Archinect - News

Hackers are using architects’ computers for crypto-mining, cybersecurity firm warns

2023-09-08T11:09:00-04:00

Cybersecurity firm Cisco Talos is warning of the potential for hackers to target architects and other designers with crypto-mining malware. The hacking campaign, which has largely targeted French-speaking architects, engineers, and graphic designers, sees the victim’s computer infected with malware via installer tools.

“Cybercriminals are abusing Advanced Installer, a legitimate Windows tool used for creating software packages, to drop cryptocurrency-mining malware on infected machines,” Cisco Talos explains.

The vulnerability centers on Advanced Installer, a package used in the installations of legitimate software installers such as Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Revit, and SketchUp. The hackers package such installers with malicious scripts and use Advanced Installer’s Custom Actions feature to make the software installers execute the malicious scripts.

The resulting malware allows h...

Zaha Hadid Architects hit with ransomware attack

2020-04-27T17:18:00-04:00

Information stolen from the servers of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is being held at ransom by computer hackers.

The Architect’s Journal reports that the 348-person, London-based practice has been ensnared by a ransomware attack that has resulted in the loss of some unknown quantity of confidential information.

According to the report, ZHA alerted police on Tuesday, April 21st that the attack had taken place after office employees discovered messages from the hackers announcing that information stored on its internal server had been encrypted and would only be returned if the hackers were paid a ransom. According to AJ, instead of communicating with the hackers, ZHA is working with a cyber forensics team to investigate the situation.

The architecture firm maintains that the information had been previously backed up and that its work was not under threat, though it is unclear exactly what information was taken. A ZHA spokesperson tells AJ, “We immediately worked to secure our networ...

Hackers can use the vibration motor in your phone to eavesdrop on you

2016-06-08T15:05:00-04:00

Hackers may be pickin’ up good vibrations from your phone. All the better to surveil you with, my dear. Researchers at the Electrical and Computer Engineering school of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign discovered that the vibration motor in your devices can operate like a microphone, according to the researchers’ paper. That means, if a hacker rewires your vibration motor (which TechCrunch reported could be executed “in a minute or two”), they can listen to what you’re saying.

In related news:

The theme for June is Privacy. How has architecture transformed notions of privacy? How have privacy concerns transformed architecture? Submit to our open call by Sunday, June 19!

University of Calgary pays $16K to recover data held hostage by ransomware attackers

2016-06-08T13:05:00-04:00

Canada's University of Calgary paid almost $16,000 ($20,000 Canadian, ~£10,800) to recover crucial data that has been held hostage for more than a week by crypto ransomware attackers. The ransom was disclosed on Wednesday morning in a statement issued by University of Calgary officials. It said university IT personnel had made progress in isolating the unnamed ransomware infection and restoring affected parts of the university network.

"It went on to warn that there's no guarantee paying the controversial ransom will lead to the lost data being recovered."

Attacks with ransomware have become increasingly frequent. As the name suggests, ransomware allows hackers to take computers hostage until the user pays up. The increasing prevalence of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has facilitated the rise in such attacks.

As the University of Calgary's Vice President stated, ""We are conducting world class research daily and we don’t know what we don’t know in terms of who’s been impacted and the last thing we want to do is lose someone’s life’s work."

For more on that state of privacy in our digital era, check out these links:

City governments are learning the hard way that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to cybersecurity

2016-04-04T13:09:00-04:00

Among the toughest cybersecurity challenges cities face are recruiting a skilled workforce, increasing education and training for employees on cyberthreats, and taking steps to ensure utility companies and service providers are protecting public water and electrical systems. [...] Cybersecurity experts say large cities are competing with private companies to recruit and retain skilled workers. Smaller cities, particularly in rural areas, often lack staffing and funds for cybersecurity

More cybersecurity and hacker news on Archinect:

Traffic Lights are Easy to Hack

2014-08-20T18:26:00-04:00

In a paper published this month, the researchers describe how they very simply and very quickly seized control of an entire system of almost 100 intersections in an unnamed Michigan city from a single ingress point. The exercise was conducted on actual stoplights deployed at live intersections [...] As is typical in large urban areas, the traffic lights in the subject city are networked ... allowing them to pass information to and receive instruction from a central management point.

Hackers Present Threat to Internet of Things

2014-08-08T13:16:00-04:00

A hacker with a smartphone can unlock your front door [...] Criminals and intelligence agencies grab data from your home thermostat to plan robberies or track your movements. According to computer-security researchers, this is the troubling future of the Internet of Things, the term for an all-connected world where appliances like thermostats, health-tracking wristbands, smart cars and medical devices communicate with people and each other through the Internet.