Disinformation in the age of social media: Renée DiResta’s Black Hat 2020 keynote

Black Hat USA is a major event in the world of information security. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the conference went virtual — and the organizers offered open access to many of the most important talks and sessions. 

Among these were two timely keynote addresses that deal with issues around election security, one of which was delivered by Renée DiResta. DiResta is the Research Manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, an interdisciplinary program that studies the misuse of information technologies. Her work focuses on the way in which narratives spread …

ThiefQuest malware for macOS is a triple threat

In this piece, we’ll discuss ThiefQuest’s key capabilities, and we’ll also tell you how to protect yourself from an infection.

Chris Hadnagy on social engineering

Chris Hadnagy is one of the world’s foremost authorities on social engineering. He has written four books on the topic, including Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking and Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security. Hadnagy has been a prominent figure in the security industry for many years, founding the popular Social Engineering Village (SEVillage) at DEF CON, and establishing the Innocent Lives Foundation, a non-profit organization that coordinates the resources of the infosec community to fight online child predators. Hadnagy’s company, Social-Engineer, LLC, helps …

What is key-based 2FA?

Standard 2FA has some important limitations, which is why many security experts believe that key-based 2FA is the wave of the future — especially now that Apple has made changes to make it much more accessible to iPhone and iPad users.

Government issues alert about cyberattacks on critical infrastructure

The U.S. government has issued an alert warning that there is an increased danger of cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure. The alert comes from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Checklist 192: Twitter Hack 2020

A week behind us, the great Twitter hack is still unfolding. We’ll look at what we think we know so far and why the hack itself matters on this edition of The Checklist, brought to you by SecureMac.

Twitter hack was an inside job, sources say

On Wednesday, multiple verified, high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised, including the accounts of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple. Hackers made tweets requesting charitable donations in the form of Bitcoin, promising to double any contribution made within the next 30 minutes. The tweets were, of course, fraudulent — and the Bitcoin wallet addresses set up to accept the cryptocurrency “donations” belonged to the scammers.

Twitter reacted quickly to the attack, removing the offending tweets, locking down affected accounts, and preventing users from tweeting or resetting their passwords as the company attempted …

EARN IT Act moves forward, worrying privacy advocates

The “EARN IT” Act is slowly making its way through the U.S. Senate. Despite strong public criticism, an amended version of the bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in early July, setting the stage for full hearings in the near future.

In this article, we’ll discuss the background to EARN IT, and let you know why some people say it’s a serious threat to free speech and digital privacy.

What is EARN IT?

EARN IT (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies) is the name of a bill currently …

Is Mac malware evolving?

Mac malware is increasing in quantity, and many security researchers say it’s becoming more sophisticated as well. While some Mac users are still a bit blasé about the threats facing the platform, the last few weeks have provided two great examples of the evolution of Mac malware. In what follows, we’ll fill you in on the details, and offer some thoughts about what it all means for the future of macOS security.

Old malware, new delivery method

Security researchers at Intego recently spotted what seemed to be a new variant of Mac …

Browser extensions and your privacy

afari is getting a major overhaul in macOS 11 Big Sur, and one of the most important privacy enhancements has to do with browser extensions

10 tips for getting back on the road again

Covid-19 lockdowns are starting to lift, and people are already beginning to travel for work and family reasons. We’ve shared cybersecurity best practices for travel before, but this year, there are some pandemic-related considerations to add to the list. 

Here, then, are 10 things to keep in mind if you’re going to be hitting the road in the coming months (starting with five “new normal” additions to the usual advice, and rounding things out with five always-relevant tips for secure travel).

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Security for new high school grads

It’s high school graduation time again! COVID-19 has brought some big changes this year, with drive-thru graduations and Zoom commencement speeches taking the place of traditional ceremonies. But despite the differences, one thing is guaranteed to remain the same: The bad guys will be targeting new grads for fraud, scams, and identity theft.

If you know a member of the Class of 2020, here are three things you can do to help keep them safe.

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