e.Woke #47: Can It Get Worse?

Welcome to e.Woke #47: Can It Get Worse?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately: Can it get worse? And the answer that I’ve been getting is YES! But fear not! When the going gets tough, the tough get going! And we’ve got your back. This week, we chose the weirdest and scariest stories, but we also included tips to reassure you that not everything is doomed. This is e.Woke, your digital twilight zone newsletter. Let’s jump right in!

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Cambridge Analytica was reportedly exploring an ICO

This is serious! But also companies buying cryptocurrency to buy your data is the most 2018-supervillain thing that I have ever heard of. Anyway though, Cambridge Analytica was reportedly exploring an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), and although they haven’t confirmed if they did end up with their own ICO, a spokesman did say this “We were exploring multiple options for people to manage and monetize their personal data, including blockchain technology.”. ALSO to make this even more super-villainy, it was through leaked emails that it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica was helping promote the cryptocurrency Dragon Coin, and because of this “associated the firm with a famous gangster in Macau who has gone by the nickname Broken Tooth.” Amazing. This just keeps getting worse.

(via TechCrunch / Reuters / The New York Times)

Casino Gets Hacked Through Its Internet-Connected Fish Tank Thermometer

*Hacker voice* “Their weakest point is their internet-connected fish tank thermometer!”. So…a casino got hacked through their fish tank, “Nicole Eagan, the CEO of cybersecurity company Darktrace, told attendees at an event in London on Thursday how cybercriminals hacked an unnamed casino through its Internet-connected thermometer in an aquarium in the lobby of the casino. According to what Eagan claimed, the hackers exploited a vulnerability in the thermostat to get a foothold in the network. Once there, they managed to access the high-roller database of gamblers and “then pulled it back across the network, out the thermostat, and up to the cloud.” Hmm…that is equally hilarious and terrifying. Now, how do I encrypt my fish tank?

(via The Hacker News / siliconrepublic / Digital Trends)

Millions of Chrome Users Have Installed Malware Posing as Ad Blockers

We can’t even block ads safely! The co-founder of ad-blocker AdGuard, Andrey Meshkov, downloaded different ad-blockers designed for Google Chrome and found something malicious: Malware. “Meshkov didn’t immediately see what the extension was collecting data for, he said having this link to a remote server is dangerous because it could change your browser behavior in many ways. Meshkov said it could alter the appearance of pages, scrape information from the user, or load additional extensions that a user hasn’t installed.”. Google has taken these extensions down, but who knows what else is lurking in the coding of other “ad-blockers”?

(via Motherboard / ZDNet / TechSpot)

Digital Security Tips, Resources, and Guides: