Technology

Consumer Security

How 'NotPetya' spread from Ukraine, and why it may still be a threat

Employees read a ransomware demand for the payment of $300 worth of bitcoin on company computers infected by the 'Petya' ...

Hijacking the servers of a company which makes a popular accounting program, hackers sent false software updates to around a million computers, which kicked off the massive worldwide spread of 'NotPetya' last week. Experts now believe the apparent mass ransom attempt was merely a cover for something more nefarious, and Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to untangle it.

Medicare details of every Australian up for sale

An apparent security hole in the health system is being exploited.

A confronting report shows that a vendor on the dark web can pull up the full Medicare card details of any Australian on request — and is selling them for around $30 each — indicating a security hole somewhere in the health system.

The Western tech firms sharing cyber secrets with Russia

IBM, and many others,allow Russian authorities to review their software's source code.

Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM and SAP, are acceding to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets in order to sell their products in Russia.

The North Korean cyber warfare cell that worries the West

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has vowed to develop a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking American territory.

North Korea's main spy agency has a special cell called Unit 180 that is likely to have launched some of its most daring and successful cyber attacks, according to defectors, officials and internet security experts.

Long-awaited crackdown on 'revenge porn'

The court heard Pfeiffer texted to the vendor, "Lawyers will get you nowhere. All you will do is achieve my demise."

People who share or post sexually explicit images of others without their consent will face tough new penalties if a national proposal to combat revenge porn is passed into law.

Why bitcoin may soon fall out of cybercriminals' favour

Getting ransom money in Bitcoin is easiest for cyber-crooks, but it isn't the most secure.

Bitcoin is well-entrenched as the preferred payment for cybercriminals like the WannaCry hackers who have hit more than 300,000 computers over the past week, but cryptocurrencies offering more anonymity are threatening to displace it.

US government moves to weaken NSA secret-keeping

The WannaCrypt warning screen.

A bill proposed in US Congress would require the National Security Agency to inform representatives of other US government agencies about security holes it finds in software like the one that allowed the recent ransomware attacks.