The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has alleged that the developer of three “stalking” apps violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The FTC has given its final approval to a settlement with the developer of the apps, MobileSpy, PhoneSheriff and TeenShield – Retina-X Studios, over allegations that the company and its owner failed to secure […]
Author: Meera Narendra
#Privacy: Over 40m Iranian Telegram user IDs exposed online
Security researchers have discovered 42 million records from a third-party version of messaging app Telegram online. The Comparitech team and Bob Diachenko discovered the exposed data on March 21, after it was posted on an Elasticsearch cluster with no password authentication. After contacting the hosting provider on March 24, the cluster was deleted a day […]
#Privacy: Banking Trojan resurfaces amidst global pandemic
Following a three year hiatus, the Zeus Sphinx banking Trojan is back, appearing in a coronavirus-themed phishing campaign. First seen in August 2015, Sphinx is based on the leaked source of the Zeus banking trojan. IBM X-Force researchers Amir Gandler and Limor Kessen explained that Sphinx’s main capability is to harvest online banking credentials. Following […]
#Privacy: FBI warns of Zoom-bombing
As many turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) amidst the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking have emerged nationwide. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned the public of VTC hijackers (also known as Zoom-bombing), whereby hijackers join Zoom video conferences for malicious purposes. Zoom has seen a massive surge in users since the global […]
#Privacy: Houseparty offers $1m reward
Houseparty users have took to social media claiming that their Netflix, PayPal and Spotify accounts were hacked. Houseparty, a video conference application surged popularity in the UK amid lockdown restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus. The app rose from an average of 130,000 downloads a week mid-February to 2 million a week mid-March. Last […]
#Privacy: ICO announces that mobile tracking is legal during pandemic
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that the UK government can use mobile phone tracking data to combat the spread of COVID-19. In a statement, ICO’s Deputy Commissioner Steve Wood explained that location data would be used to help tackle the coronavirus crisis, and as the data will be anonymised, no individual will be […]
#Privacy: Threat actors targets home routers
Researchers have uncovered a new cyber attack whereby at least 1,193 victims have been targeted in a matter of days. Discovered by Bitdefender researchers, threat actors are now targeting home routers and changing their Domain Name System (DNS) settings to redirect victims to a malware-serving website. In a blog post, Bitdefender explained that amidst the […]
#Privacy: Domain registration companies take steps to combat fraudulent COVID-19 websites
US domain registration companies are taking action against coronavirus related fraud. One of America’s largest US domain registry companies, GoDaddy has revealed that it has taken down numerous fraudulent websites as part of its “human review process.” A GoDaddy spokesperson said: “We do not tolerate abuse on our platform and our Universal Terms of Service […]
#Privacy: UK government cracks down on coronavirus fake news
A rapid response unit within the Cabinet Office is working to remove fake news and harmful content related to COVID-19. The specialist anti-fake news unit is currently dealing with up to 10 cases of coronavirus misinformation a day. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden explained that the new rapid response unit was needed “to stem the spread […]
#Privacy: Malicious USB drive sent to customers
Security experts have discovered a highly targeted attack using physical media to spread and download malware. In a blog post, Trustwave explained it had become aware of the attack after one of its customers’ partners had received a suspicious letter claiming to be from Best Buy. The letter says: “Best Buy company thanks you for […]