Wired Security Spoken Edition

The Trezor: January 4, 2016: 7.4 BTC = $3,000 In January 2016, I spent $3,000 to buy 7.4 bitcoins. At the time, it seemed an entirely worthwhile thing to do. I had recently started working as a research director at the Institute for the Future’s Blockchain Futures Lab, and I wanted firsthand experience with bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that uses a blockchain to record transactions on its network. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Kodi box pitch is hard to resist. A little black plastic square, in look not much different from a Roku or Apple TV, and similar in function as well. This streamer, though, offers something those others never will: Free access to practically any show or movie you can dream of. No rental fees. No subscriptions. Just type in the name of a blockbuster, and start watching a high-definition stream in seconds. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Of the many new features in Apple’s iOS 11—which hit your iPhone a few weeks ago—a tool called Core ML stands out. It gives developers an easy way to implement pre-trained machine learning algorithms, so apps can instantly tailor their offerings to a specific person’s preferences. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Mirai botnet, a collection of hijacked gadgets whose cyberattack made much of the internet inaccessible in parts of the US and beyond a year ago, previewed a dreary future of zombie connected-device armies run amuck. But in some ways, Mirai was relatively simple—especially compared to a new botnet that's brewing. While Mirai caused widespread outages, it impacted IP cameras and internet routers by simply exploiting their weak or default passwords. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There's nothing like a hefty security freakout to start the week, and the Key Reinstallation AttackWi-Fi vulnerability—you know it as Krack—announced on Monday fit the bill. The bug is in the ubiquitous WPA2 Wi-Fi protocol, so while it fortunately doesn't impact every single device that exists, it does affect a significant portion of them. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When you consider the nagging privacy risks of online advertising, you may find comfort in the thought of a vast, abstract company like Pepsi or Nike viewing you as just one data point among millions. What, after all, do you have to hide from Pepsi? And why should that corporate megalith care about your secrets out of countless potential Pepsi-drinkers? But an upcoming study has dissipated that delusion. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There’s something new to add to your fun mental list of invisible internet dangers. Joining classic favorites like adware and spyware comes a new, tricky threat called “cryptojacking,” which secretly uses your laptop or mobile device to mine cryptocurrency when you visit an infected site. Malicious miners aren’t new in themselves, but cryptojacking has exploded in popularity over the past few weeks, because it offers a clever twist. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When it comes to the eternal tradeoff between digital security and convenience, most tech firms focus their efforts on the vast majority of people who choose a painless user experience over a paranoid one. But Google is adding a set of features specifically targeted at those who prefer the latter. You can now lock down your account to a degree that no other major tech firm has ever offered directly to users, convenience be damned. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A vulnerability in Wi-Fi encryption has sent the entire tech industry scrambling; the so-called Krack attack affects nearly every wireless device to some extent, leaving them subject to hijacked internet connections. In terms of scope, it doesn’t get much worse—especially for the Internet of Things. The extent of the Krack fallout remains to be seen. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When you set up a new Wi-Fi network, you're probably conditioned by now to check the "WPA2" box. You may not specifically know when or why someone advised you to do this, but it was solid advice. Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 is the current industry standard that encrypts traffic on Wi-Fi networks to thwart eavesdroppers. And since it's been the secure option since 2004, WPA2 networks are absolutely everywhere. They're also, it turns out, vulnerable to cryptographic attack. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week was one of revelations in the security world, most of them centered around nation-states pulling off ambitious hacks. In the wake of reports that Russia had used Kaspersky Lab software to steal NSA secrets, we took a look at the antivirus paradox that applies to every company selling it. And given reports that North Korea had attempted to hack a US energy utility, we looked at when exactly grid-attacks should freak you out. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and even encryption haven't kept hackers out of hoards of data like the ones stolen in the catastrophic breaches of Equifax or Yahoo. But now, some Silicon Valley firms are trying a deeper approach, building security into the basic design of how data moves between a company's servers. The method aims not to seal intruders out of sensitive systems, but to tighten the rim of the cookie jar around their wrist, trapping their grabby hands inside. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When evidence suggested President Trump was still using his personal Android phone in the White House earlier this year, security experts expressed both alarm and dismay at what might happen if hackers broke into that device. Now, POLITICO reports that former Department of Homeland Security head and current chief of staff John Kelly used a personal smartphone, possibly for months, that was compromised. That is bad. Don't do that. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When evidence suggested President Trump was still using his personal Android phone in the White House earlier this year, security experts expressed both alarm and dismay at what might happen if hackers broke into that device. Now, POLITICO reports that former Department of Homeland Security head and current chief of staff John Kelly used a personal smartphone, possibly for months, that was compromised. That is bad. Don't do that. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week saw a tragic start, when late Sunday night a man named Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas. Hoaxes and conspiracy theories flooded the internet in the immediate aftermath, as did questions—since answered—around how Paddock was able to fire at automatic speeds. We also took a look at gun-control tech—but didn't find much that's promising. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Like so many other Fox News devotees in search of new voids to shout into, Donald Trump loves to tweet. He also, though, happily shares his account with at least one staffer. So how do we know when the most-mad-online president in human history is actually tapping out his own material? Fortunately for us, Trump is a creature of habit, and he's got some tells. In the early days, all it took to figure out whether a tweet came from Trump himself was to peek at the source device. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States, like Sunday evening's Las Vegas tragedy that killed at least 58 people and wounded over 500, a debate often emerges about how to prevent such incidents from occurring again. Part of that heated and longstanding gun-control battle is the question of whether technology can make guns safer. And they can—but not in a way that can prevent many of the country's most high profile attacks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Fatimah Gifford was nervous the day she was scheduled to testify in front of Texas’ Health and Human Services committee. Gifford is the VP of Communications for Whole Woman’s Health, which operates five reproductive healthcare clinics across Texas. This wasn’t her first time testifying before the state legislature, but it was her first time testifying about abortion. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The initial drama over Equifax's September data breach has mostly subsided, but the actual damage will play out for years. And indeed, there turns out to be plenty of spectacle and public controversy left. It was all on display at a Tuesday Congressional hearing, in which lawmakers questioned Equifax's former CEO Richard Smith in an attempt to make sense of how things went so wrong. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For the past five years, Cody Wilson has applied every possible advance in digital manufacturing technology to the mission of undermining government attempts at gun control. First he created the world's first 3-D printed gun, a deadly plastic weapon anyone could print at home with a download and a few clicks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices