Research / Normal People and Infosec (4)

Voice Assistants Re-Heating Old Security Issues

Security concerns for voice assistants have long existed (when was the last time you watched an AI movie and thought “oh, I’ve got nothing to worry about here”). However, as voice assistants become more prevalent in our world, we should be ready for the scale of security challenges th …

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Russia, Telegram and the Trouble with Censoring the Internet

Russia, Telegram and the Trouble with Censoring the Internet

If you ask two web security experts how to block content on the Internet, you will get three opinions: One of them will recommend Whitelisting, another Blacklisting. The best practice is generally a combination of both, but does it actually work? First Published 20th April 2018 Knowle …

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MyFitnessPal & The Value of Health Data

MyFitnessPal & The Value of Health Data

MyFitnessPal experienced a significant data breach putting the account information of 150 million users at risk. Although not as sexy as some targets, MyFitnessPal is one of the world's largest health databases, which raises questions about the value of our biodata. First Published 30 …

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Cryptocurrency Giveaway Scams

Cryptocurrency Giveaway Scams

Cryptocurrency scams have been rife on the internet for a number of years. One common target is the noob investor who is desperate to cash in on the latest boom. Luckily for scammers, many of these investors don’t know any better. First Published 10th February 2018 The sign of a great …

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Cyber Security Challenges Faced by the Education Industry

Cyber Security Challenges Faced by the Education Industry

Schools and universities are now becoming increasingly subject to all sorts of cyber attacks. With the push for increased digitalization, increasing number of systems and user accounts are connected via internet increases the attack surface. First Published 7th July 2017 Let me teach …

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WannaCry and the Dangers of Magical Thinking

WannaCry and the Dangers of Magical Thinking

WannaCry, while now more widely known as the “ransomware apocalypse” (and rightfully so), is more accurately defined as a form of ransomware with a worm-like spreading ability. But many think there are patches to fix things like this, right? Right?? First Published 18th May 2017 "Rans …

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Google Docs Phishing Attacks

This phishing attack begins by spoofing known contacts' email addresses using a technique called "address spoofing" in an attempt to steal people’s personal information. First Published 4th May 2017 Gone phishing. 4 min read | Reflare Research Team Over the past 24 hours, a massive ph …

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Hijacking of Dallas Outdoor Warning Siren System

Hijacking of Dallas Outdoor Warning Siren System

A hacker managed to gain control of the city’s Outdoor Warning Siren System and triggered it causing all 156 sirens across the city to suddenly sound the alarm, leading to widespread panic and confusion. First Published 13th April 2017 "Now hear this!" 4 min read | Reflare Research Te …

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Banning a Smart Doll

Banning a Smart Doll

Cayla is a child's doll which is equipped with speech recognition software and is connected to the internet via Bluetooth. German authorities have taken a strong disliking to Cayla. Poor Cayla. First Published 23rd February 2017 I am... doll parts. 4 min read | Reflare Research Team I …

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Hacking, Rationality, and the Fear of the Unknown

Rationality in the face of threats, from germs to crime, has been studied before in many different settings. There is, however, a category of threats that haven’t been covered as extensively, and that is cyber security. First Published 19th January 2017 Just cause you feel it doesn't …

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