If you haven't read this month's WIRED cover story[1] about teen hackers who went too deep into Microsoft Xbox's systems, make that your first stop. In more current news, the White House sent mixed messages on cybersecurity policy this week, calling out Russian hackers for compromising popular routers and firewalls[2]—a problematic, but unsurprising and even popular type of attack. Meanwhile, the White House is also losing its well-regarded cybersecurity coordinator[3] Rob Joyce to the NSA.
An alternative security conference on Tuesday called out the industry for lack of diverse[4] representation and inclusion. Researchers are starting to shed more light on the techniques Russian actors used[5] to spread disinformation on social platforms ahead of the 2016 presidential elections. WIRED has new details about the malware and techniques attackers used[6] last fall to taint millions of downloads of the popular CCleaner PC optimization tool. And a new app works to stymie unauthorized physical access[7] to MacBooks simply by sending a notification to the owner if someone the lid.
Facebook's universal login feature[8] comes with some important security drawbacks thanks to online tracking scripts. Researchers demonstrated how feasible it is to exploit Internet of Things device weaknesses[9] one after another to compromise a corporate network without ever touching a PC or server. There's a pressing need[10] to standardize the use of ultrasonic communications in location-based apps. And a new attack vector known as "trustjacking" can take advantage[11] when you choose to "Trust" a computer from your iPhone.
Oh, and Pornhub now accepts[12] cryptocurrency, just FYI. Plus there's more! As always, we’ve rounded up all the news