Security news

Security

Each year, landmines kill residents of war-torn countries. This innovative tool could save lives

As he grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, Mateo Dulce Rubio would hear a familiar news story every few days—someone had stepped on another landmine. The explosion had killed or injured them. Though the capital city was far from ...

Security

US seizes internet domains allegedly used by Russian hackers

The United States announced the seizure on Thursday of 41 internet domains allegedly used by Russian intelligence agents to try to gain access to the computers and email accounts of Pentagon, State Department and other US ...

Business

California enacts law to protect brain data

A new California law extends consumer privacy protection to brainwave data gathered by implants or wearable devices.

Security

Police are probing apparent cyber vandalism on Wi-Fi networks at UK train stations

U.K. transport officials and police said Thursday they are investigating a "cyber-security incident" after users of public Wi-Fi networks at the country's biggest railway stations reported being shown anti-Muslim messages.

Security

AI model beats CAPTCHA every time

A trio of AI researchers at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has modified an AI-based, picture-processing model to solve Google's reCAPTCHAv2 human-testing system.

Security

Encrypted 'Ghost' app: What we know

Police revealed Tuesday they had infiltrated and taken down an encrypted chat app called Ghost used by criminals across the world.

Security

'Good complexity' can make hospital networks more cybersecure

In May, a major cyberattack disabled clinical operations for nearly a month at Ascension, a health care provider that includes 140 hospitals across the U.S. Investigators tracked the problem to malicious ransomware that had ...

Security

New tools use AI 'fingerprints' to detect altered photos, videos

As artificial intelligence networks become more skilled and easier to access, digitally manipulated "deepfake" photos and videos are increasingly difficult to detect. New research led by Binghamton University, State University ...

Computer Sciences

The blockchain concept

Blockchain is the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Fundamentally, the blockchain is simply a ledger, a digital record of transactions associated with a digital currency, a Bitcoin, for instance. ...

Business

Exploring cryptocurrency and blockchain in Iceland

Imagine a hairdryer running on high, continuously, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The energy it drains—about 40 kilowatts per hour—equals what one extremely powerful specialized computer uses to mine cryptocurrency. ...

Security

Preventing manipulation in automated face recognition

From unlocking smartphones to speeding up airport security checks: the use of automated face recognition for personal identification continues to grow. But this authentication method is vulnerable to morphing attacks: criminals ...

Security

Researchers invent low-cost alternative to Bitcoin

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is limited by its astronomical electricity consumption and outsized carbon footprint. A nearly zero-energy alternative sounds too good to be true, but as School of Computer and Communication Sciences ...

Internet

We street-proof our kids. Why aren't we data-proofing them?

Google recently agreed to pay a US$170 million fine for illegally gathering children's personal data on YouTube without parental consent, which is a violation under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Business

DoorDash breach exposes data of nearly 5 mn users

On-demand restaurant meal delivery service DoorDash on Thursday said a breach of its system exposed nearly five million customers, eateries and "Dashers" to a data breach.

Computer Sciences

Germany shuts down illegal data center in former NATO bunker

German investigators said Friday they have shut down a data processing center installed in a former NATO bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities. Seven people were arrested.

Security

Researchers uncover privacy flaw in e-passports

Researchers at the University of Luxembourg have discovered a flaw in the security standard of biometric e-passports that has been used worldwide since 2004. This standard, ICAO 9303, allows e-passport readers at airports ...