Zack Whittaker
TechCrunch
New York, NY, United States
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Recent articles by Zack:
Microsoft is considering dropping its Windows password expiration policy –
Microsoft has proposed scrapping a policy in Windows that requires users to periodically change their login password. In a blog post, the software giant said its new draft security configuration baseline settings would no longer force users whose accounts are controlled by a network’s group policy to change their passwords every few weeks or months. […] → Read More
A court ruling ‘chalking’ illegal could make way for more privacy-invasive tech –
If you’ve ever had a parking ticket, there’s a good chance you know what “chalking” is. A federal appeals court ruled this week that the practice of marking a car tires unconstitutional, a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights against unwarranted searches and seizures. For years traffic enforcement officers have marked car tires with chalk […] → Read More
Manufacturing giant Aebi Schmidt hit by ransomware –
Aebi Schmidt, a European manufacturing giant with operations in the U.S., has been hit by a ransomware attack, TechCrunch has learned. The Switzerland-based maker of airport maintenance and road cleaning vehicles had operations disrupted Tuesday following the malware infection, according to a source with knowledge of the incident. Systems went down across the company’s international […] → Read More
Tumblr – finally – enables HTTPS for all accounts –
Better late than never, Tumblr has rolled out HTTPS across its entire site. In a brief post on Tumblr’s engineering page, the company said all Tumblr sites will now have the web encryption setting enabled by default, though it admitted the move was “long-overdue.” Tumblr, which like TechCrunch is owned by Verizon, has 464 million […] → Read More
Security lapse at contract startup Evisort exposed sensitive data
Evisort, a document and contract management company, left one of its document databases unsecured, exposing customer data. → Read More
A hotspot finder app exposed 2 million Wi-Fi network passwords
A popular hotspot finder app for Android exposed the Wi-Fi network passwords for more than two million networks. The app, downloaded by thousands of users, allowed anyone to search for Wi-Fi networks in their nearby area. → Read More
What you missed in cybersecurity this week
It’s been a busy week — it’s tough to keep up with all the cybersecurity news. → Read More
Sri Lanka blocks social media sites after deadly explosions
The government of Sri Lanka has temporarily blocked access to several social media services following deadly explosions that ripped through the country, killing at least 207 people and injuring hundreds more. → Read More
The UK’s latest list of most hacked passwords is as bad as you’d think
Names, soccer players, musicians and fictional characters make up some of the worst passwords of the year, according to the U.K. government’s National Cyber Security Center. But nothing beats “123456” as the worst password of all. → Read More
Malware researcher Marcus Hutchins pleads guilty, ending his legal case
Malware researcher Marcus Hutchins has pleaded guilty to two counts of creating and selling a powerful banking malware, ending a long and protracted battle with U.S. prosecutors. → Read More
Hacker dumps thousands of sensitive Mexican embassy documents online
A hacker has stolen thousands of documents from Mexico’s embassy in Guatemala and posted online. The hacker, who goes by the online handle @0x55Taylor, tweeted a link to the data earlier this week. → Read More
Russian hacked ‘at least one’ Florida county prior to 2016 election
Russian operatives successfully targeted and hacked “at least one” Florida county government in the run up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to new findings by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller. → Read More
Facebook now says its password leak affected ‘millions’ of Instagram users
Facebook has confirmed its password-related security incident last month now affects “millions” of Instagram users, not “tens of thousands” of users as first thought. → Read More
Mueller report sheds new light on how the Russians hacked the DNC and the Clinton campaign
The Mueller report contains new information about how the Russian government hacked documents and emails from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee . → Read More
Read the Mueller report here
The Mueller report has been published. It was posted at 11am ET, a month after Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his findings to the Justice Department examining Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Per remarks by U.S. → Read More
Chipotle customers are saying their accounts have been hacked
A stream of Chipotle customers have said their accounts have been hacked and are reporting fraudulent orders charged to their credit cards — sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars. → Read More
A new state-backed hacker group is hijacking government domains at a phenomenal pace
A few months ago, researchers at Cisco’s Talos cybersecurity unit sounded the alarm after discovering a previously undiscovered hacker group targeting a core part of the internet’s infrastructure. → Read More
Evernote fixes macOS app bug that allowed remote code execution
Evernote has fixed a vulnerability that could have allowed an attacker to run malicious code on a victim’s computer. Dhiraj Mishra, a security researcher based in Dubai, reported the bug to Evernote on March 17. → Read More
Security flaw in EA’s Origin client exposed gamers to hackers
Electronic Arts has fixed a vulnerability in its online gaming platform Origin after security researchers found they could trick an unsuspecting gamer into remotely running malicious code on their computer. → Read More
Scranos, a new rootkit malware, steals passwords and pushes YouTube clicks
Security researchers have discovered an unusual new malware that steals user passwords and account payment methods stored in a victim’s browser — and also silently pushes up YouTube subscribers and revenue. → Read More