Cybercrime

Mastercard is piloting a scheme where smartphone GPS systems are used to authenticate purchases for travellers - which could spell an end to the frustrating and common experience where cards are blocked instantly when used abroad.

Businesses in America have increased security spending after the wave of high-profile cyber attacks late last year, including the Target breach - and most U.S. companies expect such attacks to increase over the next two years.

Trading has been suspended on the Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox and its website has closed, amid rumors that the exchange has lost 744,000 Bitcoins in an online theft - worth around $350 million at Monday’s trading prices, according to Wired

A large majority of routers used in small offices are plagued with security vulnerabilities - with up to 80% of small office/home office models having critical security weaknesses, according to a survey by Tripwire.

Hackers who stole hundreds of thousands of card details from upscale retailer Neiman Marcus set off more than 60,000 security alerts - but these were all missed by security staff at the company, according to a report by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Smartphone dating app Tinder revealed more about its users than they might have wished over a period of several months last year - revealing their location to other app users to an accuracy of around 100 feet, according to The Verge’s report.

Belkin’s WeMo home automation systems contain multiple vulnerabilities which could allow attackers to remotely control devices attached to a WeMo system - for instance, blacking out lighting in a home, or even starting fires, researchers have claimed.

A large scale cyber-theft has drained the relaunched ‘online drug bazaar’ Silk Road 2.0 of nearly all of its Bitcoin reserves - estimated to be worth $2 million or even more. The site relied on bitcoin to help anonymize transactions.

Nearly two-thirds of employees - 63% - use personal email to transfer work files, potentially leaving workplaces exposed to hacks against their accounts - and more than half of employees regularly transfer files by insecure channels.