The Open Gazette

Reporting for people about to spend real money.

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Tech

6 stories filed under Tech, newest first.

  1. One Reused Password and an Old Inbox: How a Payroll Transfer Cleared

    Small business account takeovers rarely involve anything sophisticated. This composite follows the ordinary sequence from a years old breach to a cleared payment.

    Rosa Petrossian4 min read

  2. One Folder From Last Month: The Restore That Is the Entire Backup Test

    Most backup failures are only visible from the restore side. One restore, of one folder, from a date in the past, catches nearly all of them in an afternoon.

    Delphine Nakamura4 min read

  3. Freezing Your Credit Is Free and Reversible and Nobody Is Going to Suggest It

    A security freeze is free by federal law, reversible in minutes, and the only measure that actually prevents new accounts. It is also the one nobody markets.

    Rosa Petrossian5 min read

  4. Still Changing Your Password Every Ninety Days? That Rule Was Retired Years Ago

    Forced expiry and mandatory symbols made passwords worse rather than better. The current guidance is shorter, simpler, and considerably easier to live with.

    Ansel Hargrove4 min read

  5. The Backup Nobody Checked: How These Systems Fail Quietly and What Finds Them

    Backups rarely fail loudly. They fail by copying the wrong folder, by stopping months ago, or by producing a file nobody can open on the day it matters.

    Delphine Nakamura4 min read

  6. A Breach Notification Is Written for a Statute, Not for You, and It Shows

    The letter is drafted to satisfy a disclosure law and to limit what the company has admitted. Almost everything useful in it sits in the second half.

    Rosa Petrossian5 min read