Amer Owaida

Amer Owaida

Security Writer


Education M.A. in translation and interpreting.

Highlights of your career Working as a copywriter and freelancing as a translator while thinking in the correct language.

Position and history at ESET Joined in the fall of 2019 as security writer.

What malware do you hate the most? Adware, annoying the living daylight out of me since forever.

Favorite activities Drinking coffee while reading a book, exploring new places, trying new things..

Golden rule for cyberspace Don’t trust and always verify, always use a Gandalf level adblocker.

When did you get your first computer and what kind was it? A Pentium 3 powered pc with a GeForce card lacking a pixel shader, around the year 2000 so dial up modems were still a thing.

Favorite computer game/activity Assassin’s Creed or God of War spinning myths and history in fun alternative ways.


340 articles by Amer Owaida

Less Technical

WhatsApp flaw lets anyone lock you out of your account

WhatsApp flaw lets anyone lock you out of your account

Less Technical

WhatsApp flaw lets anyone lock you out of your account

An attacker can lock you out of the app using just your phone number and without requiring any action on your part

Amer Owaida13 Apr 20212 min. read


Social Media

Clubhouse in the spotlight after user records posted online

Clubhouse in the spotlight after user records posted online

Social Media

Clubhouse in the spotlight after user records posted online

Reports of another trove of scraped user data add to the recent woes of popular social media platforms

Amer Owaida12 Apr 20212 min. read


Privacy

Data from 500 million LinkedIn accounts put up for sale

Data from 500 million LinkedIn accounts put up for sale

Privacy

Data from 500 million LinkedIn accounts put up for sale

The treasure trove of data reportedly includes users’ LinkedIn IDs, full names, email addresses, phone numbers and workplace information

Amer Owaida09 Apr 20212 min. read


Cybercrime

$38 million worth of gift cards stolen and sold on dark web

$38 million worth of gift cards stolen and sold on dark web

Cybercrime

$38 million worth of gift cards stolen and sold on dark web

Easy to redeem and hard to trace, gift cards remain a hot commodity in the criminal underground

Amer Owaida07 Apr 20212 min. read


Digital Security

Are you prepared to prevent data loss?

Are you prepared to prevent data loss?

Digital Security

Are you prepared to prevent data loss?

From losing cherished memories to missing deadlines, the impact of not having backups when a data disaster strikes can hardly be overstated

Amer Owaida31 Mar 20215 min. read


Malware

Backdoor added to PHP source code in Git server breach

Backdoor added to PHP source code in Git server breach

Malware

Backdoor added to PHP source code in Git server breach

Had the incident gone unnoticed, the attackers could have taken over websites using the tainted code

Amer Owaida30 Mar 20212 min. read


Mobile Security

Apple rushes to patch zero-day flaw in iOS, iPadOS

Apple rushes to patch zero-day flaw in iOS, iPadOS

Mobile Security

Apple rushes to patch zero-day flaw in iOS, iPadOS

The bug is under active exploitation by unknown attackers and affects a wide range of devices, including iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches

Amer Owaida29 Mar 20212 min. read


COVID-19

Warning issued over scams touting fake COVID-19 vaccines, asking for Bitcoin

Warning issued over scams touting fake COVID-19 vaccines, asking for Bitcoin

COVID-19

Warning issued over scams touting fake COVID-19 vaccines, asking for Bitcoin

Money doesn’t buy you happiness – cryptocurrency doesn’t buy you a genuine COVID-19 vaccine

Amer Owaida25 Mar 20212 min. read


Cybercrime

Vengeful IT worker gets jail time for deleting company’s Microsoft user accounts

Vengeful IT worker gets jail time for deleting company’s Microsoft user accounts

Cybercrime

Vengeful IT worker gets jail time for deleting company’s Microsoft user accounts

The company was left to deal with three months’ worth of IT problems

Amer Owaida24 Mar 20212 min. read