China reportedly compiling ‘Facebook’ of U.S. government employees

According to CrowdStrike founder Dmitri Alperovitch, Chinese hackers are using information gained from the breaches of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, as well as intrusions into the Anthem and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield health insurance networks, to build a complete profile of federal employees in what the company calls a “Facebook of Everything.”

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As Fox News has reported, the most sensitive information stolen in the OPM breach was lifted from what is known as the Standard Form 86, or SF-86. The 127-page security clearance application is essentially a road map to your life. It contains highly detailed information on everything from where an applicant lived and worked, to personal references, family members, friends and associates, as well as drug history and intimate health information.

Smart cities the world over ripe for hacking, expert says

So-called smart cities, with wireless sensors controlling everything from traffic lights to water management, may be vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to a computer security expert.

Last year, Cesar Cerrudo, an Argentine security researcher and chief technology officer at IOActive Labs, demonstrated how 200,000 traffic control sensors installed in major hubs like Washington, New York, Melbourne and Lyon were vulnerable to attack. Mr. Cerrudo showed how information coming from these sensors could be intercepted from 1500 feet away — or even by drone — because one company had failed to encrypt its traffic.

Just last Saturday, Mr. Cerrudo tested the same traffic sensors in San Francisco and found that, one year later, they were still not encrypted.

Chief NSA Scandal Investigator in Germany Reports Phone Compromised

The head of the German inquiry into NSA spying had his phone tampered with after sending it off to be inspected for suspected hacking. When the phone arrived at its destination, its packaging had already been opened.

Patrick Sensburg, a member of the German parliament (the Bundestag) from the Christian Democratic Union party, sent his phone to the Federal Office of IT Security (BSI) in Bonn to be inspected for possible hacking after he noticed problems with it in February. Though the phone was sent in a lead-lined container to block any wireless signals, the package was sent by normal DHL post and by the time it arrived at the BSI, the secure container had been opened.