13-Year-Old Girl Hospitalised After Vicious Cyber Bullying
September 10, 2015 | Technology
A 13-year-old Auckland girl has been hospitalised after an attempt to harm herself in what her family say was a reaction to vicious cyber bullying.
The teen was released yesterday in good health, but her mother says more needs to be done to ensure children are kept safe from the kind of hurtful messages she found on her daughter's phone.
Advocates backed that stance, saying now is the time for bystanders who witness such bullying to "take a stand" and encourage teens to confide in a trusted adult. The most serious cases, such as this…
Security Flaw Found In WhatsApp Messenger
September 9, 2015 | Technology
Security experts have discovered a flaw in Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp which allows malicious actors to hack users' computers by disguising malware as perfectly innocent contact cards and other files.
The problem lies in the web version of WhatsApp failing to properly verify vCard files, according to research firmCheck Point, which discovered the flaw. vCards are digital business cards commonly sent via text message.
Check Point discovered it was able to change the file extension of a vCard, which ends in ".vcf", to ".exe" …
Skype Sex Scam Sparks Police Warning - Newstalk ZB Interview P.I. Danny Toresen
September 9, 2015 | Technology
Police are warning of a new kind of internet scam, where men are being blackmailed after performing sexual acts over Skype.
The Counties Manukau police said they've had six complainants in the past month alone.
They said the complainants - all men - had been talking to people based overseas, who they had met on Skype.
The blackmailers recorded footage of intimate activities then threatened to expose the men if they did not pay up.
Detective Sergeant Eddie Sutherland said there had been an increase in these kinds of complaints.
New…
Determining The Age Of Fingerprints
August 28, 2015 | Technology
Watch the imprint of a tire track in soft mud, and it will slowly blur, the ridges of the pattern gradually flowing into the valleys.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have tested the theory that a similar effect could be used to give forensic scientists something they’ve long wished for: A way to date fingerprints.
In a proof-of-concept paper published in Analytical Chemistry, NIST chemists Shin Muramoto and Edward Sisco tested the idea that you could tell how old a fingerprint is by the degree…
How To Hack A Car
August 18, 2015 | Technology
At first glance, the Las Vegas ballroom looked like the set of an auto show: three cars in the middle of a room filled with a rumbling crowd.
But behind the vehicles were rows of tables filled with car parts connected to laptops. Seated at the stations were hackers watching screens flashing as they learned just how the computers inside the cars work - and how they could break in.
The "Car Hacking Village" at the recent DEF CON cybersecurity conference was just the latest reflection of how security experts are scrambling to keep up wi…
Just What Is The Dark Web?
August 17, 2015 | Technology
The "dark web" is a part of the world wide web that requires special software to access. Once inside, web sites and other services can be accessed through a browser in much the same way as the normal web.
However, some sites are effectively "hidden", in that they have not been indexed by a search engine and can only be accessed if you know the address of the site. Special markets also operate within the dark web called, "darknet markets", which mainly sell illegal products like drugs and firearms, paid for in the cryptocurrency Bitcoi…
Police Investigate 'First Cyber-Flashing' Case
August 15, 2015 | Technology
Police are investigating a "new" crime of cyber-flashing after a commuter received an indecent image on her phone as she travelled to work.
The victim received two pictures of an unknown man's penis on her phone via Apple's Airdrop sharing function.
Lorraine Crighton-Smith, 34, said she felt "violated" and reported it to the British Transport Police (BTP).
Supt Gill Murray said this particular crime was new to her force and urged people to report any other incidents.
Ms Crighton-Smith, who was travelling on a train in south London, …
Police Firing GPS Tracking 'Bullets' At Cars During Chases
August 10, 2015 | Technology
Car chases are exciting, but fraught.
One slip of the wheel, one errant pedestrian, one drunken driver, and difficult consequences may follow.
Police in Iowa and Florida, however, seem to have taken the counsel of Q from the "Bond" movies.
Instead of constantly hurtling after potential madmen, they have found an entirely new method of tracking their cars.
It's called Starchase. Essentially, it's a cannon that fires "bullets" that are sticky GPS devices.
CBS 12 offered an example in real life of how it's done.
Iowa state trooper Ti…
Australian Couple Cop $16,820 Facebook Defamation Bill
August 10, 2015 | Technology
It's a figure that will make any Facebook user pause for thought.
A Sydney couple have been left with a NZ$16,820 legal bill after their comments about a neighbour's dogs on a community social media page saw them sued for defamation in the NSW District Court.
In July last year a series of posters was placed in public areas around Scotland Island, an idyllic island about 30 kilometres north of Sydney in Pittwater accessible only by boat, which is home to about 1000 people.
A screenshot of Matt Palmer's now deleted apology.
Headlined…
‘Ransomware’ Scare For Christchurch Law Firm Cavell Leitch
August 3, 2015 | Technology
A Christchurch law firm has narrowly avoided falling victim to a cyber scam.
Cavell Leitch chief financial officer Hugh O'Reilly was notified of an unusual corrupt file issue by a team member about noon on July 17.
It was confirmed as being Cryptolocker – a threat with the intention to lock files and pressure for a ransom of Bitcoin to unlock the server.
"We had our IT team check for infections and isolate the source quickly. They then restored a clean incremental backup from earlier that day and we lost minimal data," he said.
O'R…