Grim news comes out of Russia, as reported by Microsoft.  The tech giant has been tracking the activities of a Russian hacking group that goes by the name of Strontium. Their other names include APT28 and Fancy Bear.

Microsoft has confirmed that the group was behind a new attack that took place in April of this year (2019).

This is the group that claimed responsibility for both the attack on the Democratic National Committee during the run up to the 2016 election and the NotPeya attacks against the Ukraine in 2017.

In addition to targeting political groups in Europe and North America, Strontium members have been upping the stakes by compromising large numbers of popular IoT devices such as VOIP phones, printers, security cameras and the like.

Hardly a week goes by that we don't see another major data breach making the headlines.

The latest company to fall victim to hackers is CafePress.

They are well-known on the internet for offering a platform where users can create their own customized coffee mugs, tee shirts and the like.

Not long ago, both Google and Apple found themselves in hot water when it came to light that both companies had been making use of third-party partners to review Siri recordings.

As the companies explained at the time, their goal was to make their voice recognition software more efficient and more effective.

If you own an iPhone, be aware that a new iMessage vulnerability has been recently found and patched by Apple. This was part of the iOS 12.4 update.

The flaw allowed hackers to access and read the contents of files stored on iOS devices remotely.

Let's take a little time to talk about the vast numbers of smart devices in use around the world. You probably have several in your home or office. Smart devices need operating systems, just like your phone and your PC. Of course, mobile device operating systems must be much smaller and more compact.

Do you have an Android device?  Are you running Android Nougat, Oreo, or Pie (versions 7x, 8x, or 9x)?  Do you play games on your phone?

If you answered yes to those questions, you may have a problem. It is a bigger problem given that there are more than a billion devices currently in service running one of those operating systems.

Do you use LibreOffice? It's an open source clone that's functionally similar to Microsoft Office that has grown quite popular over the years. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux systems.

While open-source software solutions generally have the reputation of being safer and more secure, they're not immune to vulnerabilities.

Equifax is one of the three credit reporting firms in the US that suffered a massive data breach in 2017 that exposed the personal and financial state of literally half the country (more than 150 million people). As a result, Equifax was ordered to pay a hefty $700 million fine to settle a series of Federal and State investigations.

People like and tend to gravitate to Apple products because the company has gone to great lengths to make their products are highly secure.

Sure, you pay more for them, but most people justify the added expense because a) they look better and are better designed than competing products and b) they've got a reputation for being more secure.

When it works, Android's app permissions are awesome.

They're straightforward and easy to understand.

When you install a new app on your phone, you'll get a popup box that gives you a summary of what permissions the app says it needs. Then, you have the option to either accept or deny it that permission.