Security

iOS 13 will bring a few new features to iPhones upon its release later this year, several of which are focused on protecting user privacy. One such update will block background processes from collecting user data, something that several messaging apps like WhatsApp Facebook Messenger apparently rely on for receiving VoIP calls.

A new publication by Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center points out an increasingly popular avenue used for cyber attacks: the Internet of Things (IoT). The publication states that researchers discovered a new attack that exploited vulnerabilities in simple IoT devices like a printer and a VOIP phone to access an enterprise network.

According to reports from China, Apple will start mass-producing displays with an in-screen Touch ID sensor that will complement Face ID in anticipation of their inclusion in the 2021 iPhone series. The upcoming displays will likely have a custom Qualcomm ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which will have a larger recognition area than comparable sensors found in current flagships like the Mate 20 Pro, P30 Pro and Galaxy S10 series.

Apple has suspended a controversial Siri grading program that allowed contractors to listen to recordings of customers using the voice recognition software. The purportedly privacy focused company was caught out by a whistleblower who revealed details of the program that raised serious user privacy concerns.

A study conducted by Consumers International, in conjunction with the Internet Society has reportedly found that most individuals surveyed find connected devices (mostly IoT or "smart home" products) "creepy". In addition, 53% of this group said that they do not trust these devices with their privacy. Concerns such as these put 28% of a sub-group without these devices off buying one.

The Librem 5's specifications have been finalized, but the hardware looks outdated. Considering the phone's $700 price tag, it's unlikely that the Librem 5 will garner any significant market share. However, the Librem 5 is focused on user privacy and "free and open" software instead of bleeding-edge specifications. In that regard, the Librem 5 is sure to be an interesting niche device.

Apple has been caught in a fresh privacy scandal as first reported by The Guardian. According to an Apple contractor, Apple just like Google and Amazon have been busted doing, uses contractors to analyze and assess the accuracy of its Siri voice assistant by listening into people who are unaware this is happening.

According to a new report, Google has released a new feature for the Assistant to a select group of users. This function allows them to compose and send texts directly from their phone's lockscreens. This sounds convenient, but also problematic from certain standpoints.

Internet-protocol (or IP) cameras shipments are thought to grow to over 100 million by 2025, or 20% more than there are now. These projections are part of newly-published research on the IP surveillance market. It is thought to be mainly driven by commercial buyers, although domestic products may also play a role in their growth.

WhatsApp and Telegram are popular secure messaging apps that feature end-to-end encryption to keep messages safe. Even still, the apps have a glaring backdoor that could allow attackers to alter media files sent through the apps. Both apps can store media to publicly accessible file directories, which leaves them vulnerable to manipulation.

If you thought you were crazy covering your laptop webcam with paper, you're not alone. A continent-wide survey conducted earlier this year has revealed that nearly 80 percent of respondents would rather just turn off their webcams to avoid fears of hacking. Women in particular are more worried about their laptops being compromised and are more likely to tape over or disable their webcams.

The Belgian news outlet VRT NWS claims to have gained access to audio recordings made as a result of Google Assistant 'listening' to user speech or activity. The recordings were leaked to VRT by a Google subcontractor. This apparent evidence suggests that the search giant allows these workers access to information that would have remained private were it not for the presence of the Assistant.

The Nest Hello device is a smart doorbell with an inbuilt camera. A leak concerning a software update for this product has found that it may gain the ability to detect when a package has been delivered. This code may also allow for a follow-up feature in which it can tell when the same has been picked up again.

An industrial consultant firm, Grail Insights, has released the results of a survey-based study on public attitudes towards 'big tech' companies, their effects on consumer privacy and the role national authorities should adopt in the matter. They show that 62% of respondents believe that the government needs to step in when these corporations gain "too much power".

A United States Senator has obtained a response to a letter sent to Amazon HQ concerning user privacy as it relates to the retail giant's Alexa platform. It advised the public representative that, although a given user can delete their own voice data from their accounts at will, the voice assistant's responses to queries are recorded and retained by Amazon for its own purposes.

YI (or Xiaoyi) is a company known for camera-related product and accessories, including dash-cams. Its newest version of these is the Nightscape, a 1080p, Wi-Fi enabled device with a 140-degree field of view. It also integrates Sony's STARVIS technology for improved low-light imaging.

The latest software update for the Samsung Galaxy A50 offers an upgraded security patch level and Knox Guard improvements. However, some users have reported that a reset of the phone's camera settings confers new shooting modes. They are "Super Slow Mo" and "Night Mode".

Those who own or plan on owning Huawei or Honor Android devices may have been alarmed by reports that their parent company had lost crucial certifications necessary to use this OS. Despite this, however, Honor's latest flagships (the 20 and 20 Pro) have been found on the Google Play Certified list. One of Huawei's latest phones, the Nova 5i, is also present here.

Qualcomm has announced that its latest flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 855, is the first CPU for mobile devices to attain the Smart Card Equivalent Security Certification. This means the processor can handle applications normally confined to the realm of dedicated security chips. It does this through its integrated Secure Processing Unit.

A leading cyber-security firm has uncovered a brazen Chinese-affiliated 7-year-long attack against telecommunications companies across the globe, compromising Call Detail Records (CDRs) and allowing collection of call meta-data for intelligence actions against targets.

Popular video and media player VideoLan Client (VLC) has been found by security researchers to have two serious vulnerabilities, allowing malicious .avi and .mkv files to execute any code with full user privileges. Version 3.0.7 or newer addresses this vulnerability, so check to make sure your version is up-to-date.

Canon is attending the 2019 Sensors Expo & Conference in San Jose, California to showcase its new 120MXSI sensor. This CMOS is rated for 120MP imaging, and can operate in visible and near-infra-red (NIR) light spectra at a maximal 9.4 frames per second.

According to a U.S. Office of Inspector General report published Tuesday, a cyberattack on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in April 2018 was due to a severe lack of security oversight. The attack was made possible via an unauthorized Raspberry Pi that was connected to JPL's network without any knowledge of the security team. Additionally, a lack of proper network segmentation allowed the hackers to access NASA's Deep Space Network, which is responsible for managing interplanetary missions.

A high-severity vulnerability has been discovered in Dell’s SupportAssist software that is found on millions of computers sold by the American manufacturer. The problem was highlighted by a company called SafeBreach and was originally reported to both Dell and PC-Doctor in May. Dell has offered a simple resolution to deal with the disconcerting find.

Microsoft 365 for Campaigns is a new service intended to safeguard election campaigns from bad actors of various kinds. It is part of the Redmond company's Defending Democracy Program, and offers enterprise-level security to those covered by its subscriptions. Currently, it is available for US$5 per user per month.

The Tesla Models S or 3 have a feature called Navigate on Autopilot feature, which can allow one of these vehicles to follow a certain route while driving autonomously. The security firm Regulus Cyber has claimed that they are susceptible to GPS-spoofing interventions, which allegedly caused a test car to enact auto-turning behaviors while still 3 miles from an actual exit.

The Samsung NC10-14GB netbook that was sold at an auction for a staggering US$1,345,000 is a 2008 model that runs Windows XP SP3 and comes loaded with 6 pieces of malware that have caused damages of over US$95 billion, namely ILOVEYOU, MyDoom, SoBig, WannaCry, BlackEnergy, and DarkTequila.

Xiaomi has announced that its software division will stop releasing global betas of its OS, MIUI, on July 1, 2019. This applies not merely to older and slower devices, but to all phones of its brand. However, the OEM has also stated that this decision will not affect the frequency of security-related updates.

"Shot on OnePlus" is an initiative by which users can upload their shots via a smartphone app or online. This is done via an API, which, when analyzed, was found to be a ready source of user emails and IDs. The company's response to this situation currently includes an overhaul of this interface.

Innodisk's Fire Shield SSD(TM) has reportedly been developed to withstand extreme temperatures. It is apparently based on black-box technology in order to maintain 100% accuracy and integrity for the data on its NAND storage. So far, this new type of drive is available in a 3.5-inch SATA SSD form-factor.

Xiaomi has issued a recall of its Mi Electric Scooter (or M365) product. This request to return items does not apply to all units of the personal transport accessory, however, but to a subset of the same sold in certain countries. These devices have a hardware fault that could affect their function and the safety of their users.

Google Maps is reportedly rolling out a new feature intended to benefit users taking taxis or ride-shares in unfamiliar locations. It starts to send alerts if the vehicle in question starts to deviate from a given route by 500 meters or more. This new setting has only been observed in the Indian market so far, however.

Facebook is preparing to launch its own digital currency named GlobalCoin, which will enable almost 2 billion users to make fast payments for the items sold through Facebook Marketplace. GlobalCoin will be fully integrated with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and Facebook also intends to implement physical ATM machines to exchange fiat in person.

Reolink, a company already known for well-spec'd wireless security cameras, now launches the E1 Pro. This new option offers a wide range of coverage for an affordable price. It will also gain Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility in the near future.

The world's first laptop PC with a proximity sensor makes Windows Hello even easier to use. The Dell-exclusive feature lets you initiate Windows Hello by simply walking in front of your laptop instead of needing to push a key to wake the system.

Android Q's latest preview build was released yesterday (June 5, 2019). It has some interesting new aspects, such as a re-brand for Smart Unlock. However, Google has now stopped pushing its OTAs to phones as it has been found to cause bootloops in some cases.

A major app developer has been found sneaking adware into over 200 Android apps listed on the Google Play Store. The adware, named BeiTaAd, would only present adverts after at least 24 hours from an affected app being first opened, tricking people into believing other apps were at fault.

MSI has alerted its customers advising them of a fraudulent email that may be sent due to their possession of an account with the company. The message attempts to direct the reader to change their Apple IDs using its link. However, MSI asserts that no users' personal, financial or otherwise sensitive data is at risk as a result.

Home security camera systems can be expensive. But where there is a Raspberry Pi, there is a way. All you need is a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a Raspberry Pi camera module, some free software and an enclosure that you can buy for as little as €5 (~US$5.57).

Apple likes to claim that buying an iPhone means buying into an ecosystem where user data is sacrosanct. An examination by the Washington Post demonstrates that the reality is quite a different picture.

DJI has announced the Manifold 2, a line of tiny supercomputers that can be installed on certain drones from this manufacturer. These devices can upgrade the devices in quesiton into autonomic flying machines, or those that can be trained to recognize certain objects or use an AI.

An old 10.2-inch Samsung NC10-14GB loaded with six of the world’s most dangerous computer viruses is currently being auctioned with bids over US$1.2 million. Why you may ask? Because it is actually a piece of contemporary art called The Persistence of Chaos by internet artist Guo O Duong.

Controversial security researcher SandboxEscaper revealed three zero-day exploits that are still not patched in the latest May update for Windows 10. The researcher details how attackers can gain complete access of a Windows 10 system through flaws in the Windows Error Reporting service, the Windows Task Scheduler and Internet Explorer 11, and promised to unveil two more exploits soon.

A recently discovered hack has exposed the personal contact information of millions of Instagram users, including some prominent influencers and celebrities. The hackers attacked an Amazon Web Services-hosted database owned by Chtrbox, a Mumbai-based marketing firm. Chtrbox had built out the database to broaden their network of potential contract marketers on Instagram. The worst part? The database didn't even have a password.

A new report by SAI Global shows that the number of consumers aware of issues such as privacy, and who value them in their buying choices, is on the rise. It indicates that 2/3 of these individuals surveyed would make a trade-off in favor of a brand known for user-privacy protection over another offering a lower price.

The Reolink Go is a possibly worthwhile innovation in the security-cam industry: it is a truly stand-alone product that does not require external power or cables of any sort. Therefore, it can be installed so as to surveil anything the user wants. However, its need for 4G connectivity could be a drawback in some circumstances.

A flaw discovered in Google's Bluetooth Low Energy Titan Security Keys leaves a hole open for potential attackers. Under certain circumstances and with proper timing, an attacker could potentially hijack the Bluetooth pairing process used by the Titan to log into a user's account. Google has offered to replace affected Titan Security Keys free of charge.

Following the successful introduction of cryptocurrency features for this year's Galaxy S10 handhelds, Samsung now plans to add blockchain-related services to budget and mid-range models, as well. Besides crypto wallets and digital signage apps, Samsung may also add digital identity verification tools in upcoming Galaxy models.

A flaw in Intel's modern CPU architectures can be used in a new attack. Dubbed "ZombieLoad," the vulnerability is similar to the Spectre and Meltdown bugs that haunted the PC market last year. ZombieLoad uses a similar flaw in Intel CPUs' speculative execution processes to access and leak data, including passwords, keys, and sensitive data.

Google has unveiled its latest Nest product at I/O 2019. It is called the Nest Hub Max: a possibly more extensive, useful and powerful version of the Google Home Hub released earlier. It will retail for US$229, or its regional equivalent.