The CIA is in the final stages of developing an AI tool designed to enhance the analysis of open-source intelligence, marking a significant stride in the West’s ongoing technological rivalry with China.
Meredith Whittaker, the president of private messaging app Signal, shed light on the intrinsic link between AI and Big Tech’s surveillance capitalism, emphasizing the profound implications of the technology on privacy and user data during her appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. Whittaker went so far as to label AI as “surveillance technology,” which may be why the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe are rushing to integrate AI into everything they do.
The FTC is scrutinizing Elon Musk for potentially compromising data privacy and security protocols at Twitter, which has recently been rebranded as X.
MGM Resorts International is in crisis management mode as a significant cybersecurity breach forces the shutdown of various systems, including its main website, online reservations, and in-casino services. Legions of gamblers were shocked when even the casino giant’s slot machines stopped working temporarily.
Chinese hackers broke into a Microsoft engineer’s corporate account, leading to the unauthorized access of email accounts belonging to senior U.S. officials, casting a shadow over the tech giant’s cybersecurity measures. The hack occurred in June, but the company just completed an internal investigation that pointed the finger at its own sloppy security practices.
Apple has urgently rolled out software updates to counter a newly discovered “zero-click” vulnerability that allows spyware to infiltrate its devices. Owners of iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and even Apple Watches should immediately update their device by following the instructions at the bottom of this article.
The U.S. federal government has allocated at least $22 million for the development of “smart” clothing capable of surveillance and data collection. The largest allocation of this funding is a project called SMART ePants, which will design underwear and other clothing items capable of spying on their surroundings.
A feature on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) website, designed to allow New York City subway riders to check their travel history, has come under scrutiny for posing a significant privacy risk. As one privacy expert explains, “Obviously this is a great fit for abusers who live with their victims or have physical access, however brief, to their wallets.”
In a sweeping response to new age verification laws in various states, Pornhub has blocked access to its adult content in Arkansas, Virginia, and other locations, igniting a debate over online privacy, child safety, and governmental regulation. The pornography company bizarrely argues that asking users to prove they are at least 18 years old “will put children and your privacy at risk.”
Microsoft’s cloud security, particularly its Azure platform, has come under severe criticism for what security experts are calling negligent and irresponsible handling of security vulnerabilities. The CEO of one security firm explains, “What you hear from Microsoft is ‘just trust us,’ but what you get back is very little transparency and a culture of toxic obfuscation.”
Google has announced that it now reserves the right to scrape virtually all content posted online to enhance its AI tools. The internet giant’s privacy policy now doesn’t just describe how the Masters of the Universe will use all your personal data in its products to generate ad revenue, but also explains it considers the entire internet fair game for its relentless data collection systems.
The increasing popularity of OpenAI’s AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has led to a surge in cybersecurity threats, with over 101,000 compromised ChatGPT account login credentials found on dark web marketplaces in the past year. Compromised accounts put ChatGPT users’ privacy at risk because the system keeps a record of chats which may include sensitive information and personal data.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) reported Wednesday that hackers stole names, social security numbers, birth dates and other confidential information of roughly 769,000 retirees and beneficiaries.
Despite Elon Musk’s claims following his takeover of Twitter, the social media platform continues to grapple with the persistent issue of fake and spam accounts, according to recent research. One Princeton professor explains, “It’s clearly the case that bad bots remain pervasive on Twitter.”
A recent report from the Director of National Intelligence has unveiled that the U.S. government is buying vast quantities of Americans’ personal data generated by our cars, smartphones, and web browsers, mirroring the results of intrusive surveillance techniques and posing significant threats to privacy.
In an unprecedented event in the healthcare industry, St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley, Illinois, is set to close its doors, partially due to a crippling ransomware attack that occurred in 2021. This marks the first time a hospital has publicly attributed its closure to a cyberattack. One administrator explained the extent of the cyberattack, saying, “You’re dead in the water. We were down a minimum of 14 weeks. And then you’re trying to recover. Nothing went out. No claims. Nothing got entered. So it took months and months and months.” she said.
Microsoft’s cybersecurity has detected a China-backed attack on U.S. communications infrastructure. The attack was targeted primarily in the U.S territory of Guam, a Pacific ocean island that is central to a potential U.S. response to Chinese aggression against Taiwan.
A popular fertility tracking app, Premom, is facing allegations of unlawfully sharing sensitive health data of its users with third-party advertisers including Google and Chinese companies, according to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
A study by the Internet Watch Foundation found that online predators are targeting children’s webcams, and that since 2019, there has been a tenfold increase in sexual abuse imagery created via webcams and other recording devices worldwide.
While Google “promised to delete” pro-abortion users’ data whenever they visited abortion mills, the tech giant appears to be unable to help itself when it comes to collecting (and keeping) information on everyone.
Twitter has admitted to a privacy breach that exposed tweets intended to be seen only by users’ closest friends to the entire site, after weeks of ignoring reports on the issue.
A recent investigation by cybersecurity researchers has exposed the misuse of hacking tools sold by little-known Israeli vendor QuaDream. The company’s “Reign” hacking tool seems to be as powerful as the better known “Pegasus” hacking tool made by NSO Group.
Manufacturers are reportedly scrambling to secure communication systems in their vehicles after thieves discovered new methods to bypass advanced security systems. In some cases, crooks are taking control of vehicles by hacking their headlights.
Former Tesla employees are claiming that videos of naked customers and other intimate moments captured within vehicles and footage from inside Elon Musk’s garage were shared among staff at the electric car company. One former employer explained, “I always joked that I would never buy a Tesla after seeing how they treated some of these people.”
Hackers can remotely tap into the Nexx brand of smart garage door opener controllers and open them across the world by targeting them on the internet, a security researcher says.
A recent report claims that an American citizen working for Facebook was spied on by the Greek national intelligence service for over a year.
A recent report from the Wall Street Journal claims that web-tracking code from TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has been discovered on 30 state government websites across 27 U.S. states.
Amazon is facing a new class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to disclose its use of facial recognition technology to customers of Amazon Go convenience stores in New York City.
The FBI and DOJ have reportedly launched investigations into TikTok’s parent company over allegations of spying on journalists, including Americans.
Tech giant Google has reportedly agreed to pay $391.5 million in a settlement with 40 state attorneys general over the company’s deceptive location tracking features. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said, “They have been crafty and deceptive. Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.”
The personal information of “hundreds” of lawmakers and staff in the House of Representatives, as well as some Senators and staffers, has been compromised by a data breach at DC Health Link, an online health insurance marketplace.
The U.S. Marshals Service fell victim to a security breach recently, compromising sensitive information. Although private data on topics like investigations was part of the breach, officials claim no data for the witness protection program was leaked.
Signal, the encrypted messaging app, has said it would exit the United Kingdom if a major piece of internet regulation set to be passed in the country compromises its ability to offer end-to-end encryption to its users.
Bank accounts that use voice authentication can be broken into using AI technology, according to a Vice Media writer who hacked into his own bank account using the technique.
Robocall scammers have begun targeting the elderly with fake Medicare calls, with 36 million scam calls reported in January. Medicare recipients are advised to never divulge their private information to anyone but their “doctor, pharmacist, hospital, health insurer, or other trusted healthcare provider.”
A number of “pig-butchering” scam apps have reportedly made their way onto Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, leaving users vulnerable to scammers.
The FTC claims that drug discount app GoodRx has been selling user data to Facebook and Google. Although the Masters of the Universe have an insatiable appetite for personal details of all types, medical data is particularly prized for use in advertising and other ventures.
Republican lawmaker Dan Bishop (R-NC) has indicated that Congress will investigate the recent leak of the TSA no-fly list by a transgender hacker.
A Canadian accountant has been ordered by a court to repay her employer after time-tracking software found that she was misrepresenting the hours she worked.
Testers for the popular Roomba automated vacuum cleaner made by iRobot have stated that they feel misled after intimate photos of them ended up on Facebook. One woman found pictures of herself sitting on the toilet, never imaging her robot vacuum would violate her privacy. The pictures were reportedly posted to social media by Venezuelan gig workers.
