Archive for August, 2014

All 500,000 victims of Cryptolocker can now recover files encrypted by the malware without paying a ransom.

The malicious program encrypted files on Windows computers and demanded a substantial fee before handing over the key to the scrambled files.

Thanks to security experts, an online portal has been created where victims can get the key for free.

The portal was created after security researchers grabbed a copy of Cryptolocker’s database of victims.

“This time we basically got lucky,” said Michael Sandee, principal analyst at ...

In 1979, Douglas Adams wrote the immortal guiding principle of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: DON’T PANIC. Computer users would be wise to heed those words regarding the BadUSB malware that made headlines yesterday by being able to compromise almost any computer. Yes, it’s bad, but it’s not as bad as you might think.

In case you missed it, BadUSB is malware that hides in the firmware of USB drives. Security researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell will present their ...

It is illegal under Irish law for Microsoft to hand over information stored in Ireland to the US government without an Irish judge’s approval, former minister for justice Michael McDowell has warned.

In a strongly worded affidavit in support of the technology company embroiled in a landmark legal fight with the US government, Mr McDowell – who is also a practising senrior counsel – argued the disclosure of data is only lawful if signed off by a judge here.

Ireland is required ...

IRISH ONLINE BOOKMAKER Paddy Power has revealed that it was the victim of a data breach in 2010.

The bookmaker announced on its website yesterday that it has been working with Canadian police after a tip in May of this year and discovered the historical breach consisting of “individual customer’s name, username, address, email address, phone contact number, date of birth and prompted question and answer”.

However, it assured punters, “Customers’ financial information such as credit or debit card details has not ...