A close aide to Israel's prime minister is hacked, and messages said to be his leak online 16 days before Israel votes

The rest of the day

6 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Karaoke chain's 8.7 million records exposed

   Daiichi Kosho, Japan's biggest karaoke company, says malware at a contractor exposed records on 8,631,000 customers and 93,000 employees. [3] Malware is harmful software, and it was found on one employee's computer at Nippon Columbia, a music and entertainment group that handles Daiichi Kosho's customer data. [3] Nippon Columbia told Daiichi Kosho on 5 October and cut the computer off the next day. [3] The records hold names, genders, birth dates, email addresses and phone numbers, but no passwords. [3] Daiichi Kosho says it has not confirmed that any data was stolen. [3]

   • Customers8,631,000 records · 99%
   • Employees93,000 records · 1%

   Why it matters — Customers of Big Echo and five other chains it runs may be affected. [3] Daiichi Kosho is advising them to stay cautious, and BleepingComputer, a security news site, advises distrusting unexpected emails, texts or calls that ask for payment. [3]

2. 03

   Three more big US law firms hit

   Holland & Knight and Squire Patton Boggs, two large US law firms, told the attorney general of Vermont, a US state, on Thursday that Social Security numbers were exposed in break-ins. [4] A Social Security number is the ID number Americans use for tax and work. Holland & Knight says an attacker used tricks on people, called social engineering, to reach a firm computer from outside. [4] A day earlier another firm, Nelson Mullins, was sued; it says a gang that targets law firms copied documents from one user's laptop. [4] All three say the damage was limited. [4]

   Why it matters — Law firms hold their clients' private papers, money records and personal details, which is why gangs go after them, Reuters reports. [4] Two other firms, WilmerHale and Weil Gotshal, have paid gangs after earlier break-ins, either a ransom or to keep stolen files quiet. [4]

3. 04

   A software flaw hands over hidden websites' addresses

   A flaw in GoBalance, a tool many hidden websites use to stay online under attack, lets anyone work out the secret key behind a site's address from public information. [5] These sites run on Tor, a network that hides where a website is, and the key controls the address. [5] Searchlight Cyber, a security firm, disclosed it on 8 October. [5] Between 5 and 7 October both addresses of Dread, one of the biggest hidden forums, were taken over and pointed at a rival. [5] Its operators first blamed a slip, then the flaw. [5] No official fix exists yet. [5]

   Why it matters — A patch cannot take back a key that has already leaked, so an affected site has to move to a new address, as Dread and a market called Omega have done. [5] Visitors to a hijacked address can be sent to a copy of the site, and Dread has told its users to change their passwords. [5]

4. 05

   Swiss government pension fund leaks data

   Publica, the fund that runs pensions for Swiss federal employees, said on Thursday that its data had leaked. [6] The leak followed a cyber attack at the end of September on an outside company that supplies Publica's software. [6] Publica has not named the company. [6] The Swiss attorney general's office has opened an investigation. [6] Publica and the authorities are still working out how much data was affected. [6]

   Why it matters — The people at risk are Swiss government workers and others whose pensions Publica manages. [6] Publica says no other federal body did business with the supplier. [6]

5. 06

   Italy's foreign ministry fends off an attack

   Italy's foreign ministry said on Thursday that its website had come under cyber attack. [7] It said its security systems stopped the threat, and its services kept running. [7] Italy's ministry named no suspects. [7] It is checking whether the websites of Italy's embassies and consulates abroad faced similar attacks. [7]

   Why it matters — Italy's ministry did not say what kind of attack it was. [7] That leaves open whether anyone tried to take data, or only to knock the website over.

6. 07

   Police visit a man whose camera tracks police cars

   Anthony Sistilli, a Canadian software engineer, built a number-plate camera that records only police cars, Tom's Hardware, a technology news site, reports. [8] He made it as a protest against cameras like those of Flock Safety, a US company whose plate cameras police use to track ordinary drivers. [8] Two officers from Peel Regional Police visited his home in Brampton, Ontario, on 20 September to ask what he meant to do. [8] He posted a video about the visit on 7 October. [8]

   Why it matters — In the video, Sistilli says one officer worried that people could learn where officers live and when their shifts start. [8] Sistilli says ordinary drivers have that worry about cameras that watch every car. [8] Several US cities, including Los Angeles, have suspended or cancelled their Flock contracts. [8]