Loyola Information Security Blog

As you’ve probably heard, Apple flipped the switch on it’s new payment system that it hopes will replace all the plastic cards in our wallets with virtual ones that live within our phones (note: card data is not actually stored there, but more on that later). Many analysts have said that this new payment system […]

Last week, security researchers identified a new ransomware trojan in the wild. This new variant, deemed ZeroLocker, operates in a similar fashion to last year’s CryptoLocker. Ransomware is a category of malware that restricts access to a computer or files and demands a ransom be paid to restore access. CryptoLocker and ZeroLocker accomplish this by […]

Earlier today, Daily Dot reported that nearly 5 million Gmail usernames and passwords have been hacked and posted on a Russian Bitcoin forum.  The unknown hacker posted a screenshot of the database on the forum Tuesday evening, revealing some of the stolen usernames and passwords. As of earlier today, the list has been taken down […]

After weeks of knowing about the issue, a report came out last week alerting the public that Home Depot’s computers have been hacked for about five months now, revealing the credit and debit card information of millions of customers. The hackers are still unknown, but are believed to be among two groups.  The hackers managed […]

A French IT manager recently discovered a flaw in the way millions of devices communicate across the internet.  The bug is found in “bash,” which is a program that translates human-readable commands into a language readable by the computer’s operating system.  This bug affects any device that can connect to the internet and uses the operating […]

SANS has released their October edition of OUCH! with five steps to staying secure with all types of technology. “We are excited to announce the October issue of OUCH! This month, led by Guest Editor Lenny Zeltser, we cover the top five steps to staying secure. With both technology and threats constantly evolving, people are […]

Brief History: In October 2004, the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) to spread awareness of cyber security, and to provide all Americans the information needed to stay secure online.  Since its beginning 11 years ago, the idea and awareness has spread […]

Beware of a new phishing attempt going around asking users to follow a link to access some e-mail messages. The Information Security Office has received many notifications of this e-mail floating around. The e-mail format is as follows: “Subject: Re: Urgent/Important Maintainance Dear user@luc.edu, In regards to the ongoing maintainance. Some of your important messages […]

  Sans has just released the February issue of OUCH! This month, led by Guest Editor Cheryl Conley of Lockheed Martin, we focus on securing your home network. With so many devices nowadays connecting to people’s homes, we felt it was important that people understand how to secure them. As such, we ask you share OUCH! with your family, friends, […]

Sans has released the March edition of OUCH! This month, led by Guest Editor Lenny Zeltser, we focus on malware. Specifically, what malware is and the key steps you can take to protect yourself against it. (Hint: it’s not just anti-virus software.) As such, we ask you share OUCH! with your family, friends, and coworkers. […]