cybersecurity

Journalist Andrew McGill wanted to see if it was possible to hack a virtual toaster, after major servers were downed by connected appliances. He said it took less than an hour for hackers to find it.

National

An Experiment Shows How Quickly The Internet Of Things Can Be Hacked

6:46pm November 01, 2016

by NPR Staff

Reporter Andrew McGill set up a fake Internet-connected toaster to see how long it would take hackers to find it. He thought it would take days, but to his surprise it was under attack within minutes.

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Cyber Aggression Takes A Back Seat To Other Presidential Campaign Issues

2:24pm October 21, 2016

by Aarti Shahani

The White House says it plans to retaliate against Russia for cyberattacks. Cybersecurity has been a constant issue on the campaign trail. No candidate professes to have expertise in this policy area.

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A laptop screen displays the new Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy contest during a product launch in 2015.

Yahoo Reveals Massive Data Breach; Internet Fixates On Fantasy Football

6:10pm September 22, 2016

by Alina Selyukh

Yahoo says 500 million user accounts may have been breached. Social media erupt in jokes.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the DNC is working to secure its network as quickly as possible. She's shown here in 2014.

Russian Hackers Penetrate Democratic National Committee, Steal Trump Research

5:28pm June 14, 2016

by Scott Detrow

The DNC says the Russian hackers had access to its computer network for more than a year, viewing and stealing files.

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National

One Year After OPM Data Breach, What Has The Government Learned?

11:03pm June 06, 2016

by Brian Naylor

A year ago, the government said the personal information of millions of employees and others was stolen by hackers. Federal officials say they've boosted cybersecurity, but there's more work to do.

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A vendor counts bank notes at a market in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

World News

$81 Million Bangladesh Bank Heist Sparks Push For Stepped-Up Cybersecurity

4:13pm May 24, 2016

by Chris Arnold

The head of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication acknowledged at least two security breaches in addition to February's spectacular theft involving Bangladesh's central bank.

The official FBI seal is seen on an iPhone camera screen outside the agency's headquarters. With help from a third party, the FBI managed to unlock the iPhone used by one of San Bernardino shooters.

National

The Next Apple-FBI Question: Who Can Know How The iPhone Was Hacked?

12:33pm April 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

A third party helped the FBI unlock a phone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters. Should Apple know how they managed to hack the phone or can the third party sell that information?

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The iconic clock tower and library at University of California, Berkeley. The University of California system, especially Berkeley, has a stormy history around free speech and spying by the federal government.

At Calif. Campuses, A Test For Free Speech, Privacy And Cybersecurity

8:11pm March 11, 2016

by Laura Sydell

The University of California president, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, secretly ordered data monitoring across the system after hackers broke into the UCLA medical center.

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Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testifies Tuesday before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats.

Key Moments From The U.S. Spy Chief's Annual 'Litany Of Doom'

3:30pm February 09, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, National Intelligence Director James Clapper says "unpredictable instability has become the new normal."

How Did We Do On 2015 Tech Predictions? 'Still Waiting'

10:29am December 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

Last year, our tech reporters looked ahead to developments dealing with anticipatory computing, data breaches and Apple. Now as 2015 ends, they consider what has changed.

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