Top IT News of the Week (35/2021)
#ITnews
IT news #1: 40 million US T-Mobile customers to fall victim to a data breach
Topic: Mobile, data breach
T-Mobile has admitted that a data breach has hit more than 40 million customers in the US. They claimed the breach was a result of a “highly sophisticated cyberattack.” The company confirmed that they had taken immediate steps to protect all those that can possibly be affected by the attack. It was revealed, the attackers managed to gain access to personal information; however, no financial information was stolen. The attack was discovered following a recent attempt by hackers to sell an extensive database containing T-Mobile customers’ data online. As part of their investigation, the company identified approximately 7.8 current T-Mobile customers’ post-paid account information and over 40 million records of former and prospective customers who previously applied for credit were affected.
IT news #2: Crypto hacker receives reward after stealing £433m
Topic: Cryptocurrency, data breach
It was reported that a hacker stole just over £433m worth of cryptocurrency and received a reward of £364,773 for returning the stolen money. Poly Network made the controversial offer after the bad actor promised to send back the amount. The attack was recently discovered after Poly Network publicly pleaded with the hacker to help. Most of the money has now been returned; however, the attackers claimed they are not interested in the reward. Following the attack, the attacker posted notes to the public blockchain, provoking the company and asking for advice on how to launder the stolen money. Poly Network confirmed that most of the remaining assets had been transferred to a digital wallet controlled by both the company and the hacker, who still holds £24.37 of stolen Tether – as Tether Limited has frozen it.
IT news #3: New York University data breach to affect 47,000 citizens
Topic: Data breach
It was revealed that the data breach that hit the New York University has potentially exposed the personal information of 47,000 citizens. Unauthorised access was detected by The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY), however, this incident was discovered and reported on the 14th of July. The institution said the attack has involved personal information like Social Security numbers too. It has not yet been stated if those affected were donors, employees or others connected to the organisations. As a complimentary service, the organisation has pledged to offer eligible individuals a one-year credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.
IT news #4: 5G shortcut exposes phones to Stingray surveillance
Topic: 5G, mobile
5G coverage is gaining further industry momentum; however, the rollout comes with an important warning. Despite your phone stating it’s connected to the next-generation wireless standard, it may not be receiving all 5G features – namely an important one, defence against so-called stingray surveillance devices. It was discovered that even if your device is still in non-standalone mode, you’re still probably receiving basic 4G features, complete with security and privacy weaknesses that 5G aims to resolve. It can leave you exposed to tracking, eavesdropping and “downgrade attacks” that push target mobile devices onto older, more vulnerable data networks such as 3G. Despite enhanced security features being 5G’s biggest selling point, this is not communicated to mobile users.
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