Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 27 January 2020
The big lesson from the Bezos hack: Anyone can be a target

By MATT O'BRIEN been in any one of any
AP Technology Reporter number of apps."
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Prince Mohammed ex-
You may not think you're changed numbers with
in the same league as Jeff Bezos during a U.S. trip in
Bezos when it comes to be- spring 2018. On the same
ing a hacking target. Prob- visit, the prince also met
ably not, but you — and with other tech execu-
just about anyone else, tives, including the CEOs
potentially including senior of Google, Apple and
U.S. government figures — Palantir, as well as sports
could still be vulnerable and entertainment celeb-
to an attack similar to one rities and academic lead-
the Amazon founder and ers. Virgin Group founder
Washington Post owner ap- Richard Branson gave the
parently experienced. Saudi delegation a tour of
Two U.N. experts this week the Mojave Air and Space
called for the U.S. to in- Port in the desert north of
vestigate a likely hack of Los Angeles.
Bezos' phone that could Google and Apple didn't
have involved Saudi Ara- respond to emailed re-
bian Crown Prince Mo- quests for comment this
hammed bin Salman. A week on whether their ex-
commissioned forensic re- ecutives shared personal
port found with "medium contacts after that trip.
to high confidence" that Palantir Technologies con-
Bezos' iPhone X was com- firmed that its CEO Alex
promised by a video MP4 Karp met with the prince
file he received from the In this May 9, 2019, file photo Jeff Bezos speaks at an event before unveiling Blue Origin's Blue but said they never shared
prince in May 2018. Moon lunar lander in Washington. personal messages. Virgin
Bezos later went public Associated Press Group said it was looking
about the hack after the into it.
National Enquirer tabloid White House officials who into peoples' online lives opportunistic attacker." UC Berkeley cybersecu-
threatened to publish Bezos' may have messaged the multiply, more and more WhatsApp, owned by rity researcher Bill Marczak
private photos if he didn't crown prince, particularly people are likely to end up Facebook, is generally cautioned that there's still
call off a private investiga- on personal devices. Jared as targets, even if they're considered a secure way no conclusive evidence
tion into the hacking of his Kushner, a White House not the richest individuals in of trading private online that the Saudi video was
phone. It's not clear if those aide and President Donald the world. messages due to the fact malicious, adding that it
two events are related. The Trump's son-in-law, is known Ultimately, that boils down that it scrambles messages might be premature to
Saudis have denied any in- to have done so using to a simple lesson: Be care- and calls with encryption jump to broader conclu-
volvement in the purported WhatsApp. ful who you talk to — and so that only senders and sions about it. Many other
hack. Wyden called reports of what you're using to chat recipients can understand security experts have also
The events could poten- the Bezos hack "extraordi- with them. them. What many people questioned the forensics
tially affect U.S.-Saudi rela- narily ominous" and said "People need to get out of may not have realized is report upon which U.N. of-
tions. On Friday, Sen. Ron they may have "startling the mindset that nobody that it, like almost any mes- ficials are basing their con-
Wyden, an Oregon Demo- repercussions for national would hack them," said Ka- saging service, can act as clusions.
crat, said he is asking the security." tie Moussouris, founder and a conduit for malware. But Marczak said it is gen-
National Security Agency But they could resonate at CEO of Luta Security. "You That encryption, however, erally good advice to "al-
to look into the security of the personal level as well. don't have to be a specific is no help if a trusted con- ways be on the lookout for
As the cost of hacking falls target or a big fish to find tact finds a way to use that suspicious links or messages
while opportunities to dig yourself at the mercy of an connection to break into that sound too good to be
the phone's operating sys- true."
tem. In fact, an infected Even caution about avoid-
attachment can't be de- ing suspicious links might
tected by security software not be good enough to
while it's encrypted, and ward off spyware — es-
apps like WhatsApp don't pecially for high-profile
scan for malware even targets like dissidents, jour-
once files are decrypted. nalists and wealthy execu-
WhatsApp users can dis- tives. Hackers-for-hire last
able the automatic down- year took advantage of a
loading of photos, videos WhatsApp bug to remotely
and other media, which hijack dozens of phones
happens by default unless and take control of their
the user takes action. cameras and microphones
Other messaging apps are without the user having to
likely also vulnerable. "It just click anything to let them
so happens that this one in. In such cases, said Mar-
was a vulnerability in What- czak, "there doesn't need
sApp," said JT Keating, of to be any interaction on
Texas-based security firm the part of the person be-
Zimperium. "It could have ing targeted."q