IT Horizons Blog

While everyone affected by the Ashley Madison hack is still licking their wounds, I can't help but feel truly sorry for those who fell victim to the Android Stagefright debacle. While it's never nice to find out that an online provider you trusted with your personal information, not to mention your endeavours in adultery, have been released for all the world to see, Android users' data was hacked not because they did anything, but simply because they owned the smartphone. The Stagefright Hack at a Glance The hacker sent MMS messages with video and a malware code, and even those who didn't actually click and watch the video were still affected. Here's the kicker: the Hangouts app which automatically processes the video and images sent in MMS messages ensured that the hacker's malware code was ready to start wreaking havoc from the phone's Gallery. Once the message was sent, the...

In the wake of the Ashley Madison and the less scandalous but equally unnerving Android Stagefright hacking disasters, network security is - or should be - on the minds of anyone who owns a website and/or uses the web to buy or sell goods, store important business information, find dates, or anything else. While I'm sure those who've just had their dirty laundry aired by hackers are probably re-thinking what they do and say online, the can of whoop a$@ that's just been unleashed on Ashley Madison should be a warning for anyone who uses a network for business purposes. But, first, for those who haven't heard about the Ashley Madison hacking scandal, it went something like this: Ashley Madison is (or at least was) described as 'the premier cheating site' that was recently hacked and more than 30 GB of customer and company data were released (And that's only...