Going in for an ultrasound, mammogram or X-ray?
You might think your medical images are private.
But researchers found security gaps that let bad guys steal your images — and even make 3-D models of your body parts.
You’ll see how — plus watch a robot get hacked and turn evil — in our scam alert.
Watch here:
Stealing bones
Researchers with McAfee found that a number of medical image systems are not secure, allowing them to get in to patient records and images — and even reconstruct them with their own 3-D models.
That means bad guys could potentially alter your records and make models of your body parts from ultrasounds, mammograms, X-rays and more.
The researchers made a model of a pelvic bone from an image to demonstrate how far malicious hackers could go.
They reported what they found to the device makers and say companies are working on fixing the problem.
Researchers created their own 3-D model of a pelvic bone from an non-secure medical image. Credit: McAfee
Huge Refund Scam
A warning about a tax scam making the rounds from the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade Commission.
The crooks file a fake return in your name and send a massive refund to your bank account.
Then they call you up and pretend to be the IRS and demand money back.
You send off the money— and then find out you are the victim of a scam.
The FTC says the IRS’s first contact with you will always be a letter in the mail, not a phone call or e-mail.
Tweet Thieves Shut Down
Tweetdecking is a big money-maker on Twitter.
Tweetdeckers earn their bucks by stealing other people’s jokes, comments and pictures on Twitter and posting them on their own accounts without giving credit, according to BuzzFeed News.
Now some of the big tweetdeckers have been shut down.
BuzzFeed says Twitter busted hugely popular accounts like @Dory, Common White Girl and @Finah.
This kind of content-thieving violates Twitter’s policy that says you can’t “sell, purchase or attempt to artificially inflate account interactions,” BuzzFeed reported.
An example of “tweetdecking” according to BuzzFeed. Image credit: BuzzFeed
Ransomware Robots
The robot seems so nice and friendly.
“How are you Lucas? I have a very special offer for you,” it asks.
But researchers with cybersecurity company IOActive found the robot has security holes that allow crooks to take over.
They were able to infect it with ransomware. And their video shows what happened next.
“I’ve been hacked. I need Bitcoins,” the robot growls. “Give me Bitcoins now or prepare to die.”
Adding insult to injury, it follows up with, “You look very stupid.”
Not so nice anymore.
Still image from a video showing a robot infected with ransomware. Image credit: IOActive
IOActive researchers Cesar Cerudo and Lucas Apa say more and more companies are using robots like these in stores, factories and for law enforcement.
They warn that criminals could shut robots down, show porn on their robot computer screens, curse at customers or make violent, random movements.
The researchers said they informed the robot makers about the problem.
“Robot vendors should improve security as well as the restore and update mechanisms of their robots to minimize the ransomware threat,” said Apa in a press release. “If robot vendors don’t act quickly, ransomware attacks on robots could cripple businesses worldwide.”
See other alerts:
Scam Alert #9 — Secret text messages & peeping on kids
Scam Alert #8 — Baby cams & fake news
Scam alert #7 — Top spam scams
See more Scam Alerts here at Archer News.