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Friday 8 december 2017 technology
A24

Have you been ‘pwned’ in a data breach? Troy Hunt can tell

By MATT O’BRIEN and ensuring the sensitive
AP Technology Writer data was passed to us in a
Troy Hunt has collected secure manner,” Roy Seh-
a trove of 4.8 billion sto- gal, Imgur’s chief operat-
len identity records pulled ing officer, said in an email.
from the darkest corners of PWN ALL THE THINGS
the internet — but he isn’t Hunt originally launched
a hacker. his site “as a bit of a curios-
Instead, he uses that re- ity,” he said. At the time, he
pository to help ordinary was a software architect at
people navigate the grow- pharmaceutical giant Pfiz-
ing scourge of the cor- er; a few years later, he quit
porate data breach. All to work as an independent
that personal information information security consul-
was originally taken from tant and instructor.
brand-name services such The researcher was analyz-
as LinkedIn, Kickstarter, ing data breaches float-
Dropbox, MySpace and ing around the web and
the cheating website Ash- noticed that many people
ley Madison, and later as- were turning up in mul-
sembled by Hunt. tiple data breaches. “It
Working barefoot and in struck me that this was
beachwear from his home Troy Hunt, information security author and instructor with Pluralsight, is sworn in before testifying something they probably
office on Australia’s Gold during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing didn’t know,” Hunt said in a
Coast, the amiable secu- on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. phone interview.
rity researcher set up his Associated Press People using his site can
irreverent website, “Have flows directly into the black cial media that it’s eroded one of his sources. Unlike search on their email ad-
I Been Pwned?” (POHND), market. “Data breaches traditional methods for Uber, which hid a recently- dress to see whether and
in 2013. Millions of people are another commodity, verifying identity, such as disclosed breach of more where their records have
have since used the free like heroin,” Hunt testified usernames, passwords or than 57 million stolen pas- been exposed. Roughly
service to see if hackers Thursday before the House knowledge-based ques- senger and driver records 1.7 million people also sub-
have liberated their per- Energy and Commerce tions about birthdays or for a year, Imgur took just scribe to alerts that sound
sonal details from unwary Committee. family history. 25 hours to go public after when their details pop up in
companies and posted UNLIKELY MESSENGER In late November, Hunt Hunt emailed the San Fran- newly discovered breach-
them online. Along the Hunt’s unlikely path from helped discover a 2014 cisco company on Thanks- es. The website’s user base
way, Hunt has become Queensland’s Surfers Par- breach of the photo-shar- giving Day. has grown rapidly as big-
a close student of data adise Beach to what he ing website Imgur after “Troy Hunt was extremely ger data breaches — some
breaches and the slipshod describes as “fancy gov- analyzing data from the helpful in bringing the data many years old — get at-
security that makes many ernment things” on Capitol hack passed along by breach to our attention tention. q
companies easy prey for Hill has been a running joke
attackers. He’s exposed since his invitation to testify
several such thefts himself, was announced. Virginia Delivery robots will need
in some cases identifying Republican Rep. Morgan
them before the compa- Griffith, introducing Hunt to permits to roam San Francisco
nies themselves did. lawmakers, noted that he
AN EPIDEMIC OF PWNAGE “put on a suit and tie for
“Pwned” — a deliberate us when he normally wears SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —
misspelling of “owned” — jeans and a black T-shirt.” Delivery robots in San Fran-
is slang used by gamers to Hunt said he splurged cisco will need permits
mean “utterly defeated.” on the brand-new Hugo before they can roam city
It’s an apt description of Boss suit and Australian sidewalks under legisla-
what it’s like to have crimi- outback-style boots be- tion approved by city su-
nals use your Social Se- cause he didn’t have any- pervisors. San Francisco
curity number, birthdate thing else to wear. He also has struggled to regulate
and other personal details downloaded an app that hometown startups that
to commit fraud in your instructed him on how to grew too popular, includ-
name. tie his necktie. ing short-term vacation
Hunt was invited to ap- “Doing my best ‘no really, rental platform Airbnb and
pear before Congress in I’m a professional’ imper- ride-hailing service Uber.
late November to help sonation,” he tweeted Supervisor Norman Yee
lawmakers wrestle with this from the U.S. Capitol steps proposed an outright ban
growing crisis of consumer shortly before the hearing. on delivery robots but set-
data theft. In just the past “Did it work?” tled on a permitting system. In this Feb. 20, 2017, file photo, a six-wheeled ground delivery
two years, attackers have ONCE MORE UNTO THE The supervisors approved it robot, from Starship Technologies, shares the sidewalk with
stolen sensitive information BREACH Tuesday. pedestrians at DuPont Circle in Washington, D.C.
Associated Press
about hundreds of millions Of course, this “new nor- A maximum of nine “au-
of people from the credit mal” of massive data tonomous delivery devic- human operators must be Marble and Postmates sub-
bureau Equifax, popular breaches is no joke. So es” may be allowed at any nearby. The robots must mitted a letter saying they
online services such as much personal data has time in the city. yield to pedestrians. welcomed government
Uber and too many other been publicly exposed The robots can’t go more Chief executives for au- regulations.
companies to count. through both theft and than 3 miles per hour (4.8 tonomous delivery compa- Other cities have taken
Much of that stolen data voluntary sharing on so- kilometers per hour) and nies Starship Technologies, similar steps.q