[CS-FSLUG] Apple and Amazon security lapses exposed after writer has 'entire digital life' destroyed by hackers in minutes

[Timothy Butler]

I noted yesterday on another list that it was Amazon, not Apple that 
had the security lapse. Amazon ceded information to the hacker based on 
having been given only a *fake* credit card number. So, I think some of 
the reporting on this has been unfair -- it makes better news if Apple 
is at fault.

That said, for Apple to use the last four digits of a credit card as a 
verification tool is a really bad idea. I tend to agree with those who 
argue a credit card shouldn't be a means of verification at all...

In an increasingly cloud driven world, I think the big moral of the 
story is always have backups... and not just cloud ones.

Tim

On 2012-08-07 21:18, Fred A. Miller wrote:
> A leading tech writer has revealed how easy it was for his 'entire
> digital life' to be destroyed in less than an hour - and how Apple
> security lapses mean it can happen to you.
>
>  Mat Honan, who writes for Wired, was hacked because Apple only
> requires basic security questions in order to access your Apple ID.
>
>  From there the hackers were able to delete his Google and Gmail
> account, stop his iPhone from working and take control of his Twitter
> page.
>
>
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2184915/Apple-Amazon-security-lapses-exposed-writer-entire-digital-life-destroyed-hackers-minutes.html
> [1]