February 29, 2024
US courts fielded over 130 requests for access to push notification metadata
Cops love it because popup messages can reveal location, device details, IP address and more More than 130 petitions seeking access to push notification metadata have been filed in US courts, according to a Washington Post investigation – a finding that underscores the lack of privacy protection available…
White House goes to court, not Congress, to renew warrantless spy powers
Choose your own FISA Section 702 adventure: End-run around lawmakers or business as usual? The Biden Administration has asked a court, rather than Congress, to renew controversial warrantless surveillance powers used by American intelligence and due to expire within weeks. It's a move that is either business as…
Chinese ‘connected’ cars are a national security threat, says Biden
No Chinese automakers sell cars in the US, but the feds are still going to investigate whether they're a threat Concerned over the chance that Chinese-made cars could pose a future threat to national security, Biden's administration is proposing plans to probe potential threats posed by "connected" vehicles…
Ransomware gangs are paying attention to infostealers, so why aren’t you?
Analysts warn of big leap in cred-harvesting malware activity last year There appears to be an uptick in interest among cybercriminals in infostealers – malware designed to swipe online account passwords, financial info, and other sensitive data from infected PCs – as a relatively cheap and easy way…
Meta’s pay-or-consent model hides ‘massive illegal data processing ops’: lawsuit
GDPR claim alleges Facebook parent's 'commercial surveillance practices are fundamentally illegal' Consumer groups are filing legal complaints in the EU in a coordinated attempt to use data protection law to stop Meta from giving local users a "fake choice" between paying up and consenting to being profiled and…
Chinese PC-maker Acemagic customized its own machines to get infected with malware
Tried to speed boot times, maybe by messing with 'Windows source code', ended up building a viral on-ramp Chinese PC maker Acemagic has admitted some of its products shipped with pre-installed malware.…
Australian spy chief fears sabotage of critical infrastructure
And accuses a former Australian politician of having 'sold out their country' The director general of security at Australia's Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has delivered his annual threat assessment, revealing ongoing attempts by adversaries to map digital infrastructure with a view to disrupting important services at delicate moments.…
ALPHV/BlackCat claims responsibility for Change Healthcare attack
Brags it lifted 6TB of data, but let's remember these people are criminals and not worthy of much trust The ALPHV/BlackCat cybercrime gang has taken credit – if that's the word – for a ransomware infection at Change Healthcare that has disrupted thousands of pharmacies and hospitals across…