It’s that time of year again! Time to put the past behind us and look forward to a brand new year, full of possibilities and hope! In today’s show I’ll throw out several tips for improving your privacy and security that you might want to put on your to-do list for 2023. I’ve also got a minor LastPass update and some thoughts on how we might make managing passwords easier and more robust. I’ll answer a listener question on tracking in beta software.

And then I’ll cover several news stores: A government watchdog cracks many accounts in a federal agency with a cheap password cracking rig; NortonLifeLock is warning several users that hackers may have breached their accounts; Russian hackers suspected in Royal Mail attack; Iran’s citizens being targeted with spyware in VPN apps; Windows 7 is finally totally dead; identity thieves find authentication bypass to access Experian credit reports; robot vacuum cleaner captured compromising pictures that ended up on social media; even the FBI is recommending ad blockers; dozens of telehealth companies sharing sensitive health information with Big Tech companies.

Article Links

[TechCrunch] A government watchdog spent $15,000 to crack a federal agency’s passwords in minutes https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/10/interior-department-watchdog-passwords/
[BleepingComputer] NortonLifeLock warns that hackers breached Password Manager accounts https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nortonlifelock-warns-that-hackers-breached-password-manager-accounts/
[Metro] Russian hackers suspected to be behind Royal Mail cyber attack https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/13/russian-hackers-suspected-to-be-behind-royal-mail-cyber-attack-18093326/
[techmonitor.ai] Iran’s citizens targeted by EyeSpy spyware hidden in VPNs https://techmonitor.ai/technology/cybersecurity/eyespy-spyware-iran-vpn
[Lifehacker] Windows 7 Is Officially Dead https://lifehacker.com/windows-7-is-officially-dead-1849966248
[briankrebs] Identity Thieves Bypassed Experian Security to View Credit Reports https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/01/identity-thieves-bypassed-experian-security-to-view-credit-reports/
[Kaspersky] Rise of the robot vacuum cleaners https://www.kaspersky.co.uk/blog/robot-vacuum-privacy/25348/
1. Bonus: https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/10/1066500/roomba-irobot-robot-vacuum-beta-product-testers-consent-agreement-misled/
[TechCrunch] Even the FBI says you should use an ad blocker https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/22/fbi-ad-blocker/
[The Markup] “Out Of Control”: Dozens of Telehealth Startups Sent Sensitive Health Information to Big Tech Companies https://themarkup.org/privacy/2022/12/13/out-of-control-dozens-of-telehealth-startups-sent-sensitive-health-information-to-big-tech-companies

Further Info

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:02:08: Big sale on pre-order of my book
0:03:05: Show preview
0:04:44: LastPass update
0:09:21: Password innovation ideas
0:13:59: watchdog cracks federal agency’s passwords in minutes
0:17:33: NortonLifeLock warns of account breaches
0:21:31: Russian hackers suspected in Royal Mail cyber attack
0:24:29: Iran’s citizens targeted by spyware in VPNs
0:26:53: Windows 7 Is Officially Dead
0:30:26: Identity Thieves Bypassed Experian Security to View Credit Reports
0:35:06: Rise of the robot vacuum cleaners
0:40:54: Even the FBI says you should use an ad blocker
0:43:07: Telehealth Startups Sent Sensitive Health Info to Big Tech Companies
0:48:04: Dear Carey: Beta software tracking?
0:50:51: Tip of the Week: New Year’s Resolutions!
1:00:57: Wrap-up
1:01:33: Patron benefits

Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast