Do you own an Amazon Kindle? Amazon has a warning for you if you do. Beware. Hackers are now using poisoned ebooks to delete the contents of infected Kindle readers and take control of a victim’s Amazon account.
The hackers take advantage of the fact that on any given day there are literally hundreds of ebooks offered for free on Amazon’s platform.
By disguising their poisoned ebook as just another free title it is easy for the poisoned ebook to get lost in the shuffle. Users are already accustomed to having a wide range of free titles to choose from. Most readers don’t think twice about downloading anything that looks interesting if it’s offered for free.
The hack exploits a token weakness in the Kindle reader’s firmware but there is good news. Amazon moved very quickly and has already issued a patch which fixes the issue. The best way to protect yourself if you own a Kindle device (regardless of version) is to download the latest version of the firmware.
Delaying the update could have tragic consequences. This is because once your Amazon account is compromised the hackers have access to any payment information you have stored on the account. Then, they can order products to their hearts’ content and have them shipped almost anywhere in the world.
Even if you’re not a Kindle owner now is a great time to check your security. Review your Amazon password and be sure you’ve got two-factor authentication enabled for an added layer of protection.
Millions of people all over the world rely on Amazon shipments. If you’re one of those, losing control over your Amazon account could have far reaching consequences indeed. Don’t allow that to happen. If you’re a Kindle owner grab the latest firmware update today. Review your Amazon security settings as soon as possible.
