“Hack everybody you can.”
That’s the theme of the newly discovered, enormous breach of Microsoft Exchange email servers around the world, affecting hundreds of thousands of organizations.
Christopher Krebs, formerly the highest-ranking cybersecurity official in the US government, called it “crazy huge hack”, and IT experts around the globe are comparing it to 9/11, the Titanic, etc., saying it’s the biggest in history.
According to statements from Microsoft, the primary actor this time is a Chinese-based group with the code name HAFNIUM, which usually targets “infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks and NGOs.”
But this time, they got out the firehouse, going for collateral damage.
Microsoft’s wasn’t the only huge breach that came to light last week: hackers also infiltrated 150,000 live security-camera feeds, including those of Tesla, hospitals, and prisons.
Again, both attacks came to light just in the past week. There will be more. And your data might be swept up as part of the collateral damage.
There’s not much you can do to prevent an outright mass assault on your data. But you CAN take back control of what data you willingly give out.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
If you answer yes to any of these, then you may be giving your personal data to people who won’t do nice things with it.
Taking back some control of your digital privacy is akin to installing a good deadbolt on a steel security door: it might not keep everyone out, but it will make criminals work harder to get in. Usually, they’ll leave and go for low-hanging fruit.
In today’s Monthly Letter, we’ll explore the ideas of digital privacy and security, and give you some simple tips on forcing the bad guys to work harder.
Consider it part of your digital Plan B.
That’s the theme of the newly discovered, enormous breach of Microsoft Exchange email servers around the world, affecting hundreds of thousands of organizations.
Christopher Krebs, formerly the highest-ranking cybersecurity official in the US government, called it “crazy huge hack”, and IT experts around the globe are comparing it to 9/11, the Titanic, etc., saying it’s the biggest in history.
According to statements from Microsoft, the primary actor this time is a Chinese-based group with the code name HAFNIUM, which usually targets “infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks and NGOs.”
But this time, they got out the firehouse, going for collateral damage.
Microsoft’s wasn’t the only huge breach that came to light last week: hackers also infiltrated 150,000 live security-camera feeds, including those of Tesla, hospitals, and prisons.
Again, both attacks came to light just in the past week. There will be more. And your data might be swept up as part of the collateral damage.
There’s not much you can do to prevent an outright mass assault on your data. But you CAN take back control of what data you willingly give out.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Do you invite Alexa, Siri, and Google into your home via smart devices?
- Do you use the same password for more than one login?
- Do you use Gmail or some other free email service?
If you answer yes to any of these, then you may be giving your personal data to people who won’t do nice things with it.
Taking back some control of your digital privacy is akin to installing a good deadbolt on a steel security door: it might not keep everyone out, but it will make criminals work harder to get in. Usually, they’ll leave and go for low-hanging fruit.
In today’s Monthly Letter, we’ll explore the ideas of digital privacy and security, and give you some simple tips on forcing the bad guys to work harder.
Consider it part of your digital Plan B.
“Hack everybody you can.” That’s the theme of the newly discovered, enormous breach of Microsoft Exchange email servers around the world, affecting hundreds of thousands of organizations. Christopher Krebs, formerly the highest-ranking cybersecurity official in the US government, called it “crazy huge hack”, and IT experts around the globe are comparing it to 9/11, the…
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