Actress and social media influencer Gwyneth Paltrow promotes it. American rapper Snoop Dog hypes it. And Elon Musk now allows use of it to purchase a Tesla. So why the interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin? We are a cash-based society where trust in governments and their ability to manage money and its…

Recently, I received notification from a company which had processed an annual auto-renewal payment. The next day, I received a second invoice appearing to be from the same organization for a significantly greater amount and for products I had not agreed to purchase. Everything on the invoice appeared legitimate but closer inspection revealed the invoice…

Is your refrigerator hackable? Devices like smart appliances, cars, medical devices and even bike helmets can collect and transfer data wirelessly via the internet, creating a growing opportunity for hackers to steal information. These Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are becoming ubiquitous. In 2018 there were an estimated seven billion of them. That could grow to 34…

Think your computer passwords are safe? It depends. Hackers use password “crackers” such as dictionary or brute force attack applications to detect passwords. Dictionary attacks search for common words or phrases and, while searching, will substitute characters, such as “s” for “$.” Brute force attacks try every possible combination of characters until eventually the password…

Coined in 1996, the term phishing is analogous to the sport of angling — internet scammers “fished” technology users, luring them into sharing passwords or other valuable information. According to the FBI, phishing was the most prevalent form of cybercrime for 2020 — up 100 per cent from 2019. Nearly 75 per cent of organizations…