privacy and security - Page 11

Breitbart News recently reported that tech giant Facebook suffered a major data leak of the personal details of hundreds of millions of users. Here is how to check if your personal details have been leaked online.

Hackers published the phone numbers and personal data of 533 million Facebook users today, according to reports. The leak includes users’ full names, locations, phone numbers, and email addresses.

According to a recent report, federal prosecutors have indicted a Kansas man for allegedly accessing the computer system of the public water system and altering the process for cleaning customers’ drinking water.

Recently an unintelligible tweet was sent from the official U.S. Strategic Command account. According to a recent FOIA request, the tweet was sent when the Stratcom Twitter manager left their computer unattended resulting in a “very young child” tweeting from the account.

Amazon delivery drivers in the U.S. are reportedly being told that they must sign “biometric consent” forms giving Amazon permission to use AI-powered cameras to track them while they work if they want to keep their jobs.

The state of California has reportedly banned “dark patterns,” which are user interfaces designed to trick and frustrate users in order to take advantage of them. Web sites designed to make it difficult to cancel subscriptions are one example of dark pattern design.

Social media users in Japan were recently fooled by a 50-year-old man who posed as a young female biker online, gaining a large following by changing his appearance using photo filters.

The FCC has fined two Texas telemarketers $225 million for making roughly 1 billion robocalls, bothering people across the United States.

According to a recent report, Google’s plan to block the web activity trackers called “cookies” has become a major source of concern for DOJ investigators who have been asking ad industry executives whether the move will impact smaller Google rivals.

After Google added App Privacy labels to its iOS apps in accordance with Apple’s new rules, privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo accused Google of spying on its users due to the amount of data it collects.

A recent report reveals that a new text messaging attack that is almost invisible to victims can give hackers access to private accounts protected by two-factor authentication.

In a recent CNBC article, a former Facebook insider explains why Facebook is so worried about an upcoming privacy update to Apple’s mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads.

Hackers are reportedly racing to use a new form of ransomware to target Microsoft Exchange business email servers that have yet to be updated since the company revealed a number of massive security vulnerabilities.

Researchers at the University of Washington have reportedly found a new way to screen for irregular heartbeats — using smart speakers such as the Amazon Alexa or Google Home to detect variations in heart rhythms.

E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly expanded its palm scanning payment tech to more of its physical stores in the Seattle area. A University of Oxford professor pointed out a major disadvantaged of the technology, saying: “You can never change your palm like you change your password or other identification tokens.”

A group of hackers has reportedly breached a huge collection of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada, gaining access to live streams of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, police departments, prisons, schools, and companies including Tesla.

A cyberattack on Microsoft’s email software Exchange has turned into a global cybersecurity crisis as hackers rush to infect as many networks as possible before companies can secure their computer systems.

Brave, the privacy-focused web browser, is currently preparing to launch its own search engine for desktop and mobile users, according to recent reports. The company’s goal is to offer a complete package of browsing and search untouchable by the Masters of the Universe.

At least 30,000 U.S. governmental and commercial organizations have been hacked via a recently discovered Microsoft Exchange Server exploit. One source told the Wall Street Journal that the actual number of organizations impacted could reach 250,000. Cybersecurity experts believe the hackers had access to Microsoft customers’ systems for about two months before the tech giant patched the problem.

Google is planning to phase out the use of technology that tracks users as they move from website to website around the internet, in a move that it says is intended to better protect users’ privacy.

Tech giant Microsoft has warned customers that a new China state-sponsored hacking group is exploiting previously undisclosed security flaws in Microsoft’s Exchange Server email product. The hackers accessed the email systems of a wide range of organizations including defense contractors and infectious disease researchers.

Texas-based software company SolarWinds was the victim of a major hack recently that affected multiple government agencies and corporate clients. In a hearing before the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees, the company’s former CEO blamed an intern that changed a company password to “solarwinds123.”

A federal judge has given final approval to a $650 million settlement for a class action lawsuit against Facebook which alleged that the Masters of the Universe stored biometric data in violation of Illinois state law. 

A recent report from Bloomberg states that game developer CD Projekt SA was forced to delay a promised update to its heavily-criticized blockbuster game Cyberpunk 2077, claiming that a recent ransomware attack resulted in hackers stealing the game’s source code and locking the company’s systems.

The Chinese-owned social media app TikTok has reportedly agreed to pay $92 million to settle dozens of lawsuits alleging that the app harvested personal data from users without consent and shared the data with third-parties, including some in China. Experts are calling it one of the largest privacy-related payouts in history.

The popular Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp will reportedly block users who refuse to accept its updated privacy terms and conditions from using the service.

E-commerce giant Amazon recently confirmed that it has equipped some delivery vans with AI-powered cameras, and it already uses an intrusive tracking app called Mentor to monitor workers delivering packages.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said on Sunday that a recent hack of the Texas-based IT firm SolarWinds was “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.”

A recent report alleges that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff that Facebook needs to “inflict pain” on Apple in the ongoing privacy dispute between the two Silicon Valley giants.

According to a recent report, the water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida that was recently targeted by hackers left their systems extremely vulnerable to infiltration. According to the Verge, the treatment plant shared a common password to access critical systems remotely.

Social media giant Facebook is being sued for “losing control” of the data of around one million users in England and Wales.

Florida residents had a lucky escape after water treatment plant operators prevented dangerous levels of lye from being added to the local water supply by a hacker that penetrated the computer systems of the City of Oldsmar’s water treatment facility.

Snap Inc., the parent company of the Snapchat social media platform, warned on Thursday that upcoming privacy changes by Apple could hurt its ad business despite user growth and revenue beating analysts’ fourth-quarter estimates.

The Harvard Business Review has called Facebook’s campaign against fellow tech giant Apple “misleading” in a recent article. Facebook has ratcheted up its war of words with Apple over new iPhone privacy settings that will impact Facebook’s advertising model. Mark Zuckerberg and his company claim to be the champions of small business against Apple.

A recent report states that a cybersecurity firm has found three new “critical” vulnerabilities in SolarWinds software after a vulnerability in the company’s systems led to a massive hack of U.S. government and corporate sites last year.

Social media giant Facebook is now reportedly attempting to preempt a new privacy update from Apple by asking users permission to track them ahead of the update’s rollout.