Iran-linked hackers suspected of attacking US during shutdown

A lack of funding and furloughed IT security staff opened civilian agencies up to an attack that hijacked the internet’s Domain Name System (DNS).

The recently-ended US government shutdown, the longest in history, looks to have had consequences for American government agencies.

Iran-based hackers are suspected of the attack, which intended to redirect unsuspecting site visitors to fraudulent webpages that can then be used to steal information.

Though the shutdown is now over, we may not know the extent of damage inflicted until government agencies have complete their audits. 

Source: Sky News

Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp to merge

Facebook recently announced their plans to allow cross-platform messaging between three popular services: Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp.

The move by the social networking giant comes at a strange time, considering it is embattled with numerous breaches of public trust.

While Facebook says the three brands will remain separate, the move has raised a few eyebrows. It is unclear how they’ll protect information across three different platforms – and Whatsapp’s claim to fame is its encrypted communication.

Facebook has also not explained how they’ll use data gathered from communications in the three apps to shape their advertising. The smart money says that this latest move is not happening to simply make cross-platform communications easier. 

Source: CNET

Chrome update could stop ad blockers from working properly

An upcoming update to Google’s Chrome web browser has raised concerns about ad blockers and other privacy tools.

Designed to protect users from fraudulent browser extensions, the Manifest V3 changes could prevent many popular services including uBlock Origin, Ghostery, Privowny, NoScript. 

Source: Ars Technica

UK citizens lose $250,000 per day to cyber-crime

According to the BBC, phishing and hacking victims in the United Kingdom suffered losses of $45.67 million from April to September 2018.

Over a third of these people were compromised through their email and social media accounts – a stark reminder that it’s important to always use strong passwords.

Source: BBC News