Cybersecurity

Gamergate shows that Web harassment by ‘faceless multitude’ is beyond reach of the law, WaPo says

When a former relationship ended in an allegedly harassing online diatribe, Zoe Quinn got a restraining order against Eron Gjoni. But then a bigger problem began, the Washington Post (reg. req.) reports in a lengthy story. A group of anonymous individuals involved in an online attack known as Gamergate targeted…

Feb 18, 2016 1:10 PM CST

An hour spent on security checklist will help block hackers, WSJ tech columnist says

An hour spent on a security checklist developed by a newspaper columnist can significantly enhance the chance of avoiding hack attacks, he contends. Published in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the checklist by personal technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler guides the reader through software updates, password improvements and browser privacy,…

Feb 3, 2016 4:35 PM CST

Bank tellers may pose greater threat to customers than hackers, NY Times says

It may not be hackers that pose the biggest threat to bank customers’ funds and personal information. Bank tellers have access to a great deal of information about customers, as well as their accounts, and a lack of security and enforcement against those who transgress leaves customers vulnerable, the New…

Feb 3, 2016 11:10 AM CST

Lawyers and clients beware: Spoof phone calls may direct funds to scammers

Lawyers should consider warning clients not to assume that caller ID is correct when it shows that a call seems to be coming from their attorney’s phone number, says the State Bar of Arizona in a news release. Scammers may be “spoofing” phone numbers of attorneys—tricking caller ID into displaying…

Feb 1, 2016 2:35 PM CST

Programmer gets probation in spam scheme instead of 2 years recommended by sentencing guidelines

Federal sentencing guidelines called for two years in prison for computer expert who wrote a program that helped scammers send millions of spam messages to illegally harvest email addresses and phone numbers, but on Thursday a federal judge in Pittsburgh sentenced him to just two years of probation, the Associated…

Jan 29, 2016 1:05 PM CST

Hackers are stealing closing funds by intercepting lawyer-client email, experts say

Hackers are intercepting email between lawyers and clients, as well as real estate agents and their clients, in an effort to steal closing funds. The scheme has been successful in at least 91 cases involving the theft of an average of 112,000 pounds, a British newspaper reports. And a San…

Jan 11, 2016 4:15 PM CST

You can sue someone who broke into your email, but you’d better find proof fast

In August 2011, New York City teacher Chantay Sewell tried to log in to her AOL account and couldn't. Shortly afterward, a message making defamatory claims about her sex life went out from her email address. Seven months later, the same thing happened with her Facebook account.

Jan 1, 2016 3:30 AM CST

Teenager whose prank calls sent armed SWAT teams to dozens of US homes got 16 months

A single Canadian teenager made dozens of prank phone calls to police throughout the U.S., sending SWAT teams to hold innocent individuals at gunpoint at their homes as authorities investigated his false claims of dangerous crimes in progress. But because of both legal loopholes and the teen’s location on the…

Nov 25, 2015 2:30 PM CST

Belgium authorities ask for Internet silence on police ops; Twitterverse responds with cat memes

Concerned that social media messages could alert suspects in Brussels, where police have been conducting sweeps for possible terrorists linked to recent Paris attacks, authorities in Belgium asked the country’s citizens and news media to refrain from tweets and Internet posts about raids. Over the weekend, defense minister Steven Vandeput…

Nov 23, 2015 4:05 PM CST

Does lawyer have ethical duty to replace hacked client funds? It depends, ethics opinion says

A lawyer who takes reasonable computer security precautions has no ethical responsibility to replace stolen client money when a hacker breaks into the network and pilfers trust account funds, according to an ethics opinion by the North Carolina State Bar. The hacking hypothetical is one of seven scenarios involving stolen…

Nov 23, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Accidental release of millions of Georgia voters’ private info leads to suit against state

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office accidentally sent protected personal information for its states’ registered voters on computer disks to third parties last month, along with the public voter-registration records for which those organizations had paid. A Fulton County lawsuit filed Tuesday by two women says the personal information for…

Nov 19, 2015 3:20 PM CST

Report: Hacked jail phone records show 14,000 calls to lawyers were taped

An analysis of a massive trove of phone records from a major provider of prison and jail services found at least 14,000 taped calls between inmates and attorneys, the Intercept reports. Its review of the purported Securus Technologies records–which were sent to the Intercept by an anonymous hacker–raises questions about…

Nov 11, 2015 1:55 PM CST

DOJ: Hacking schemes ‘breathtaking in size and scope’ targeted 12 companies, got data on 100 million

Expanding charges in a case against two Israeli men and a U.S. citizen, a federal prosecutor on Tuesday unsealed a superseding indictment (PDF) and accused them of playing a role in a sprawling years-long series of hacking schemes that stole personal data for 100 million people and targeted a dozen…

Nov 10, 2015 3:55 PM CST

‘Very obsolete’ security clearance procedures let Manning and Snowden get by, ‘60 Minutes’ reports

After a fatal 2013 mass shooting by a government contractor at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., the feds overhauled security clearance procedures, and another review is now ongoing. But more still needs to be done, a 60 Minutes report suggests. Pointing to the “profoundly psychotic” Navy Yard shooter Aaron…

Nov 9, 2015 1:30 PM CST

Half of respondents in legal tech survey have encryption, but less than a third use it

Graphic by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Not So Secure: Half of respondents have encryption, but less than a third use it.”

Nov 1, 2015 1:20 AM CDT