Security Is Another Top Priority

Things to note

The stats programming language R had a security flaw and you should upgrade ASAP. It was possible to get someone to run arbitrary code by sending them a specially crafted R Data Serialisation (RDS) file. Not what you want. It’s fixed in R Core version 4.4.0.

Major Canadian retailer London Drugs closed over 80 stores due to a “cybersecurity incident”. Stores were starting to get reopened over the weekend after the company rebuilt a bunch of its systems. There are just so many of these now it’s hard not to succumb to despair.

Australian company Outabox had a databreach affecting up to one million people. The Outabox system collected all kinds of sensitive data—facial biometrics, scans of driver licenses, gambling usage data, etc.—for pubs and clubs in NSW and the ACT. A Sydney man was quickly arrested for blackmail but it’s unclear if they were behind a website that was set up to publicise the data breach. Disgruntled subcontractor or something bigger?