Andrew Blake

Iranian hackers take credit for breaching New York dam

Iranian hackers have taken credit for breaching a dam near New York City in 2013 after details of the intrusion were publicly acknowledged earlier this week for the first time ever.

December 23, 2015

S.F. cops can keep jobs despite racist, homophobic text messages, judge rules

Several San Francisco police officers can keep their jobs despite having exchanged racist and homophobic text messages with each other because investigators waited too long to take action, a Superior Court judge ruled this week.

December 23, 2015

Google begins testing ‘password-free’ login system

Google confirmed Tuesday that it's experimenting with a feature on its products, such as Gmail, to allow users to log on to their accounts without being required to enter a password.

December 23, 2015

Software glitch allowed 3,200 prisoners in Washington state to be freed by mistake

More than 3,000 prisoners incarcerated in Washington state have been inadvertently released prematurely over the past 13 years because of a software glitch, Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday.

December 23, 2015

U.S. and EU struggling to reach aviation cybersecurity agreement: report

As the aviation industry struggles to adopt cybersecurity measures in an effort to keep airspace safe from hackers, authorities in the U.S. and European Union are reportedly failing to see eye to eye.

December 23, 2015

Sanrio says no data stolen in breach that affected 3.3 million ‘Hello Kitty’ fans

"Hello Kitty's" parent company has downplayed a recent data breach that had allowed a security researcher to access the details of millions of visitors of its website and says there's no reason to suggest hackers had capitalized on the compromise first.

December 22, 2015

Apple comes out against U.K. anti-encryption bill, would ‘weaken security for hundreds of millions’

Apple has amplified its concerns over a bill being considered in Britain that would expand the crown's eavesdropping authority, warning in a submission sent to Parliament that the proposal would "weaken security for hundreds of millions of law-abiding customers."

December 22, 2015

Dollar General sued over ‘deceptive’ store-brand motor oil

A Houston man is targeting discount chain Dollar General with a class-action suit accusing the retailer of practicing deceptive trade practices by touting a store-brand motor oil allegedly unsuitable for use in the majority of cars currently on the road.

December 22, 2015

NIST employee named on suspected Islamic State hit list

An employee of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was named on a suspected hit list circulated by the Islamic State terror group earlier this year, FBI officials admitted this week.

December 22, 2015

Texas attorney general says colleges can’t ban guns in dorms

Preventing college students from bringing guns to dormitories and residence halls would likely run afoul of the Lone Star State's new campus carry laws, the top lawyer for Texas said on Monday.

December 22, 2015

Joseph Lemm, NYPD detective, killed in Afghanistan with 5 other U.S. troops

The New York Police Department on Monday mourned the loss of Joseph Lemm, a 15-year veteran of the force who died in Afghanistan earlier in the day as the result of a suicide bombing near Bagram air base.

December 22, 2015

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, Sen. Tom Cotton clash over encryption debate

Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company's decision to let iPhone users encrypt their data during an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, but not without being accused in return of catering to child pornographers and other undesirables.

December 21, 2015

Justice Dept. probing Uber data breach: report

The Department of Justice has begun investigating a data breach that exposed the details of thousands of Uber drivers and has been blamed on an employee of rival company Lyft, Reuters reported.

December 21, 2015

Mall of America asks court to curb Black Lives Matter protest with restraining order

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Indiana has asked a court to keep Black Lives Matter activists from holding a protest at the massive shopping center later this week and has proposed a restraining order that would prohibit demonstrators from discussing their plans on social media.

December 21, 2015

Martin Shkreli, ex-pharma CEO, has social media accounts taken over by hackers

Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old former pharmaceuticals CEO currently facing federal securities fraud charges, had his personal Twitter account hacked over the weekend, a spokesman said.

December 21, 2015

Bipartisan support mounts in House for revamping ‘hacking tools’ proposal

More than a quarter of the House of Representatives asked the Obama administration in a letter this week to reconsider proposed rules for exporting certain software amid concerns that restrictions would seriously hurt national security.

December 18, 2015

Maryland firefighters charged with assault after apparent turf war

Two Prince George's County volunteer firefighters have been charged with assault and obstruction following an altercation in which they allegedly forced two other responders out of a burning house.

December 18, 2015

British teen denies online bomb threats against airlines

A 16-year-old British boy on Friday denied charges that he used a social media account to make bomb threats against two airliners earlier this year.

December 18, 2015

Terror suspects evade authorities on social media with public posts amid ‘going dark’ concerns

As law enforcement doubles down with its effort to gain access to encrypted communications for the sake of national security, new questions emerge following an apparent failure to parse evidence that's already publicly available.

December 18, 2015

Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin might kill journalists, but ‘at least he’s a leader’

GOP front-runner Donald Trump on Friday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's sordid record of killing journalists and political opponents, but not without hailing the head of state as a "strong leader."

December 18, 2015