Nathan Wasson
Nathan grew up with computer hardware news and reviews in the family business and eventually joined the business himself in 2014. He initially joined to make video reviews and help with the podcast, but was soon asked if he would write, and he's been writing about computers ever since. More recently, Nathan has developed a passion for internet privacy, security, and decentralization and likes writing about those topics the most. He spends much of his free time tinkering with Linux distributions, custom Android ROMs, privacy and security tools, and self-hosting solutions. He also started gaming on a PC at a young age and still can't give up Unreal Tournament 2004 and Supreme Commander 2. Beyond computers, Nathan is a car enthusiast and philosophy nerd.
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Falcon Northwest FragBox SFF Gaming PC: $5,489 (As Tested) The Falcon Northwest FragBox takes the crown as the fastest pre-built PC we've tested to date, even with its relatively small and portable form factor. The fastest hardware money can buy Impressive thermal management Low noise levels Premium fit and...
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Mortal Kombat has a reputation for being brutal, but rather than exacting excessive violence on video game characters, unknown threat actors are brazenly brutalizing their victims’ finances in a Mortal Kombat-themed ransomware campaign. Aside from ransomware, this campaign also makes use of the Laplas Clipper malware...
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Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV) has suffered a major data breach, with hackers making off with a trove of sensitive information. The company has begun notifying affected individuals of this incident, but the details remain sparse. According to a sample of the security notice issued by PBV, unknown threat actors managed...
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Last year saw a rise in threat actors abusing Microsoft Office macros to infect their victims’ systems with malware, prompting Microsoft to block macros embedded in documents downloaded from the internet. In response, threat actors have had to pivot to alternative malware distribution and infection methods, including...
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We often report on phishing campaigns involving fraudulent customer support agents who trick victims into giving up sensitive information or installing malware on their systems. However, sometimes threat actors flip this script, instead posing as customers in need of help in order to prey on customer support agents...
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The password manager KeePass is currently the subject of a debate concerning whether or not a particular design decision should be considered a security vulnerability. At the center of this debate is KeePass’ support of triggers, one of which exports users’ password databases. Threat actors could potentially leverage...
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Earlier this month, a Swiss hacker who goes by the name maia arson crimew exfiltrated a copy the US government’s No Fly List from an insecure server. This list, which names individuals who are forbidden from flying anywhere within US borders, is a subset of the Terrorist Screening Database and is kept hidden from the...
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Last November, two weeks after the Biden administration held the second International Counter Ransomware Summit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a joint cybersecurity advisory warning...
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Yesterday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) published a joint cybersecurity advisory warning network defenders about phishing attacks that leverage remote monitoring and management...
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TA444 is an advanced persistent threat (APT) group believed to be associated with the North Korean government. However, rather than receiving financial backing from its government, the group seems to bring in revenue for the government. Unlike most state-backed APTs, such as China’s Aoqin Dragon or Iran’s Charming...
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Over the past week, Gmail users have been reporting abuse of the Google Ads platform. However, rather than conducting ad fraud or placing ads that distribute malware, the actors behind this recent activity are leveraging the Google Ads invitation system to direct traffic to various to risky websites. These sites are...
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A massive ad fraud campaign has shut down after undergoing mitigation efforts organized by HUMAN, cybersecurity firm that works to distinguish human beings from bots for the purpose of disrupting cybercrime. The ad fraud campaign, dubbed “VASTFLUX” by members of HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team...
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Yesterday, T-Mobile, one of the big three mobile internet service providers in the US, announced that it recently fell victim to a data breach. The company disclosed this information in both a news release and a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the news release skips over important...
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This past July, we wrote about a report published by Coverware that found that the dollar value of the median ransomware payment was on a downward trajectory beginning in Q1 2022 and continuing in Q2 of the same year. However, we weren’t sure whether this decrease in the value of individual payments would reflect in...
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Among the requirements for installing Windows 11 are two security features: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 and Secure Boot. As we’ve documented before, it’s possible to sidestep these requirements and force a Windows 11 install or upgrade anyway. Microsoft even published a registry hack to give users this...
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The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), a government organization that sells alcoholic beverages within Ontario, Canada, has published a statement notifying customers of a cybersecurity incident affecting the retailer’s online store. According to this statement, unknown threat actors managed to compromise the...
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Back in September, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced Raptor Lake, the company’s 13th generation of Core processors, and teased a chip coming to stores in early 2023 that would be able to hit 6GHz right out of the box. Well, it's now 2023, and Intel launched the world’s first 6GHz CPU this morning. Bearing the name Core i9-13900KS, this speed
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A new report claims that a law enforcement app leaked the personal details of suspects and police officers involved in major police operations going all the way back to 2011. SweepWizard, the app in question, was developed by ODIN Intelligence to help police coordinate multi-agency raids, such as Operation Protect the...
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It's no secret that cyberattacks have been on the rise lately, but a series of failures today may raise some eyebrows. The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have all experienced critical service disruptions today, and the root causes are still under investigation.
The United Kingdom’s postal service...
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Those who follow cybersecurity news will know that both security researchers and threat actors alike are frequently discovering security vulnerabilities, prompting developers to create and release patches for these vulnerabilities. While fixing security flaws is a good thing, it’s bad news when such fixes are prompted...
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Cybersecurity researchers at ASEC have uncovered a threat campaign distributing remote access software under the guise of a Pokémon NFT card game. While many threat campaigns distribute Remote Access Trojans (RATs) that operate in the background to grant threat actors access to compromised systems, this particular...
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Last month, Lenovo preempted CES 2023 by unveiling an assortment of new IdeaPad and ThinkPad devices. However, these early announcements didn’t reveal Lenovo’s full lineup of new and updated offerings. Now that CES is here, Lenovo has even more new laptops, monitors, and PCs to show off. In this post, we’re going to...
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