Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
South Carolina residents learn that Russian hackers may have stolen 3.6 million tax records from the state in 2012. U.S. government warns of smart lock vulnerabilities in Chirp Systems, with hard-coded credentials that can be used to remotely access any lock. FCC fines major U.S. wireless carriers for sharing customer location data without consent, while U.S. charges the chief of FSB counterintelligence in a cybercrime bribery scheme. Finnish man gets six years for mass-extorting psychotherapy patients and Russian gets nine years for taking bribes in a cybercrime scheme. University of Maryland researchers expose Apple’s Wi-Fi-based Positioning Systems for compromising privacy, location tracking, and wartime surveillance.
South Carolina Tax Data Breach:
In 2012, Russian hackers stole 3.6 million tax records from South Carolina residents. The state confirmed this after 10 years of secrecy about the breach. Rescator was found selling tax data of a U.S. state around the same time as the breach.
Chirp Systems Smart Lock Vulnerability:
Chirp Systems’ smart locks have hard-coded credentials that allow remote access, making 50,000 dwellings vulnerable. U.S. government warns about this issue, with information provided by researcher Matt Brown, who reported the flaw in 2021 but received no response from Chirp.
FCC Fines Major U.S. Wireless Carriers:
The FCC fines major U.S. carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, for sharing customer location data without consent. The carriers failed to obtain proper consent, leading to a $200 million remedy from the FCC.
FSB Counterintelligence Chief Sentenced:
The head of FSB counterintelligence in Russia was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for accepting a $1.7 million bribe to ignore cybercrime activities of a Russian group. The FSB officer was involved in withholding sensitive information and providing protection to the gang.
Mass-Extorting Psychotherapy Patients:
A Finnish man was sentenced to six years for mass-extorting psychotherapy patients. He demanded a ransom of 40 bitcoins after stealing data from half a billion customers. His work resulted in substantial financial gains.
Apple Wi-Fi Positioning Systems Controversy:
Researchers from the University of Maryland revealed Apple’s Wi-Fi-based Positioning Systems compromising privacy and security. The verbose API shared by Apple’s WPS allowed them to monitor global movement and exposure of sensitive information, including tracking of Russian and Ukrainian troops during conflicts.
