Mystery hacker steals data on 1,000 North Korean defectors in South

SEOUL - The personal information of nearly 1,000 North Koreans who defected to South Korea has been leaked after unknown hackers got access to a resettlement agency’s database, the South Korean Unification Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said it discovered last week that the names, birth dates and addresses of 997 defectors had been stolen through a computer infected with malicious software at an agency called the Hana center, in the southern city of Gumi.

“The malware was planted through emails sent by an internal address,” a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the issue, referring to a Hana center email account.

The Hana center is among 25 institutes the ministry runs around the country to help some 32,000 defectors adjust to life in the richer, democratic South by providing jobs, medical and legal support.

Defectors, most of whom risked their lives to flee poverty and political oppression, are a source of shame for North Korea. Its state media often denounces them as “human scum” and accuses South Korean spies of kidnapping some of them.

The ministry official declined to say if North Korea was believed to have been behind the hack, or what the motive might have been, saying a police investigation was under way to determine who did it.

North Korean hackers have in the past been accused of cyberattacks on South Korean state agencies and businesses.

North Korea stole classified documents from the South’s defense ministry and a shipbuilder last year, while a cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy following a cyberattack linked to the North.

North Korean state media has denied those cyberattacks.

The latest data breach comes at a delicate time for the two Koreas which have been rapidly improving their relations after years of confrontation.

The Unification Ministry said it was notifying the affected defectors and there were no reports of any negative impact of the data breach.

“We’re sorry this has happened and will make efforts to prevent it from recurring,” the ministry official said.

Several defectors, including one who became a South Korean television celebrity, have disappeared in recent years only to turn up later in North Korean state media, criticizing South Korea and the fate of defectors.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New tech regulation 'inevitable,' Apple CEO says

WASHINGTON - Apple CEO Tim Cook predicts that new regulations of tech companies and social networks to protect personal data are "inevitable."

In an interview with news website Axios being broadcast broadcast Sunday on HBO television, Cook said he expected the US Congress would take up the matter.

"Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation," Cook said in an excerpt released by Axios. "I'm a big believer in the free market. But we have to admit when the free market is not working. And it hasn't worked here. I think it's inevitable that there will be some level of regulation.

"I think the Congress and the administration at some point will pass something."

Cook has previously been a proponent of self-regulation, especially as concerns user data protection.

But following the scandal that saw data consultancy Cambridge Analytica obtain data from millions of Facebook users, Cook said the industry was now "beyond" the scope of self-regulation.

Facebook has been trying to fend off concerns about how well it protects user data and defends against use of the site to spread misinformation aimed at swaying elections.

Controversies that have battered Facebook since the 2016 presidential election in the United States have raised questions over whether co-founder Mark Zuckerberg should keep his post as chief executive.

Turning to gender inequality in the workplace, Cook said the tech industry has generally been strong in diversity, even though a male-dominated culture prevails.

"I agree 100 percent from a gender point of view that the (Silicon) Valley has missed it, and tech in general has missed it," he said.

However, Cook added, "I’m actually encouraged at this point that there will be a more marked improvement over time."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

What type of online user are you?

MANILA – There are five global personas when it comes to online behavior, according to a new study.

MasterCard recently released the results of the Digital Sharing and Trust Project, which showed that consumers usually replace their “real world identities” when they go online, taking on “digital personas.”

Each category, MasterCard said, is based on the kind and amount of information that a person is willing to share.

“Nearly 2.5 billion people around the globe use the Internet every day,” Theodore Iacobuzio, vice president of MasterCard’s Global Insights Group which produced the study, said in a statement.

“This research shows that regardless of who they are and where they live, they all share something in common when it comes to how they act and behave online – these five unique personality types. It also shows us that when consumers go online, characteristics such as age, gender or nationality become secondary and they instead assume a sense of what we refer to as ‘social citizenship.’”

The Digital Sharing and Trust Project included both qualitative and quantitative consumer research conducted from November 2012 to March 2013 in the United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, India, South America, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Colombia.

It covered more than 9,000 digital consumers aged 16 to 65 who are engaged in some type of online activity at least once a week.

Here are the five types of online users, as mentioned in the study:

1. Open Sharers – This persona accounts for 20% of online consumers, and includes mostly males. They are said to be the “most highly digital” group of the five categories and tend to lead less risk-averse online activities. Half of them are online more than ten times a day and when they share their personal information, they expect deals, access and offers in return.

2. Simply Interactors – This persona accounts for 20% of online consumers. They include some of the most dedicated social networkers, but are not particularly tech-savvy consumers. When it comes to online shopping, 80% of them will research products online, but 63% still prefer to shop in person. Though they are aware of targeted marketing, they don’t see their data as valuable and thus don’t express significant concern about it.

3. Solely Shoppers – This persona accounts for 21% of online consumers, and is characterized by their reliance on the Internet for savvy shopping research and purchases. About 90% of them research products online before buying, while half of them use their mobile phones to check for best deals. They have low awareness of target marketing as only 37% know that social media sites use their personal data to inform ads.

4. Passive Users – This persona accounts for 20% of online consumers. They are not fully convinced of the Internet’s value and tend to spend the least amount of time online, whether for shopping or social networking. They are willing to trade their data for something in return.

5. Proactive Protectors – This persona accounts for 17% of online consumers. They are highly aware of targeted marketing, with 82% of them knowledgeable that marketers can target them based on their search and browsing history. They are unlikely to use social networks and the most guarded with their privacy settings of all personas, taking steps to protect and control their digital footprint.

“In today’s digital world, consumers are continuing to spend more of their time and money online,” Iacobuzio said. “That’s all the more reason that understanding these five distinct personas will be important for a variety of audiences, but perhaps most especially for retailers and marketers.”

Other findings in the study showed that 60% of consumers know how to change the privacy settings on their web browser; 64% believe their personal data has value to merchants and advertisers; and 55% appreciate when companies tailor offers to them based on the information they share.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com