FBI-Apple Case Could Mean Uncertain Future for Users
The news this week that the Department of Justice has found a third party to help it unlock a contested iPhone without Apple’s compelled help–and subsequently asked to cancel a court hearing on the matter–has been hailed as a victory both for Apple and its users. While that may be true, at least for the […]
Critical Rooting Flaw Haunts Android
Google is warning users about a critical security flaw in Android that opens the devices up to attacks that could completely compromise the phones and give attackers persistent control of them. The vulnerability has been exploited by an app found in the Google Play store, and Google officials said it has been used to root […]
FTC Warns App Developers Over Use of Audio Tracking Code
The Federal Trade Commission is warning a dozen developers about some code they’ve included in their apps that can surreptitiously listen to unique audio signals from TVs in the background and build detailed profiles of what consumers are watching. The technology, produced by a company called SilverPush, is used to track users across devices and the […]
IRS Phone Scammers Shift Tactics
The variety of IRS tax scams is continuing to increase, and the agency is now telling consumers to be wary of a recent shift in scammers’ tactics regarding tax refund schemes. The latest version involves scammers calling consumers to “verify” details of their tax returns and harvesting valuable personal information. Most of these schemes involve […]
FBI Victory in Apple Case Could Backfire
The FBI has been pushing hard, both publicly and privately, for Apple to help it unlock an alleged terrorist’s iPhone by creating a compromised version of iOS, and it may well end up winning that battle. And while that may set a precedent for future law enforcement operations in the United States, it may wind up […]
On the Wire Podcast: David Dewey
Apple has been touting its Apple Pay app as a secure, convenient alternative to other payment systems. It has been adopted by a number of major retailers and card issuers, but David Dewey, research director at Pindrop Labs, ran several experiments on the system’s card enrollment and authentication flow and found some serious problems. Using social engineering […]
Apple Says FBI’s Request for Backdoor is ‘Offensive’
In a new brief in its ongoing legal battle with the FBI and Department of Justice, Apple said that the government does not have any legal authority to force the company to create a backdoored version of iOS and that the FBI has “belittled” Apple’s concerns about the danger of creating such software. In the […]
Amazon Plans Move to Facial Recognition for Purchases
Amazon is planning to join a growing list of major companies that are working to make facial recognition the authentication method of choice. The retailer has filed a patent claim for a method it hopes will enable customers to complete purchases using their faces rather than passwords. The Amazon application shows that the company is working […]
Obama: Middle Ground Possible on iPhone Encryption
Much has been said on both sides of the Apple-FBI debate in the last month, and now President Barack Obama has let his thoughts on the subject be known. Obama, speaking at the South By Southwest Interactive conference, said he is “way on the civil liberties side of this thing” but also said there needs to […]