Episode Details

Your online account credentials have two parts: a user name and a password. Today, most online providers force you to use your email address for your user name. This gives the service provider a guaranteed way to contact (and spam) their users, but it also means that bad guys know half of all your credentials and data brokers have a unique ID to track you across all your accounts. Today I’ll explain the value of using email aliases for your online user names.

In other news: Iranian hackers attack US water plant; CISA launches program to address critical infrastructure threats; Google Drive users report missing data; Plex users fear new feature will leak p0rn watching habits; several articles on the ease of using data broker tools to spy on just about anyone, creating privacy and national security problems; smart mattress company CEO inadvertently reveals extent of data collection; concerns about IoT device sold with a home; overblown fears over Apple’s new NameDrop feature; Zelle offering refunds to some scam victims; and Malwarebyte’s survey of people’s security practices (spoiler: it’s bad).

Article Links

1. [The Hacker News] Iranian Hackers Exploit PLCs in Attack on Water Authority in U.S. https://thehackernews.com/2023/11/iranian-hackers-exploit-plcs-in-attack.html
2. [Dark Reading] CISA Launches Pilot Program to Address Critical Infrastructure Threats https://www.darkreading.com/ics-ot/cisa-launches-pilot-program-critical-infrastructure-threats
3. [AppleInsider] Google Drive users complain of missing files, months of data disappearing https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/11/27/google-drive-users-complain-of-missing-files-months-of-data-disappearing
4. [404media.co] Plex Users Fear New Feature Will Leak Porn Habits to Their Friends and Family https://www.404media.co/plex-users-fear-discover-together-week-in-review-feature-will-leak-porn-habits-to-their-friends-and-family/
5. [Rolling Stone] We Spied on Trump’s ‘Southern White House’ From Our Couches https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/data-brokers-trump-tech-spying-privacy-threat-1234897098/
6. [9to5mac.com] Data brokers selling even more sensitive info; national security risk, says report https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/14/data-brokers-sensitive-info/
7. [MIT Technology Review] The US military’s privacy problem in three charts https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/11/13/1083262/the-us-militarys-privacy-problem-in-three-charts/
8. [therecord.media] Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages https://therecord.media/class-action-lawsuit-cars-text-messages-privacy
9. [404media.co] CEO Reminds Everyone His Company Collects Customers’ Sleep Data to Make Zeitgeisty Point About OpenAI Drama https://www.404media.co/ceo-reminds-everyone-eightsleep-pod-collects-sleep-data-to-make-zeitgeisty-point-about-openai-drama/