August 18, 2012

Wired writers digital life hacked...and wiped


A few weeks ago Wired magazine writer Mat Honan's digital life was completely erased.  The attacker was able to do this in only one hour.  The hack exposed some weaknesses in Apple and Amazon's password reset processes.  These holes have since been closed.

I feel bad for Mat, but this story serves as a good learning lesson in areas such as:
  • Password resent processes
  • Helpdesk personnel training
  • Connecting everything with one email account
  • Backing up your files
Articles:
http://www.emptyage.com/post/28679875595/yes-i-was-hacked-hard
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/

Video by Matt:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/mat-honan-video/