Unearthing Instagram security flaw: 10-year-old Finish earns $10,000

ITRealms:

For successfully hacking into Instagram server, a 10-year-old Finnish hacker identified as Jani, has received 10,000 dollars, reports ITRealms.

The boy’s hacking of Instagram server assisted the company in discovering vulnerability in its back-end applications; which afforded him to delete comments on certain Instagram accounts.

Facebook in announcing this said that the boy, whose name was simply given as Jani, discovered the security vulnerability in the Instagram app, a photo-sharing service owned by Facebook in March this year.

Jani was reported to had deleted other people’s comments when he inputted malicious code into the comment field of the application.

ITRealms gathered that Jani informed Instagram about the technical fault via electronic mail (email) a few days later. Instagram in response and in appreciation rewarded him USD10,000 dollars from Instagram.

Jani pointed out that he is enthusiastic about coding games for years and had been building up his skills on his own with his twin brother.

The boy’s father, whose name was also kept on seal, said that he was very surprised that his son had learnt so much about coding and data security.

In the meantime the boy said he dreams of becoming an information security expert in the future.

“It would be my dream job; security is really important,” Jani asserted.

Okoli Vincent/GEE

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Defence HQ website hacked, restored, fingers APC

ITRealms:

The Defence Headquarters has affirmed the hacking of its website, which has also been restored, while industry watchers are fingering sympathisers of the main opposition, the All Progressive Congress (APC), reports ITRealms.

Reports gathered by ITRealms Friday, indicated that the website, www.defenceinfo.mil.ng was hacked in the early hours of today, Friday, January, 2015.

Reacting, the Defence Headquarters’ noted though, it’s information blog site has been restored.

A press statement signed by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, was quoted as “The site was defaced at the front end. However, the hackers could not infiltrate the database of the site.”

“Preliminary investigation shows that the attack was from the end of the site’s host. One Ima Sadiq who posed as the hacker has been knocked off and normal activities on the channel has resumed.

“Apparently, the blog site was targeted because of its role as a major channel for disseminating information on military and security activities in the nation’s counter-terrorism campaign," he said.

Just as industry watchers were awash with arguments with some insisting that the said Ima Sadiq may have hacked the defence headquarters website in sympathy to the APC who recently denied.

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