CovertBand uses high-frequency audio to place people in a room and track a person's movements using the speakers and microphones that are found in many smartphones, laptops and other devices.

Researchers have demonstrated how hackers could track a person's movements using the speakers and microphones that are found in many smartphones, laptops and other devices. According to research by the University of Washington, hackers could embed a high-frequency sound in audio recordings that acts as a sonar. Sound waves would bounce off people and objects and this is picked up by a microphone.

Apple is well-known for its maniacal approach to security, but it turns out not even the Cupertino heavyweight is safe from breaches: Popular YouTuber EverythingApplePro has stumbled upon a miniature hacking device that can crack the passcode of any iPhone 7 handset.

The device has a fairly compact size, but what is even more impressive is that, thanks to its three USB ports, it has the capacity to brute-force passcodes on three devices at the same time. To pull this off, EverythingApplePro says the creators of the tool exploited a loophole in the phone’s data recovery state that allows users to enter as many password attempts as they need.

China has launched a digital "cyber-court" to help deal with a rise in the number of internet-related claims.

The Hangzhou Internet Court opened on Friday and heard its first case - a copyright infringement dispute between an online writer and a web company. Legal agents in Hangzhou and Beijing accessed the court via their computers and the trial lasted 20 minutes. The court's focus will be civil cases, including online shopping disputes. Judges were sworn in and the first case was presented on a large screen in the courtroom. Defendants and plaintiffs appear before the judge not in person, but via video-chat.

A leading US supplier of voting machines confirmed on Thursday that it exposed the personal information of more than 1.8 million Illinois residents.

State authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were alerted this week to a major data leak exposing the names, addresses, dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, and party affiliations of over a million Chicago residents. Some driver’s license and state ID numbers were also exposed. Jon Hendren, who works for the cyber resilience firm UpGuard, discovered the breach on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) device that was not secured by a password.

A hacker Thursday afternoon published what he says is the decryption key for Apple iOS’ Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) firmware. The hacker, identified only as xerub, told that the key unlocks only the SEP firmware, and that this would not impact user data.

“Everybody can look and poke at SEP now,” xerub said. Apple did confirm that if the key was legitimate, that user data would not be at risk from this leak. Apple has reportedly yet to confirm the validity of the key. The Secure Enclave, as explained in the iOS Security Guide, is a coprocessor onto itself inside the mobile operating system.

Several HBO Twitter accounts were hacked and taken over by the notorious OurMine hacking group, posting #HBOHacked messages and warnings about security.

OurMine took control of the main HBO Twitter account on Wednesday, as well as those for TV shows including Game of Thrones and Girls, posting its usual statement: “Hi, OurMine are here, we are just testing your security, HBO team please contact us to upgrade the security.” The messages from OurMine were removed within an hour of their appearance, with HBO seemingly taking back control of its accounts. An HBO spokesperson said the TV network was “investigating” the hack.

It appears that the hackers behind the WannaCry ransomware may be back at work. LG's service centers in South Korea were reportedly hit by a ransomware attack earlier in the week, with authorities revealing that the ransomware's malicious code was "identical" to WannaCry.

Users of LG's South Korean self-service kiosks were reportedly experiencing issues accessing the service. The issue was then reported by LG to the state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency, who confirmed the ransomware attack. "More investigation is still needed to determine the exact cause," KISA said in a statement, the Korea Herald reported.

More than a dozen high technology companies and the biggest wireless operator in the United States, Verizon Communications Inc, have called on the U.S. Supreme Court to make it harder for government officials to access individuals' sensitive cellphone data.

The companies filed a 44-page brief with the court on Monday night in a high-profile dispute over whether police should have to get a warrant before obtaining data that could reveal a cellphone user's whereabouts. Signed by some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, the brief said that as individuals' data is increasingly collected through digital devices, greater privacy protections are needed under the law.

A botched wireless update for a remotely accessible smart lock system has bricked hundreds of them. The locks suffered a “fatal error,” according to device’s manufacturer LockState, rendering them unable to locked. Customers are asked to either return impacted locks for repair, or request a replacement.

“We realize the impact that this issue may have on you and your business and we are deeply sorry. Every employee and resource at LockState is focused on resolving this for you as quickly as possible,” wrote Nolan Mondrow, CEO of LockState in an email sent to customers last week. More than 500 customers using model 6000i RemoteLocks are impacted.

A friendly neighbourhood hacker has helped a family reunite with their beloved car which they had to abandon for months after they lost a one-of-a-kind key.

The Higgins family from Surrey in Canada have spent the last two months desperately trying to find a solution to getting back into their Toyota Estima family wagon after dad, John, lost the key to the imported car when he bent down to tie his son's laces one day. The key features a unique security chip that turned out to impossible to replicate, meaning the imported Japanese vehicle could not start without it. Higgins originally posted his dilemma to Facebook in the hope someone might have seen his keys and it soon went viral.