Asia Takes Brunt of 2016 Hacks; High-profile Twitter Accounts Hijacked

Posted March 15th, 2017 at 12:53 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings:

FILE - A researcher of Hauri, an IT security software company investigating computer viruses, works at one of the company's labs in Seoul, South Korea. (Reuters)

FILE – A researcher of Hauri, an IT security software firm investigating computer viruses, works at one of the company’s labs in Seoul, South Korea. (Reuters)

APAC Bore Brunt of Cyberattacks in 2016

The Asia-Pacific region took the lion’s share of cyberattacks in 2016, according to security firm Trend Micro. The region attracted three times more malware infections than North America and six times more than of Latin America.  APAC experienced up to 500,000 unknown threats each day, and 27 percent of ransomware attacks targeted Asia-Pacific individuals and companies, compared with 22 percent in Latin America.

Millions of Records Leaked From Huge US Corporate Database

A database containing about 33.7 million email addresses and contact data for thousands of U.S. corporations and their employees has been leaked. Security expert Troy Hunt obtained the documents and analyzed them. The database, owned by business services giant Dun & Bradstreet, contains more than 100,000 Defense Department records. It is unclear how the data was exposed.

Hackers Hijack Twitter Accounts Over Turkish Diplomatic Feud

Hackers broadcasting pro-Turkish messages in Turkey’s feud with Germany and the Netherlands hijacked a number of Twitter accounts, including UNICEF, Amnesty International and others. Twitter said a third-party analytics app, Twitter Counter, was exploited to hack the accounts. Access to the service has since been blocked. Twitter Counter is investigating the incident. If you want to know how to protect your Twitter account, writer Tom Warren has a few tips.

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

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