This Week in Getting Hacked: Apple-FBI-iPhone Saga Edition

All aboard the cybersecurity train! CHOOO CHOOOO! Each week we bring you the greatest and most terrifying cybersecurity and hacking-related news on the web. This is….THIS WEEK IN GETTING HACKED!

So it turns out that the FBI didn’t need Apple’s help in breaking into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. Reports say that the FBI successfully accessed the iPhone sometime Tuesday morning or afternoon, and have gotten the data they needed out of the device. The weirdest part of the whole thing is that they were SUPER adamant about Apple helping them out, but then didn’t reveal how they were able to access the device.

Photo Credit: technewstoday.com

The DOJ is now dropping its suit against Apple, as it seems they have what they want. Very suspicious, mainly because it doesn’t paint Apple’s encryption in a good light. If the iPhone is supposed to be as encrypted as they say it is, the DOJ should still be tinkering with ways to get in. Keep an eye on this.

Speaking of the Feds and major companies, it appears as though Google has no qualms about helping criminal investigations, even if it puts their security at risk, or gives the government access to their operating systems by providing backdoors. The government has been using the All Writs Act to get these tech giants to bend to their will, even though that’s not exactly how the AWA is or should be used.

Photo Credit: gizmodo.com (linked above)

Mainly because the All Writs Act was written when iPhones and most modern technology didn’t even exist and doesn’t even touch technology. The All Writs Act basically says that you should bend to the will of the government if they so decide. That’s fun!

Another day, another ransomware attack on a hospital. This time, MedStar Health felt the wrath of having their data locked down and held for ransom by malicious hackers. As time goes on, hackers methods become more discreet, and more money focused rather than focusing on destroying data, and hospitals have shown to be incredibly easy targets and willing to bend to the whims of the hackers.

Photo Credit: forbes.com (linked above)

Hospitals need to run to keep patients alive and healthy, they need the data to do so, and so they are extorted for exorbitant amounts by these hackers, and it seems to only be getting worse.

And finally…

–Houston, we have a cybersecurity problem. An insider has noted that NASA’s cybersecurity is extremely vulnerable to attacks due to the lack of updates and other security measures being taken to secure their IT systems. This is only internal, however, because NASA has a pretty beefy security set-up to stop external attacks.

Photo Credit: wikimedia.org

But hey, once you’re in at NASA, you’re IN and can do some real damage. Experts cite NASA’s mission-focused plan, as updating systems might put current missions at risk for failure or downtime. Another could possibly be the lack of a sizable budget—with a lot of money going to missions and other research, NASA might not have enough left over to properly update their systems. However, NASA ensures everyone that they’re fine.

In space, nobody can hear you getting hacked.