Security News Update for August 17, 2024
White House Working on Cyber Insurance Policy for Catastrophes
The White House is working on a policy proposal to stabilize the economy in case of a massive cyber incident. This would require help from Congress, of course, but it is certainly possible that we could have a cyber 9/11 that would require a federal bailout. Figuring that out now rather than in the heat of the moment would help us avoid some of the mistakes we made in the aftermath of the last 9/11. Credit: The Record
Crypto Bros for Trump Nervous
Recently Trump made a bunch of promises to the crypto elites in Nashville in an effort to separate them from some of their money. When they made those donations they thought Trump was a shoe-in in November. Now that the polls are basically tied with a number of polls showing Harris ahead, the bros are trying the mend fences. Harris, coming from California, is likely to be tech friendly. Altogether, both sides are trying to woo the crypto industry although promises made before an election don’t necessarily translate to actions after one. Stay tuned on this issue. Credit: Cyber News
I Bet the Airbnb Host Didn’t Expect This
A guest rented an Airbnb house for three weeks for $1500 (that seems like a bargain. According to the host, the guest left the house in immaculate condition – except for the electric bill. The host usually had a $150 electric bill, but when the next bill came in, it was for $1500. The guest ponied up for the electric saying that that they made $100,000 during the three week stay – by crypto mining. They also hired an electrician to install a Tesla charging box. The host has added a few new rules to the rental agreement. Credit: Cybernews
Kim Dotcom Loses Extradition Battle
Kim Dotcom (yes, he legally changed his name) was the founder of the illegal file sharing site Megaupload. He faces multiple charges in the US and has been fighting extradition since 2012. The site was reported to have made $175 million before the New Zealand feds raided his mansion at the request of the FBI. Sort of like Facebook and Twitter, he claims he can’t be held responsible for what users uploaded to his site. There is a very slim chance the NZ Supreme Court will change its mind but if not, he will be a guest of the US feds for a very long time. Credit: Newsweek
Source of 3 Billion Record Breach Uncovered
Earlier this week the breach of almost 3 billion records, some with socials and emails and all with other information became public. It was believed to stem from a breach at background check firm National Public Data in April. NPD offers an API for other companies who do background checks. But it is a bit of a twisted road as to how the data got from NPD to being available on the dark web. The data goes back 30 years and contains info on US and UK citizens. The leaked data contains 134 million unique emails and 272 unique socials. The average age of the victims is 70 and the oldest would be 120 if still alive. In fact, it is suspected, based on birth dates, that a lot of the people are, in fact, deceased. Still, we don’t know everything; more will come out. Credit: The Register
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