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Privacy is a growing concern in today’s world. Follow along with all our coverage related to privacy, security, what Apple and other companies are doing to keep your information safe, and what steps you can take to keep your information private.

Yes, the 10 worst passwords still include ‘password’ and ‘secret’

Some six years after virtual private network company NordVPN started searching data breaches for the most-used passwords, things are every bit as bad as when the company started.

Each year, the company searches the dark web for passwords stolen by malware or exposed in security breaches to determine the most commonly-used passwords, and this year’s crop is as depressing as ever …

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The reported Apple smart home camera will combine ultimate privacy with Apple Intelligence

An Apple smart home camera will combine privacy with Apple Intelligence (Xiaomi camera shown on desk with flowers in vase)

Earlier this week Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that we’ll see an Apple smart home camera in 2026, with the company confident it will prove to be a popular accessory, selling in the tens of millions per year.

Given Apple’s habit of minimizing the number of products it makes, if the report is accurate the company must feel there’s good reason to enter a crowded product category, and I think an Apple camera will likely differentiate itself in two ways: privacy, and Apple Intelligence

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More than 100 million Americans had their health data exposed in a UnitedHealth hack

Patients and doctors were victims of a massive UnitedHealth hack | Doctor using smartphone

A UnitedHealth hack exposed the personal information and health data of more than 100M Americans – the first time the company has put a specific number on the security breach.

A ransomware attack was made on Change Healthcare back in February, but it was only yesterday that the company revealed its “unprecedented magnitude” …

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iPhone Mirroring is currently a privacy and legal risk on work Macs

iPhone Mirroring currently a privacy and legal risk on work Macs | Screengrabs of feature in use

One of the new features of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is iPhone Mirroring – but using this with a personal iPhone on a work Mac currently creates a privacy risk for employees, and a legal risk for businesses.

The problem, as cybersecurity company Sevco discovered, is that apps on the iPhone get treated as Mac apps, and that means their presence is included in corporate IT audits …

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Security Bite: The concerning popularity of third-rate VPN apps in Russia

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.


I’m in the midst of traveling to Ukraine this week for OFTWv2.0, and I can’t help but think about the comments on last week’s edition of Security Bite defending the VPN apps that still exist on the App Store in Russia. While almost every app from legitimate providers in the country has been removed, Russian users can still find a surplus of VPN options claiming to offer secure encryption and private browsing. The only question being–really?

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T-Mobile data breaches: Company pays fine and promises to do better

T-Mobile data breaches see company fined | NASA photo of the Earth

A succession of T-Mobile data breaches saw millions of customers have their personal data exposed. The company has now been fined $15.75M, and has agreed to spend the same amount again on upgrading its security.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that the combination of fine and promised security enhancements represents a model for future handling of such incidents …

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Security Bite: Apple pulls dozens of VPN apps from App Store in Russia

Russia Apple App Store VPN apps

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.


Since Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, Apple has significantly scaled back its operations in the country. It has since suspended all product sales and limited certain services, such as Apple Pay. Despite this, Apple continues to operate a full-fledged App Store in Russia. However, it’s now facing worthy criticism for complying with Russian government requests to remove VPN apps to adhere to local regulations–censorship.

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GAZEploit could work out Vision Pro user passwords from watching their avatars [Fixed]

GAZEploit | Victim and attacker views of the attack in action

Security researchers came up with a pretty wild Vision Pro exploit. Dubbed GAZEploit, it’s a method of working out the passwords of Vision Pro users by watching the eye movements of their avatars during video calls.

They’ve put together a YouTube video (below) to demonstrate how tracking the avatar’s eye movements accurately detects the virtual keys the Vision Pro user is looking at when typing …

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Apple Intelligence servers are really basic, says Craig Federighi – and that’s deliberate

Apple Intelligence servers are really basic | Ok, not quite as basic as this circuit board ...

Apple software SVP Craig Federighi says that the Private Cloud Compute servers used for Apple Intelligence features are really basic – and with good reason.

The exec says it’s one of a number of decisions the company made to ensure that it’s AI cloud servers form a “hermetically sealed privacy bubble” with your iPhone …

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Security Bite: Apple addresses privacy concerns around Notification Center database in macOS Sequoia (Update)

apple security release page

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.


The privacy implications of Notification Center popups are well-known in the security forensics community. Whether a user likes it or not, macOS temporarily keeps a log of every notification received in a single plaintext database. This can include messages from applications like iMessage, Slack, Teams, and virtually anything else.

However, it now appears Apple has moved the Notification Center database in macOS Sequoia to address concerns.

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Data leak affecting everyone in the US, UK, and Canada was even worse than we thought

Data leak affecting everyone in three countries | Man with head in hand

Hard as it may be to imagine, the massive data leak – which appears to include the personal data of everyone in the US, UK, and Canada – was even worse than we thought.

In a truly epic security fail, the same data was hosted by a partner company which managed to publish its own passwords, enabling absolutely anyone to access the data …

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Security Bite: Ranking my favorite new privacy features in iOS 18

Apple Intelligence

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.


When Apple unveiled iOS 18 earlier this summer, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of significant new security and privacy features. I still feel that way to some extent. However, after running the iOS 18 beta for over a month now, I want to highlight some of my favorite and noteworthy features. So, here’s my ranking in ascending order. If your #1 favorite is different, comment it below, and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong 😉

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Massive data leak may include the personal data of every person in the US, UK, and Canada

Massive data leak | Inside of a hard drive

A massive data leak of some 2.7 billion records may include sensitive personal data for every person in the US, UK, and Canada. For the US, the data includes social security numbers.

The data is said to have come from a company known as National Public Data, which collects and sells personal data for use in background checks by private investigators and others …

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