Hungarian hacker who tried to blackmail Marriott into giving him a job falls for promise of all-expense-paid trip to U.S. for job interview. Google Wallet security cracked in seconds: The mobile app of Google Wallet, which lets you use your phone to make purchases, has a PIN which can be opened in seconds with a brute-force attack. The attack is limited to some specific conditions: The phone has to be physically available or and it has to have been previously rooted by the user. The attack, which can read the contents of the wallet including credit card numbers and details like transaction history, takes advantage of a hash of the PIN stored by the app. Fixing the flaw seems beyond Google’s abilities because it would require banks to accept responsibility for part of the transaction. EU bolsters cyber security agency: ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency, was set up in 2004. Its mandate is due to expire in September 2013, but a vote by the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee agreed to extend it until 2020. Under the new mandate ENISA will set up a full-scale European Union Computer Emergency Response Team, to counter cyber attacks against E.U. agencies and give support to member states in the event of attacks. iTunes Store accounts reportedly hacked: There are reports of iTunes users getting refunds after having their store accounts cleaned out by thieves. Users on Apple’s Support Community have been reporting hacks which have caused in unauthorized purchases and changes to their personal information. Users have reportedly been complaining of a similar problem for more than a year. According to The Global Mail Apple is all but not commenting on the problem. The company issued a statement which said: “Apple takes precautions to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Apple online services such as the Apple Online Store and iTunes Store use Secure Sockets Layer encryption on all Web pages where personal information is collected.” Job-seeking hacker gets 30 months in jail: Attila Nemeth, a 26 year old Hungarian, admitted to sending Trojan-infected emails to workers at a Marriot hotel late in 2010. This let him access back-end servers. He extracted sensitive information and then threatened to reveal it unless the chain offered him a job maintaining Marriott’s computer systems. The U.S. Secret Service was able to put a sting operation into place which lured him to the U.S. with the promise of an all-expenses-paid job interview. (Falling for that is yet another reason not to hire him.) Related content opinion Why Bitcoins are Just as Viable as Any Other Currency The true value of any currency is a reflection of how much people believe it's worth, according to CIO blogger Constantine von Hoffman. But it's wise to remember just how fast beliefs can change. By Constantine von Hoffman Apr 15, 2013 4 mins Government Technology Industry opinion No Surprise: Docs Show Obama Administration Lying About Drones President Obama has repeatedly said drones would only be used against members of al Qaida and allied groups. However, leaked intelligence documents show the administration has been using them to settle political and tribal feuds for at least four yea By Constantine von Hoffman Apr 10, 2013 3 mins Regulation Government opinion How Big Data Can Quickly Become Big Garbage The bigger the data the bigger the chance of mistakes or inaccuracies. In that vein, a large database used by retailers to screen people accused of stealing from employers is identifying innocent people and could result in major lawsuits, according t By Constantine von Hoffman Apr 04, 2013 2 mins Big Data opinion Why Crazy Trumps Logic on the Internet The earth is flat. Vaccines cause autism. 9/11 was a government conspiracy. These are just a few of the many ideas that continue to find adherents online despite overwhelming proof that they're not based on fact. CIO.com blogger Constantine von By Constantine von Hoffman Apr 02, 2013 3 mins Government Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe