Leader of DDoS-for-Hire Gang Pleads Guilty to Bomb Threats

A 19-year-old man from the United Kingdom who headed a cybercriminal group whose motto was "Feds Can't Touch Us" pleaded guilty this week to making bomb threats against thousands of schools. On Aug. 31, officers with the U.K.'s National Crime Agency NCA arrested Hertfordshire resident George...

Why It’s Still A Bad Idea to Post or Trash Your Airline Boarding Pass

An October 2015 piece published here about the potential dangers of tossing out or posting online your airline boarding pass remains one of the most-read stories on this site. One reason may be that the advice remains timely and relevant: A talk recently given at a Czech security conference...

United Airlines - Base64 encoded String, Customized SSL, MIT license vulnerabilities

HackApp vulnerability scanner discovered that application United Airlines published at the 'play' market has multiple vulnerabilities...

2 Hackers Win Over 1 Million Air Miles each for Reporting Bugs in United Airlines

Two computer hackers have earned more than 1 Million frequent-flyer miles each from United Airlines for finding and reporting multiple security vulnerabilities in the Airline's website. Olivier Beg, a 19-year-old security researcher from the Netherlands, has earned 1 Million air miles from United...

General Motors GM Vulnerability Disclosure Program

General Motors’ new vulnerability disclosure program puts it alongside Tesla as the only major automakers with a mechanism for security researchers to report flaws. Unlike Tesla’s program, however, GM’s does not offer a monetary reward. GM launched its program last week via the HackerOne platform...

United Airlines Slow to Patch Mobile App Vulnerability

A vulnerability reported to United Airlines that could have been exploited to manipulate flight reservations and customer data sat unpatched for almost six months before it was fixed 10 days ago. Researcher Randy Westergren found and reported an issue in United’s mobile app in May, shortly after...

United Airlines Hacked by Sophisticated Hacking Group

A group of China-backed hackers believed to be responsible for high-profile data breaches, including the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the insurance giant Anthem, has now hit another high-profile target – United Airlines. United detected a cyber attack into its computer systems in May o...

Hacker Earns 1.25 Million Free Frequent Flyer Miles On United Airlines

What if you get 1 Million Frequent Flyer Miles for Free? Yes, 1 Million Air Miles… …I think that would be enough for several first-class trips to Europe or up to 20 round-trips in the United States. Two Computer Hackers have earned more than 1 Million frequent-flyer miles each from United Airline...

United Airlines Hands Out Million-Mile Bug Bounty

Poking about a United Airlines online property might not seem to be the wisest course of action for a professional hacker given the fallout over the Chris Roberts saga, but Jordan Wiens insists he wasn’t deterred. Wiens, who founded a security company in Florida called Vector 35 and not too long...

FBI: Banned Security Researcher Admitted to Hacking Plane In-Flight

A security researcher who was pulled out from a United Airlines flight last month had previously admitted to Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI that he had taken control of an airplane and made it fly briefly sideways. Chris Roberts, the founder of One World Labs, was recently detained, question...

Win Free Air Miles for Finding Security Flaws in United Airlines

If you are a security researcher and fond of traveling from one conference to another, then United Airlines' bug bounty program would be of great interest for you. United Airlines has launched a new bug bounty program inviting security researchers and bug hunters to report vulnerabilities in its...