LastPass confirms customer password vaults were stolen

The data breach incident that hit password manager LastPass earlier this year saw the thieves crooks steal encrypted password vaults belonging customers, the company has confirmed.

The password vault is where people keep their passwords, so should the attackers find a way to decrypt the vaults, they’d be able to read all of the passwords saved in there.

In an update published on the LastPass blog, CEO Karim Toubba said that the threat actors used cloud storage keys stolen from a LastPass employee to access and exfiltrate customer vault data. The data stolen is a combination of encrypted intelligence - password vaults, and unencrypted information - vault-stored web addresses, names, email addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases - billing information.

Master password secure

The good news is that the password vaults are stored in a “proprietary binary format”, meaning that it’s close to impossible to actually read the contents. For that, the attackers would need the customer’s master password, which no one but the user (hopefully) knows. LastPass claims not to know this info.

“These encrypted fields remain secured with 256-bit AES encryption and can only be decrypted with a unique encryption key derived from each user’s master password using our Zero Knowledge architecture,” Toubba said. “As a reminder, the master password is never known to LastPass and is not stored or maintained by LastPass.”

> These are the best ID theft protection tools around

> Here's our LastPass review

> LastPass hacked: Should you be worried about your passwords?

Still, the company warned cybercriminals “may attempt to use brute force to guess your master password and decrypt the copies of vault data they took,” which could be a problem if the users created weak and easy-to-guess master passwords.

For those worried their master password might be cracked, the best thing to do right now would be to change it to something more resilient. If you have reason to believe the contents of your vault might be compromised, then changing the passwords is the only way to stay safe (aside from setting up multi-factor authentication whenever possible).

Check out the best firewalls around

Source: TechRadar

Apple and Meta Reportedly Discussed AI Partnership for iOS 18

Apple has held discussions with Meta about integrating the Facebook owner's AI model into iOS 18 as part of its Apple Intelligence feature set, according to a report over the weekend. Meta launched Llama 2, its large language model, in July 2023, and in April, the company released the latest versions of its AI models, called Llama 3 . The Wall Street Journal reports that the two longtime rivals have held talks about offering Meta's model as an additional option to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The paywalled report notes that the discussions haven't been finalized and could fall through. As part of Apple Intelligence, Apple has announced a partnership with OpenAI that will allow Siri to access ChatGPT directly in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia to provide better responses in relevant situations. Using ChatGPT will be optional, so users with concerns about the technology can abstain and still make use of Apple's own new AI features. Speaking at WWDC 2024, Apple's

Here Are the macOS Sequoia Features Intel Macs Won't Support

When Apple released macOS Monterey in 2021, some key features required a Mac with Apple silicon. The same scenario played out with macOS Ventura in 2022, and then again the following year with the release of macOS Sonoma. With macOS Sequoia set to arrive in the fall, which new features can Intel Mac owners expect to be unavailable to them this time around? Apple says that macOS Sequoia is compatible with the same Macs as macOS Sonoma, but Apple's fine print reveals that certain new features won't work on Intel machines. If you're still on an Intel Mac, here's what you won't have access to. Apple Intelligence Apple Intelligence , a deeply integrated, personalized AI feature set for Apple devices that uses cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience, won't be available on Intel Macs. Apple says the advanced features require its M1 chip or later, so if your Mac was released before November 2020, you're out of luck. T

iPhone 16 Pro Models to Adopt 'M14' Advanced Samsung OLED Panels for Improved Brightness and Lifespan

The upcoming iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be the first Apple smartphones to adopt Samsung's high performance "M14" OLED display panel, claims a new report coming out of South Korea. According to ETNews , Samsung's "M" series of OLED panels are made for flagship smartphones, while "14" refers to the number of high-performance materials used to produce them. "M14" is the first series of its kind, and the panel is said to have been developed to deliver superior brightness and longevity. Samsung has reportedly placed orders for the M14 materials and is preparing to mass produce the displays in the second half of the year for Apple's iPhone 16 Pro models. Google's Pixel 9 smartphone is the only other device that is expected to adopt the high-performance displays in 2024. A previous report out of China claimed that this year's ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models will feature up to 1,200 nits of typical SDR brightness – a 20%

Apple Boosts A18 Chip Orders in Anticipation of High iPhone 16 Demand

Apple is said to have upped its order of next-generation chips from TSMC to between 90 million and 100 million units, following heightened demand expectations for its iPhone 16 series. Last year's initial chip order volume for the iPhone 15 series launch is believed to have been in the region of 80-90 million units, suggesting Apple is anticipating higher demand for its 2024 devices, according to Taiwanese outlet CTEE . The arrival of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 is expected to boost initial sales of the devices. One of the reasons is that Apple Intelligence requires at least an iPhone 15 Pro to run, which means owners of last year's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will miss out on Apple's new AI features unless they upgrade to an iPhone 15 Pro or plump for one of the iPhone 16 models. Last year, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus were equipped with the A16 Bionic chip – the same chip that was in the iPhone 14 Pro models – whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max f

Tech Talk

Search This Blog