Privacy

Apple software lead Craig Federighi has talked about the new privacy features announced in yesterday’s keynote, and how Apple intends to protect us from some of the threats presented by AI.

As part of this, he says, Apple will use AI to fight one of the dangers created by AI …

Ring camera privacy has been under fire since 2019, with two separate issues leading to a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). That has now resulted in Ring owner Amazon being fined – but only $5.8M.

The company was also fined $25M for using Alexa data from children to train its algorithms, something the FTC said was clearly illegal …

The US government banned the use of NSO’s Pegasus spyware 18 months ago, but a new report today says that at least one government agency is using very similar malware from a rival company: Paragon Graphite.

Graphite reportedly has the same capabilities as Pegasus, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is said to be using it …

Yesterday we got to enjoy a new Apple privacy video, created to highlight the way that the Health app protects our medical data. Today the Chinese version of the Apple website features another fun privacy video (linked below), and you don’t need to speak Mandarin to enjoy it …

Security researchers have documented the first known case of NSO’s Pegasus spyware being used in a military conflict. The hacks relate to the long-running military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over a region claimed by both countries.

The victims – who included a United Nations official, journalists, human rights advocates, and a former government minister – received alerts from Apple that their iPhones had been hacked …

As it continues to focus on its commitment to privacy, Apple is launching an all-new campaign today emphasizing how Health data on iPhone is protected. As part of this, Apple has shared a new Health Privacy whitepaper as well as a clever new video that aims to highlight the importance of health data privacy.

A Facebook privacy breach has seen parent company Meta fined $1.3B – the largest amount ever imposed for breaking Europe’s tough GDPR privacy laws, according to WSJ sources. The news is expected to be officially announced later today.

The fine also raises questions about the privacy of US Facebook users, as it was levied for exposing European citizens to the much looser rules that apply to American users …

Twitter encrypted DMs have officially launched – but only between paid users, and the security feature doesn’t yet live up to Musk’s promise to use end-to-end (E2E) encryption for full privacy.

The company acknowledges this in a support document, and even Musk himself says you shouldn’t trust it …

As hacking tools become more and more powerful, it’s more crucial than ever to maintain good password habits – or fix weak spots. World Password Day is a good reminder to share best security practices with friends or family or see if you’re on top of everything yourself. Here are 8 important ways to check passwords and improve security.

In January, T-Mobile revealed it was hit by a data breach that impacted 37 million customers. Now the company has shared that it has seen another incident. The good(ish) news is this time it’s believed to only have affected 836 users but the bad news is the malicious party was able to steal sensitive info like social security numbers, full names, birth dates, contact information, T-Mobile account PINs, and more.

Ahead of World Password Day on May 4, NordPass has released a report showing that “password habits die hard” with a list of the most used passwords in the US and 29 other countries. For the US, many of the usual suspects are on the list, however, this time around “123456” is no longer the most popular password. The study also found 83% of these passwords can be cracked in “less than a second.”

Delivering on one of Proton Mail users’ top requests for years, Proton is starting the beta of its password manager. Naturally, coming from Proton, it features end-to-end encryption and is open source so anyone can audit the security features. Read on for all the details on this iCloud Keychain alternative.

Five years ago, a major privacy scandal at Facebook surfaced as the world learned the social media giant allowed Cambridge Analytica to mine US user data through paid ads disguised as personality tests. Now after being settled as the largest privacy class action lawsuit ever, you can request your portion of the $725 million. Here’s how to submit a Facebook privacy settlement claim plus all the fine details.

Juice jacking popped into the mainstream consciousness this month as the FBI shared a warning to avoid public device charging to protect against the rise of malicious cables. While juice jacking can severely compromise devices, one security expert is raising awareness of a more common – but usually less critical threat – fake public WiFi connections.

Juice jacking has become more and more prevalent in the last several years to the point where the FBI is now warning the public about it. But is juice jacking something iPhone owners need to be concerned about? Let’s look at how it can affect iPhone, three ways to prevent iPhone juice jacking, and more.

Over the past years, we’ve seen the problem of “juice jacking” grow at public charging stations for phones and other devices. Now the FBI considers the risk of juice jacking so high that it’s telling Americans to completely avoid using public chargers in airports, hotels, and malls.

Along with the positive aspects of the new generative AI services come new risks. One that’s surfaced is an advanced approach to cracking passwords called PassGAN. Using the latest AI, it was able to compromise 51% of passwords in under one minute with 71% of passwords cracked in less than a day. Read on for a look at the character thresholds that offer security against AI password cracking, how PassGAN works, and more.

A research study by Bitdefender revealed that security breaches were covered up by 30% of companies surveyed – and even more IT professionals were put under pressure to keep quiet about them.

This was the case even when there were legal obligations to reveal data breaches to affected customers and regulators …

Apple remains one of the top-spending companies when it comes to TikTok ads, despite growing controversy about whether the app is a threat to US national security.

A separate report today reveals that the Chinese government engaged in an organized social media campaign to mock US concerns about the app, accusing Congress of technical illiteracy, hypocrisy, and xenophobia …