Gaining access to the global network used by spies to track phone calls and intercept communications is relatively cheap and easy for hackers, criminals, or even anyone, an investigation has found.
The network, known as SS7, has faced renewed attention in the past few years, especially after researchers exploited it to eavesdrop on a congressman’s calls in real-time from the other side of the world. But a major concern is that more sinister hackers could conduct this sort of surveillance. To test just how possible opening the door to SS7 really is, experts posed as a small potential customer to a telecom in Europe, and was offered SS7 access for just a few thousand dollars.
Read moreFacebook could be listening in on people’s conversations all of the time, an expert has claimed. The app might be using people’s phones to gather data on what they are talking about, it has been claimed.
Facebook says that its app does listen to what’s happening around it, but only as a way of seeing what people are listening to or watching and suggesting that they post about it. The feature has been available for a couple of years, but recent warnings from Kelli Burns, mass communication professor at the University of South Florida, have drawn attention to it. Professor Burns has said that the tool appears to be using the audio it gathers not simply to help out users.
Read moreGot a robot hoover buzzing around your home? It's time to take a look at its security, especially if its an LG device. Researchers from Israeli firm Check Point reported a hack of the LG SmartThinQ app that allowed them to remotely take control of the manufacturer's Hom-Bot hoover and use the video feed to spy on anything in the device's vicinity.
And, the researchers said, the attack could also compromise refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers and air conditioners -- any connected thing controlled by the LG app. Users should update to the latest version of the app.
Read moreWhenever you give iPhone apps permission to access your camera, the app can surreptitiously take pictures and videos of you as long as the app is in the foreground, a security researcher warned on Wednesday.
Felix Krause, who recently warned of the danger of malicious iPhone password popups, wrote a blog post as a sort of PSA for iPhone users. To be clear, this is not a bug, but likely intended behavior. What this means is that even if you don't see the camera "open" in the form of an on-screen viewfinder, an app can still take photos and videos. It is unknown how many apps currently do this, but Krause created a test app as a proof-of-concept.
Read moreMoscow-based Kaspersky Lab said on Monday it will ask independent parties to review the security of its anti-virus software, which the U.S. government has said could jeopardize national security, citing concerns over Kremlin influence and hijacking by Russian spies.
Kaspersky, which research firm Gartner ranks as one of the world’s top cyber security vendors for consumers, said in a statement that it would submit the source code of its software and future product updates for review by a broad cross-section of computer security experts and government officials. It also vowed to have outside parties review other aspects of its business, including software development.
Read moreChristopher Wray said encryption on devices was "a huge, huge problem" for FBI investigations. The agency had failed to access more than half of the devices it targeted in an 11-month period, he said. One cyber-security expert said such encryption was now a "fact of life".
Many smartphones encrypt their contents when locked, as standard - a security feature that often prevents even the phones' manufacturers from accessing data. Such encryption is different to end-to-end encryption, which prevents interception of communications on a large scale.
Read moreWhen you consider the nagging privacy risks of online advertising, you may find comfort in the thought of a vast, abstract company like Pepsi or Nike viewing you as just one data point among millions. What, after all, do you have to hide from Pepsi?
And why should that corporate megalith care about your secrets out of countless potential Pepsi drinkers? But an upcoming study has dissipated that delusion. It shows that ad-targeting can not only track you at the personal, individual level but also that it doesn't take a corporation's resources to seize upon that surveillance tool—just time, determination, and about a thousand dollars.
Read morePrivacy rights group Privacy International says it has obtained evidence for the first time that UK spy agencies are collecting social media information on potentially millions of people.
It has also obtained letters it says show the intelligence agencies’ oversight body had not been informed that UK intelligence agencies had shared bulk databases of personal data with foreign governments, law enforcement and industry — raising concerns about effective oversight of the mass surveillance programs. The documents have come out as a result of an ongoing legal challenge PI has brought against UK intelligence agencies’ use of bulk personal data collection.
Read moreLife for Uber hasn't gotten easier. Experts revealed that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating five cases against the ride-hailing giant, two of which were previously unreported.
In the two previously unknown cases, authorities are looking at whether Uber violated price transparency laws and determining how the company may have stolen documents from Alphabet's self-driving technology division. This news comes amid other legal scandals like Uber's Greyball program. Over the last year, the ride-hailing giant has been scrutinized over its toxic workplace culture and other shady practices.
Read moreThe Google Home Mini fits most of the features of the tech giant’s popular Home smart speakers into a $50, four-inch-wide package, except for the larger, $130 version’s better acoustics. But it is still very, very good at listening.
As many as 4,000 Google Home Minis handed out at Made By Google press and pop-up events could have a flaw making them capture virtually all audio around them before uploading the recordings to Google servers, Android Police reported on Tuesday. According to Android Police’s Artem Russakovskii, he received a demo unit at an October 4th tech press event and installed the device in his bathroom.
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