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Foreign hackers attacked two state election systems, FBI warns
Hackers outside of the United States attacked two state election databases in recent months and the FBI is warning voting officials across the country to bulk up security and investigate their own systems for similar malicious activity, Yahoo News reports. The twin hacks were outed in a "flash" alert from the FBI's Cyber Division. The alert does not say which states were targeted, though Yahoo reports that it likely refers to attacks in Arizona and Illinois.
Google enhances Gmail security and beefs up its warning systems
Google is trying to make Gmail as safe as it can possibly be with a few new features designed to prevent phishing, malware and hacking. This week, Google is rolling out an updated warning system on links sent through Gmail that may lead to unsafe sites. If you click a dangerous link in Gmail, you'll see a full-page warning with routes to more information and ways to protect your computer.
Yahoo alerts victims of state-sponsored cyberattacks
Yahoo is the latest tech company pledging to warn users if it appears they've been targeted in state-sponsored cyberattacks, Chief Information Security Officer Bob Lord announced today. Google, Facebook and Twitter rolled out similar alert systems earlier this year. Yahoo doesn't disclose how it determines if an attack is state-sponsored, but promises that it will only send alerts to users when it has "a high degree of confidence."
State-sponsored hackers are attacking news outlets on a massive scale
It's not hard to spot instances of state-sponsored hacking against dissidents and terrorism suspects, but it now appears that these attacks frequently target the press -- and more often than you see in the news. Google security engineers report that 21 of the top 25 media outlets worldwide have faced some kind of government-backed hacking attempt, with many of them flying under the radar. In Vietnam, for instance, attackers have tried to discourage coverage of human rights issues by tricking journalists into compromising their PCs. Google argues that awareness is the solution. The more press organizations recognize the online threat, the better they can lock things down and make sure their stories get heard. [Image credit: European Union 2012 - European Parliament, Flickr]
