This clever scam nearly hijacked a tech CEO's Apple ID

About this episode

This episode discusses a clever scam targeting a tech CEO's Apple ID and raises concerns about data privacy in medical research.

In episode 459 of Smashing Security, we dive into a chillingly clever account takeover attempt targeting WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg - involving MFA fatigue, real Apple alerts, a convincing support call, and a phishing page that oh-so-nearly worked. If a famous techie could have this happen to you, can you be sure you're immune? Plus: would you donate your lifetime medical history to science if you were promised anonymity? We unpack serious concerns around UK Biobank, where “de-identified” data may not be as anonymous as you think — and how surprisingly little information it takes to reveal everything. And! Human-powered “AI”, and a punishment worse than prison: eight hours on the RSA expo floor... All this, and much more, in episode 459 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity veteran Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin. EPISODE LINKS: DOGE employee stole Social Security data and put it on a thumb drive, report says - TechCrunch. Foreign hacker in 2023 compromised Epstein files held by FBI, source and documents show - Reuters. New font-rendering trick hides malicious commands from AI tools - Bleeping Computer. Lockdown Mode - Apple support. Gone…

People in this episode

Host: Graham Cluley

Guest: Paul Ducklin

Topics covered

• account takeover
• cybersecurity
• MFA fatigue
• data privacy
• medical history
• phishing

Keywords

• Apple ID
• scam
• MFA fatigue
• UK Biobank
• data privacy
• phishing
• cybersecurity
• medical history
• account takeover

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UK Biobank, Apple, TechCrunch, Reuters, Bleeping Computer, The Guardian

Books & works: Smashing Security, Gone (Almost) Phishin’, Listen to the Live Scam Call Targeting Matt Mullenweg’s Apple Account

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