A series of iOS and Android scam apps identified by security researchers managed to rack up a total of 2.4M downloads and make $500k thanks to promotion on TikTok and Instagram. They came to light after a report by a child …
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Cisco has warned that an iOS 14 privacy feature can break some network setups used by corporations, schools, colleges, and retail chains.
The potential problems result from the the fact that iPhone and iPads on the latest OS default to using a random MAC address when connecting to Wi-Fi networks …
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A new Bluetooth security flaw has been discovered that would potentially allow an attacker to connect to a user device without authentication.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the body responsible for Bluetooth standards, has confirmed vulnerabilities separately discovered by two teams of security researchers…
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After announcing new iOS privacy requirements back at WWDC in June, Apple has shared a new detailed document for developers as they prepare to create privacy “nutrition labels” for apps. The new iOS 14 feature will apply for all apps that are available in Apple’s App Stores with the goal to better inform consumers with a clear overview of an app’s privacy practices.
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While Apple’s devices are typically more secure than the competition, that doesn’t mean they’re immune to flaws. In the case of the Mac, a new report highlights how Apple accidentally approved one of the most common malware threats to run on recent versions of macOS. While the original flaw was quickly fixed, another similar one has popped up.
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Analysis of the TikTok app revealed references to Chinese servers in the code, which was subsequently removed in an update.
Two security researchers have given very different perspectives on whether or not this raises any privacy concerns …
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A security researcher has found that Instagram kept deleted photos and private messages for more than a year after he deleted them. The company paid him $6,000 for the discovery …
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Can police demand you unlock your phone if they want to examine it for evidence? Courts in different states have given different answers to this question, but New Jersey’s Supreme Court has ruled that the answer is yes. The court decided that a suspect can be forced to use his passcode to unlock his phone.
Despite the ruling coming from the state’s Supreme Court, however, that may not be the final, definitive answer …
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One of the major security enhancements Apple has brought to its devices over the years is the Secure Enclave chip, which encrypts and protects all sensitive data stored on the devices. Last month, however, hackers claimed they found a permanent vulnerability in the Secure Enclave, which could put data from iPhone, iPad, and even Mac users at risk.
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Some 278,531 Instacart customer records have reportedly been hacked, and are for sale on the dark web. The data includes names, email addresses, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and order histories …
There have been significant developments in the Twitter hack which saw the takeover of many high-profile accounts, among them Apple, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mike Bloomberg, Kayne West, Uber, Floyd Mayweather, Warren Buffett, and Barack Obama.
Twitter said yesterday that passwords were not compromised, but it subsequently locked all accounts where there was an attempted password change within the past 30 days …
In the latest accusation from the US Attorney General against Apple and other major tech companies, today William Barr alleged a number of American companies are “all too willing to collaborate” with China. In particular, Barr accused Apple of making it easier for China to crack iPhone encryption to be able to keep doing business there.
Apple and Google should warn users about the ‘national security risks’ of apps developed by foreign entities, says the chairman of the congressional Subcommittee on National Security, Rep. Stephen Lynch.
Lynch has written to both tech giants arguing that apps by ‘our adversaries’ could be used to gather sensitive information on American citizens …
Amnesty International has lost a court battle against the iPhone spyware company NSO. The human rights organization wanted an Israeli court to block exports of spyware created by the company.
Amnesty had claimed that hackers spied on one of its staff using spyware tools produced by NSO …
Earlier this week, the White House suggested that it might declare TikTok a national security threat, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating that the administration was ‘looking at’ the possibility of banning the video sharing app from the US.
Experts have now weighed in on the question, concluding that it’s not a direct threat, but might be an indirect one …
At least three major Bitcoin wallets are vulnerable to fraud, and could even be completely bricked, leaving them unusable by their owners, according to new research.
Ledger Live, Edge, and Breadwallet (BRD) were all found to be vulnerable to the security flaw, but they may not be the only ones…
Mac users are now exposed to a new “ThiefQuest” ransomware that encrypts files and causes multiple issues with the operating system. Malwarebytes has analyzed the ransomware today, which is being distributed through macOS pirate apps.
Back in February, Apple announced plans to boost HTTPS protections in Safari, with effect from September 1 this year. A new report today notes that other browsers are now following Apple’s example – but it’s not without controversy …
Update: The app is now available to all. The company also announced two additional new features for home users, and two others for work users, described at the end of the piece.
A Dropbox password manager has been quietly added to the App Store, but it is currently listed as ‘by invite.’ This means that you can download it, but can’t yet activate it. An Android version is also available on the Play store, subject to the same restriction …
Anonymizing photos and videos can be a time-consuming task sometimes including multiple steps, especially if you want to strip metadata. Developers Playground.AI decided to tackle that problem and came up with a valuable new iPhone app called Anonymous Camera that handles all of the processing on device in real-time. Playground.AI is also donating all of its proceeds from the app to Black Visions Collective and Unicorn Riot for the first month.
Facebook Messenger will now warn you about scams when you receive a suspicious message from someone you don’t know — or when someone appears to be attempting to impersonate one of your Facebook friends…
Analysis of the source code for the UK contact tracing app has revealed no fewer than seven security flaws.
One of these is that the random code assigned to users is only changed once a day, making it much easier to de-anonymize individuals …
Some iPhones, iPads, and Macs are vulnerable to short-range attacks via Bluetooth which could fool them into thinking they are connected to a trusted device. That would then enable an attacker to both send and request data via Bluetooth.
The same security vulnerability is found in a wide range of chips from Intel, Qualcomm, and Samsung, meaning that a large number of non-Apple devices are also affected …
It looks like the most recent contention between the FBI and Apple over device encryption has come to an end as the agency has unlocked the two iPhones belonging to the Pensacola shooter with “no thanks to Apple.” Going further, AG William Barr has again called for the government to force Apple and others to create backdoors into their devices.
Update: We’ve got an official response from Apple on the matter that highlights all the ways it helped the FBI and that it’s precisely because it takes security and privacy so seriously that it doesn’t believe in creating a backdoor:
The terrorist attack on members of the US armed services at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida was a devastating and heinous act. Apple responded to the FBI’s first requests for information just hours after the attack on December 6, 2019 and continued to support law enforcement during their investigation. We provided every piece of information available to us, including iCloud backups, account information and transactional data for multiple accounts, and we lent continuous and ongoing technical and investigative support to FBI offices in Jacksonville, Pensacola and New York over the months since.
On this and many thousands of other cases, we continue to work around-the-clock with the FBI and other investigators who keep Americans safe and bring criminals to justice. As a proud American company, we consider supporting law enforcement’s important work our responsibility. The false claims made about our company are an excuse to weaken encryption and other security measures that protect millions of users and our national security.
It is because we take our responsibility to national security so seriously that we do not believe in the creation of a backdoor — one which will make every device vulnerable to bad actors who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers. There is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys, and the American people do not have to choose between weakening encryption and effective investigations.
Customers count on Apple to keep their information secure and one of the ways in which we do so is by using strong encryption across our devices and servers. We sell the same iPhone everywhere, we don’t store customers’ passcodes and we don’t have the capacity to unlock passcode-protected devices. In data centers, we deploy strong hardware and software security protections to keep information safe and to ensure there are no backdoors into our systems. All of these practices apply equally to our operations in every country in the world.