance to qualify for the Winter Olympics, but he lost important practice time after his snowboard was misplaced by Air Canada.

"You have lost my bags with my last chance to qualify for #Sochi2014 which is tomorrow. Help or break some dreams," the Australian athlete tweeted at the airline Wednesday.

Laidlaw and fellow snowboarder Declan Vogel-Paul were on their way to Quebec City to take part in the final International Ski Federation event when the airline lost their equipment.

On Facebook, the team's coach, Jarrod Wouters, wrote the airline was "not making our lives very easy right now."

On Thursday morning, Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said the snowboards were delivered to the team Wednesday evening and the airline was sorry for the delay.

"Just received my bags," Laidlaw said in a tweet at 8:20 a.m. Thursday. "On my way to last day of training. Already missed out on two training sessions."

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