Tag Archives: robert hansen

USPS Site Exposed Data on 60 Million Users

November 21, 2018

U.S. Postal Service just fixed a security weakness that allowed anyone who has an account atĀ usps.com to view account details for some 60 million other users, and in some cases to modify account details on their behalf.

KrebsOnSecurity was contacted last week by a researcher who discovered the problem, but who asked to remain anonymous. The researcher said he informed the USPS about his finding more than a year ago yet never received a response. After confirming his findings, this author contacted the USPS, which promptly addressed the issue.

How Not to Start an Encryption Company

August 18, 2015

Probably the quickest way for a security company to prompt an overwhelmingly hostile response from the security research community is to claim that its products and services are “unbreakable” by hackers. The second-fastest way to achieve that outcome is to have that statement come from an encryption company CEO who served several years in federal prison for running a $210 million Ponzi scheme. Here’s the story of a company that managed to accomplish both at the same time and is now trying to learn from (and survive) the experience.