Security News Bites for the Week Ending April 5, 2019
Oops – Office Depot Mimics Phone Phishers
Thanks to reader Gina for this one. Office Depot got caught scamming its customers telling them they had (fake) malware on their computers when they asked OD and its vendor Support.com to scan their computers.
No, they didn’t have malware – just a bill for unneeded services.
While taking your computer to Office Depot or Best Buy is convenient and inexpensive, historically, it has not always worked to your advantage.
Office Depot will pay $25 Mil in fines; Support.com another $10 Mil. Source: Ars Technica.
FBI Doesn’t Warn Hacking Victims of Their Rights
The FBI’s Office of Inspector General says that the FBI does not warn victims of international cyber-espionage that their data was under attack, say by the Russians.
The OIG says that FBI victim letters were almost never sent in national security cyber cases.
The FBI’s Office of Victim Assistance blames outdated guidelines. An AP investigation showed that only a handful of the victims of Russian hacking during the 2016 election season received any assistance from the FBI.
This is consistent with my post this week titled “Who *IS* going to rescue us” . Plan on protecting yourself. Source: Seattle Pi.
Earl Restaurants Admits Breach – Likely 2 Million Cards Hacked
Early Enterprises, parent of Buca de Beppo, Earl of Sandwich , Planet Hollywood and other brands finally admitted that their point of sale system was hacked. For almost a year before someone told them. No, they did not find it themselves.
They are not providing any details; not even information on how many cards were stolen. They are also not offering any support to the victims other than a web page FAQ and a call center to complain to. Beyond that, you are on your own. Source: Brian Krebs.
Lock ‘Em Up!
No, I am not talking about our President at a campaign rally.
But I am talking about a Presidential candidate.
Elizabeth Warren wants to make sure that CEOs who are at the controls of companies who have large breaches, like Equifax, are held accountable.
For companies that earn more than a billion dollars in revenue the consequences of a breach could be a year in jail. Repeat offenders could get three years in jail. Source: Ars Technica.
More on Hidden Cameras in Rental Properties
In March I wrote about the problem with hidden cameras in rental properties and hotel rooms (see post here). This week there was an article in CNN discussing this very issue.
A Family with 5 kids is travelling around the world and when they arrived in Ireland, the father scanned for WiFi signals and found a hidden camera that was livestreaming their stay. It didn’t say if scanning for cameras was their normal practice.
The owner would not confirm whether there were more cameras, so the family moved to a hotel, but AirBnB would not refund their money.
In fact, initially, AirBnB claimed to investigate the owner and after the investigation, said there was no problem and reinstated the listing.
Only after they posted the item on social media and the local New Zealand news stations picked up the item did AirBnB understand the potential brand damage and refund their money.
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