Hacker Shows How To Attack An Airplane’s Systems—Using A Phone

A German security researcher has demonstrated how easy it can be to hack into the digital systems of an airliner in flight using the right coding knowledge and hardware that’s not hard to get—including a Samsung smartphone.

Here’s the story.

“Visual malware”: PlaceRaider is a trojan designed to hijack phone cameras and secretly create 3-D models of victims’ homes and offices.

At a Congressional hearing this morning that veered into contentious arguments and cringe-worthy moments, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spilled the beans on their social media monitoring project.

DHS Chief Privacy Office Mary Ellen Callahan and Director of Operations Coordination and Planning Richard Chavez appeared to be deliberately stonewalling Congress on the depth, ubiquity, goals, and technical capabilities of the agency’s social media surveillance. At other times, they appeared to be themselves unsure about their own project’s ultimate goals and uses. But one thing is for sure: If you’re the first person to tweet about a news story, or if you’re a community activist who makes public Facebook posts—DHS will have your personal information.

Department Of Homeland Security Tells Congress Why It’s Monitoring Facebook, Twitter, Blogs

A rare trip inside Visa’s top-secret security center. Location: We can’t say.

What does it mean to “hack” anyway?

The Indian government is teaming up with Chinese tech giant Huawei to search imported smartphones and communications devices for signs of malware and spyware. However, some Indians are nervous because of Huawei’s close ties to the People’s Liberation Army and fear that the firm could be complicit in cyberattacks.

So… who’s spying on whom?