Security news

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 is fueling a deepfake porn crisis in South Korea. What's behind it—and how can it be fixed?

It's difficult to talk about artificial intelligence without talking about deepfake porn—a harmful AI byproduct that has been used to target everyone from Taylor Swift to Australian school girls.

Security

How did they get my data? I uncovered the hidden web of networks behind telemarketers

Last year, I started getting a lot of unsolicited phone calls, mainly from people trying to sell me things. This came as a surprise because, as a data scientist, I am very careful about what personal information I let out ...

Business

Ukraine bans Telegram messenger app on state-issued devices because of Russian security threat

Ukraine has banned government officials, military personnel and other defense and critical infrastructure workers from installing the popular Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices, describing the move as necessary ...

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 ...

Software

Usable data hacked from air-gapped computer

A team of software and information systems engineers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Israel, has demonstrated an ability to extract useful data from an air-gapped computer. The group has posted a paper to the arXiv ...

Security

Five notorious cyberattacks that targeted governments

Warfare is no longer confined to physical battlefields. In the digital age, a new front has emerged—cyberspace. Here, countries clash not with bullets and bombs, but with lines of code and sophisticated malware.

Security

Hacker finds way to unlock Tesla models, start cars

Tesla Inc. customers might love the carmakers' nifty keyless entry system, but one cybersecurity researcher has demonstrated how the same technology could allow thieves to drive off with certain models of the electric vehicles.

Senators seek FTC probe of IRS provider ID.me selfie technology

A group of Democratic senators has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether identity verification company ID.me illegally misled consumers and government agencies over its use of controversial facial recognition ...

Computer Sciences

Cryptography in the blockchain era

The advent of blockchains has ignited much excitement, not only for their realization of novel financial instruments, but also for offering alternative solutions to classical problems in fault-tolerant distributed computing ...

Security

Differential privacy the correct choice for the 2020 US Census

The U.S. Census Bureau has long struggled to balance the accuracy and privacy of its decennial census data. High-impact use cases such as funding allocation and redistricting make the accuracy of this data especially crucial. ...

Computer Sciences

New approach allows for faster ransomware detection

Researchers have developed a new approach for implementing ransomware detection techniques, allowing them to detect a broad range of ransomware far more quickly than using previous systems.

Security

Costa Rica declares emergency in ongoing cyber attack

After a month of crippling ransomware attacks, Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency. In theory, the measure usually reserved to deal with natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic would free up the government to ...

Computer Sciences

Automated threat recognition software could speed airport security

Imagine moving through airport security without having to take off your shoes or belt or getting pulled aside while your flight boards—while keeping all the precautions that ensure the safety of passengers and flight crews.

Internet

US tech titans look to ditch passwords

Apple, Google and Microsoft said Thursday they are looking to get rid of passwords and replace them with a more secure way to access accounts or devices.

Business

Researchers investigate Apple's privacy labels

CyLab researchers have been studying privacy nutrition labels for over a decade, so when Apple introduced privacy labels in their app store a little over a year ago, the researchers were eager to investigate them.