Karen Spiegelman

Dec 15, 2023 | darkreading.com | Karen Spiegelman

If you are in the market for a smartphone but want to break away from the Apple-Google duopoly, look no further: these alternative smartphones are based on various Linux variants and custom hardware. Smartphones go pretty much everywhere and are used for almost everything. But as is the case for anything that becomes a ubiquitous part of our daily experience, these mobile devices are capable of leaking a lot of information about our online activities, personal preferences, and physical movements.

Oct 12, 2023 | darkreading.com | Karen Spiegelman

Now that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill defining the legal obligations of data brokers into law, businesses that serve people in the Golden State will have to meet a new set of processes to safeguard consumers' personal privacy. The new law consolidates California-specific processes under a state agency established by prior privacy legislation.

Jul 31, 2023 | darkreading.com | Karen Spiegelman

It's almost August, which means Hacker Summer Camp — the confluence of BSides Las Vegas, Black Hat USA, and DEF CON — is nearly upon us. If you're going to Las Vegas to take part in the annual celebration of probing every system for any possible weakness, we've got a wide selection of documentaries to get you in the investigative mood.

Jul 21, 2023 | darkreading.com | Karen Spiegelman

With Black Hat USA 2023 looming, it's time to start thinking about the Oscars of cybersecurity, the Pwnie Awards. The statuettes will be handed out live in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Aug. 9, at 6:30 pm – with the exception of this year's Lifetime Achievement Pwnie, which was awarded at the Summercon hackers' meetup in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, when the other nominees were announced. Margin Research's Sophia d'Antoine and Ian Roos presented the nominees.

Jul 17, 2023 | darkreading.com | Karen Spiegelman

The discovery of moderate to severe vulnerabilities in the baseboard management controllers (BMCs) used by 15 different vendors highlighted the danger of firmware flaws in December 2022. Because firmware lives closer to the hardware level, where more most security scanners cannot reach, it's difficult to find and address vulnerabilities. And because firmware components are so foundational and widely deployed, breaching one can give an attacker access to entire networks.