Rule 41 Change a ‘Massive Expansion of Government Hacking’
A proposed change to an obscure federal procedural rule “would be a massive expansion of government hacking”, Sen. Ron Wyden said in a speech Thursday. Wyden, who has introduced a bill to prevent the change, said that the proposed modification to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is not the small administrative […]
House Committee Report Slams Proposed Encryption Legislation
A new report from House Homeland Security Committee on the encryption debate says that despite both parties being motivated to find common ground, law enforcement and the private sector haven’t yet started a meaningful conversation on encryption, and none of the legislative proposals forwarded so far are realistic. The report, released Wednesday, discusses the encryption […]
Android Malware Impersonates Google Play, WhatsApp
Overlay malware has emerged as one of the more pernicious threats on mobile devices, particularly Android phones, and researchers have now discovered a new SMS phishing campaign that uses overlay malware to steal credentials for mobile banking apps and messaging apps. The attackers behind the campaign are using a wide range of lures and a […]
Google My Activity Tool Opens Up Privacy Options For Users
Google has all the data, and it’s usually pretty stingy about how it lets users control that data, even data about the users themselves and their own activities. But the company is now giving users the ability to access, control, and even delete information about their online activities on a granular level. The company’s new My […]
Ransomware Attacks May Trigger Breach Notifications
A powerful California congressman is pushing the federal government to treat ransomware attacks on medical facilities as data breaches and require notifications of patients. The pressure is coming from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and follows comments from officials at the Department of Health and Human Services about the department’s plan to issue guidance to health […]
Wyden Steps In to Halt FBI Surveillance Expansion
The Senate last week voted against an expansion of FBI surveillance powers, a vote that was seen as a temporary barrier at best. Now, a key member of the Senate intelligence committee has placed a hold on the bill that includes that provision, saying the measure “would dramatically and unnecessarily expand government surveillance authorities”. Sen. Ron Wyden […]
CryptXXX Ransomware Racking Up Victims
A new variant of the CryptXXX ransomware has been found, and it includes a handful of new capabilities, such as function that prevents the use of free decryption tools. The CryptXXX family of ransomware may not be as well known as strains like TeslaCrypt or CryptoLocker, but it is having some success of its own. The […]
New Bart Ransomware Released By Locky Crew
Because the world definitely needed another nasty piece of ransomware, the attackers who created the Locky ransomware have produced a new variant known as Bart, which is targeting victims in the United States and demanding nearly $2,000 for the decryption key. Bart appears to be a rather close relative of Locky and uses an intermediate […]
Godless Malware Found in Play Store Roots Most Android Phones
Researchers have discovered a new class of mobile malware that has made its way into the Google Play store and is capable of completely compromising more than 90 percent of existing Android phones. The malware, which researchers at Trend Micro are calling Godless, contains a number of exploits for known Android vulnerabilities, some of which […]