Private Email – Part 1
In that last few years we've come to see more and more that things we thought were private, simply aren't. Whether it is companies that want to sell you things, the government wanting to find terrorist plots, or thieves looking for personal data to aid with identity...
Shhh! Google Might Be Listening…
Anyone who harbors suspicions of what the search engine giant might be up was given good reason to be even more alarmed recently. Google has been accused of eavesdropping on users of its Chromium browsers. Some people noticed that the browser would download modules...
Critical New Microsoft Security Flaws Revealed
There's a certain rich irony in the recent hack of the notorious Hacking Team. Though they self-righteously claim to be selling solutions to law enforcement, Hacking Team is an evil group of professional hackers and malware vendors. They got pwned themselves recently,...
Supersize Your Passwords
A report by Anthony Mason on the CBS Evening News recently highlighted the latest consumer security concerns about hackers. A "white hat" expert from the security firm Trustwave managed to break Mason's 7-character password in just 37 seconds. And it wasn't an obvious...
The Worst Hack Ever Just Got Worse
This month's issue of the Portal is all about the giant hack of the Office of Personnel Management's files. Anyone who has applied for a government security clearance since 2000 – or is a close relative or friend of someone who did – should definitely read the...
Burn After Reading: Private Messages Made Simple
Email and texting are great modern conveniences, but they were never intended to be secret. Nowadays, with hackers dumping stolen messages on the Web and the government recording everything, these methods are decidedly risky for sending any information that must...