Cyberlaw

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which revealed one of the worst abuses of personal information by a corporation in history, trust in Facebook's handling of private information has plummeted. This is evidenced by a new survey run by Recode and SurveyMonkey, where 56% of those surveyed stated they trusted Facebook the least. The next choice was Google at a mere 5%.

Hackers have managed to deface or delist many popular YouTube videos, including the highly popular 'Despacito' by Fonsi and Yankeee. Some videos have entirely disappeared while some had their titles changed. The affected videos were uploaded to the artists' YouTube Vevo accounts.

The Chrome Web Store has updated its policy concerning extensions with crypto-mining scripts, outright banning such extensions from the store. Any existing extensions that can be used for mining cryptocurrencies will be removed by the end of June 2018. While the policy will prevent future extensions that are obviously used for crypto-mining, it remains to be seen if this will solve the problem of surreptitious mining scripts hidden in otherwise innocuous extensions.

Although Apple also had some problems with inflated batteries lately, the class action lawsuit involving no less than 63,767 South Korean customers has been filed to seek damages because of the company's intentional CPU throttling on older models to increase their battery life. The amount Apple might pay is the equivalent of almost US$12 million.

Bitcoin has suffered yet another turbulent day in regard to its market value. Within the last 24 hours the virtual currency’s worth has dropped from a high of US$7382 to a close of US$6822, reaching a low of US$6660 at one point. The leading cryptocurrency was valued at US$11,645 on March 5, so its considerable drop in the space of just a few weeks will be disconcerting for investors.

The popular fitness app MyFitnessPal has suffered a data breach that has affected the accounts of an estimated 150 million users. The company behind the food and nutrition application, Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc., has issued a press release in regard to the unauthorized acquisition of user data. The hack apparently took place in February, with MyFitnessPal workers noticing the breach on March 25.

The instant messaging service Telegram has apparently filed more papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that it has now raised a total of US$1.7 billion during its Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The service already filed with the SEC back in February after raising US$850 million. Telegram has a native cryptocurrency token known as the Gram.

There has been a reported malware attack on a Boeing production plant involving the infamous ransomware cryptoworm WannaCry. A spokesperson for Boeing described the event as “a limited intrusion of malware” as there were concerns about the worm affecting production and even airplane software. The destructive WannaCry attack of 2017 affected computers in over 150 countries.

Intel took a dig at Uber by claiming that its driver assistance technology can detect and prevent pedestrian impact more accurately than Uber's version. This comes in the wake of a tragic incident involving the collision of a self-driving Uber vehicle with a woman pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona last week.

It seems actor Steven Seagal is no longer the brand ambassador for the cryptocurrency Bitcoiin. Agents for the virtual currency (VC) have claimed that a soft cap of US$75 million has now been reached, meaning that both the founders of Bitcoiin and Seagal will “exit” from any further direct involvement with the controversial VC. The State of New Jersey recently issued a cease and desist order to the token’s founders.

A teardown of Facebook's user data archive has revealed the fact that the company collects private user data including well-detailed call logs and text metadata. The company has been involved in a number of cases pertaining to privacy issues, and this is just another icing on the cake.

Since Vladimir Putin will be in charge for a few more years, it looks like Telegram might end up being blocked in Russia. A set of laws introduced back in 2016 required Telegram to give the government a way to decrypt all user conversations, and they received a fine of US$14,000 for failing to do so. Now, Telegram users in Russia should prepare for the worst.

Bitcoin has received a significant boost in market value that has been put down to “very productive” discussions about cryptocurrencies and regulation at a G-20 meeting. The leading cryptocurrency has seen its value battered recently due to a number of market-related events, including pressure from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for tighter regulation.

Broadcom has officially withdrawn from plans of acquiring Qualcomm. The now Singapore-based semiconductor giant tried its might to cajole Qualcomm with enticing offers but the latter did not budge. Despite losing the dangling carrot, Broadcom said it will still continue its redomiciliation process and shift base to the United States soon.

Researchers at a cyber-security consulting company in Israel have claimed that they have found 13 serious vulnerabilities in AMD processors. CTS-Labs has published details about the flaws after only giving AMD 24 hours to comply. More oddities regarding the previously unhead-of company are elaborated below and in the attached video.

Intel is apparently viewing the possible acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom as a potential threat to its communications semiconductor business according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The company is also reportedly exploring various fallback options in the event the Qualcomm takeover materializes.

Venezuela’s Petro cryptocurrency has been called “illegal” and “unconstitutional” by the country’s National Assembly. Bitcoin has suffered another fall in its current exchange value, with the virtual currency's latest closing price standing at US$9434. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency has been throwing its weight around and has issued business suspension orders to two cryptocurrency exchanges.

A report published by the highly respected journal Science has estimated that fake news is 70% more likely to be retweeted than true news. The study found that false information which was rapidly shared online through social media reached more people than the truth did. The research also pointed out that fake news travels much faster than real news.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a stern statement in regard to potentially unlawful online trading platforms. The statement includes a warning to investors that they should use “SEC-registered and regulated marketplaces” for virtual currency (VC) trading. The value of Bitcoin, and other VCs, dipped dramatically after the statement’s publication.

BlackBerry Ltd has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook and its companies WhatsApp and Instagram for improperly implementing BBM IP in the social network's messaging apps. While BlackBerry is seeking to protect the interests of its shareholders, Facebook is not in a mood to give up and is ready to challenge the suit in court.

A seemingly coordinated series of burglaries has taken place in Iceland leading to the loss of around US$2 million worth of computing equipment used to mine Bitcoin. The thefts actually occurred back in December and January, but they have only just been reported as Iceland’s police did not want to reveal details until their investigation had been completed. An estimated 600 devices were taken.

According to a report, technology company Broadcom Limited could be redomiciling to the US in the near future, possibly by May. The company is currently based in Singapore and has a co-headquarters in San Jose, California. Broadcom was bought out by Avago Technologies in 2015 for a deal worth US$37 billion and the newly combined company was then renamed Broadcom Limited.

Could central regulation for cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, be coming sooner rather than later? Canadian economist and current Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, brought up a number of issues about cryptocurrency during a speech at the Scottish Economics Conference held at Edinburgh University. These concerns included the current volatility of cryptocurrency values, the relation crypto-assets have with illicit activities, and the need for some form of regulation.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey expressed concern that the social network has a problem with trolls and bots infesting the platform often fueling hate and abuse. The CEO is inviting proposals from users on how to improve the platform and encourage civil behavior.

VeganCoin and Sovereign have become two of the latest additions to the ever growing cryptocurrency world. VeganCoin was founded by the people behind VeganNation, who claim the currency will be “cruelty free”. The Sovereign is a virtual currency that will be launched by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a country in the Pacific Ocean. The Sovereign will be accepted as legal tender in the island nation.

Sikur is a smartphone maker that likes to put an emphasis on security. In 2015, the company released the GranitePhone, which offered users multiple layers of data privacy protection. In the meantime, Sikur has been working on a new device, which was announced at the 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The SikurPhone includes an app called SikurWallet, which according to the makers is designed to be the “digital marketplace’s safest wallet.”

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session held today, Bill Gates made a comment about cryptocurrencies that suggests he is not currently a huge advocate of the decentralized and unregulated digital payment systems. In contrast, Steve Wozniak has offered a more favorable view of virtual currency, even though he has actually been subject to Bitcoin-trading fraud himself.

French electronics company Archos has unveiled plans to release a hardware wallet that will provide cryptocurrency owners with a physical layer of security for their virtual currency transactions. The Archos Safe-T mini hardware device can be connected to a computer or smartphone via microUSB cable. The wallet will be released in June, 2018 and will cost €49.99 (~US$61).

Apparently the 911 emergency services communication center in Elk Grove, California has been receiving hundreds of calls coming from an Apple repair and refurbishing site in the vicinity. Since October, 2017 the total of 911 calls traced to the facility has reached over 1,600. The calls are believed to be accidental and possibly being caused by the SOS mode that the iPhone and Apple Watch feature.

The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has claimed that the country’s cryptocurrency has enjoyed booming business on the first day of its pre-sale. Apparently, investors have snatched up US$735 million worth of Petro digital currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G), which has the masterful Steven Seagal as its celebrity ambassador, is currently lagging behind with a still impressive US$27.97 million in its pre-ICO fundraising round.

Instead of using malicious apps or website exploits, hackers just hijacked Tesla's cloud servers and made sure their illicit cryptomining endeavors would not seem suspicious.

The cryptocurrency craze continues as a sovereign state and a controversial celebrity become involved in the virtual currency (VC) industry. Venezuela's government has made its "petro" currency available in a presale launch, while Steven Seagal has been promoting a digital currency called Bitcoiin 2Gen.

The United States Air Force has made bounty payouts totaling US$103,883 to hackers invited to test the force's systems and software. The event ran from December 9, 2017 to January 1, 2018.

White House spokesman, Rob Joyce, doesn't believe the US government is ready to attempt regulating Bitcoin until the good and bad aspects of the cryptocurrency are fully understood. The US official was discussing the topic at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

The US Department of Defense has stated that the United States Air Force (USAF) must ensure its computers are operating Windows 10 by March 31, 2018. The Microsoft OS is considered to be a crucial component in the overall readiness of the armed service branch.

The imminent release of the LitePay service lead to a sudden appreciation for Litecoin over the past few days. Litecoin is thus expected to become more useful and appreciate even further as LitePay is compatible with Visa-enabled online/offline sale outlets.

Although Facebook already filed an appeal, it is worth mentioning that the Berlin regional court ruled against its data-collection practices, saying that the default settings break the law, while some terms and conditions do not meet the legal standards needed to get the users' effective consent.

Financial regulators have issued warnings that a massive price crash involving Bitcoin and other popular virtual currencies (VC) would lead to financial ruin for many investors. The lucrative VC market is currently worth hundreds of billions of dollars but is notorious for its series of soaring peaks and troughs.

Microsoft has announced support for Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, a Windows 10 only feature, to Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1. This is to help organizations protect themselves during the transition to Windows 10 from the aforementioned OSs.

The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities exposed inherent flaws in hardware and software design, which we've been using for many years. Chip vendors and developers alike are scrambling to quickly release fixes to prevent any damage to customer data. Intel, AMD along with motherboard partners and Microsoft have released security patches over the past month to cover the necessary mitigation. This tutorial will help you in determining whether your PC has received the required mitigation so as to thwart any potential abuse of these vulnerabilities.

Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang came under cyber attack from malware known as "Olympic Destroyer." The virus affected Internet and television services used by media representatives but did not cause any major long-term disruption.

After CoinCheck and NiceHash, the BitGrail hack is the third major incident in less then 4 months. Of course, the Italian exchange kept most of the funds in a hot wallet, and many other exchanges are probably still doing this, practically inviting hackers to rob them blind.

With ransomware on the prowl every other day, it has become all the more important to ensure that critical files are protected from being encrypted or altered. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update includes a new functionality called Controlled Folder Access that can help prevent modification of critical files and folders by unauthorized software. This tutorial will show you how to enable this functionality to protect both personal and corporate data.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a group of scientists who attempted to use a supercomputer at a top secret nuclear facility to mine Bitcoin. Security was alerted when the would-be miners tried to connect the computer to the Internet.

Microsoft has listed out a few servicing changes to Windows and Office keeping in view the deployment requirements of the enterprise. The company also detailed availability and support cadences of Office 2019 and Windows 10 LTSC.

Apple confirmed that the US Government has asked questions regarding intentional throttling of old iPhones and reaffirmed that it would not degrade the customer experience to force upgrades.

Hackers are trying to spread the stolen NEM coins to as much as 20 accounts, but Coincheck and the NEM Foundation have already tagged all the affected coins, making the affected cryptocurrency easily trackable on exchanges.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Intel had informed select customers about the Meltdown/Spectre vulnerabilities. What's news, however, is that somehow the Chinese Government could have gotten to know about the vulnerabilities much before the US Government did.

Intel has identified the root cause of the recent reboot issues plaguing the company's 'Broadwell' and 'Haswell' chips that received a microcode update for the Meltdown and Spectre exploits. The company has issued an updated guidance for customers and partners in this regard.

In a step up towards addressing the spate of privacy concerns surrounding Windows 10, Microsoft is introducing new privacy tools that will enable users to see the exact data being sent as telemetry information.