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The uncovering of a fake Russian pundit
At this point in history, you probably wouldn't be surprised if I told you that the guy who owned Jared and Ivanka's Washington home was just uncovered as the ringleader behind what some believe is a Russian counterintelligence operation. But you'd still have to admit that it's pretty weird. In an exhaustive, thorough investigation published this week, indie journalism site Bellingcat uncovered a new twist to the many Russian propaganda soapboxes using social media to sow unrest and inflame the Russian-American conflict. Like propaganda front "Black Matters US," it looks like wealthy, well-connected, financially shady Russian-born American neoconservative Dan K. Rapoport led the team behind the fake "Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst LTC David Jewberg."
Congress just legalized sex censorship: What to know
One week ago, the worst possible legislation curtailing free speech online passed and sex censorship bill FOSTA-SESTA is on its way to be signed into law by Trump. Hours after the announcement, everything from the mere discussion of sex work to client screening and safe advertising networks began getting systematically erased from the open internet. Thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of women, LGBTQ people, gay men, immigrants, and a significant number of people of color lost their income. Pushed out of safe online spaces and toward street corners. So were any and all victims of sex trafficking that law enforcement might've been able to find on the open internet.
Let’s stop pretending Facebook cares
The really great thing to come out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal is that Facebook will now start doing that thing we were previously assured at every turn they were doing all along. And all it took was everyone finding out about the harvesting and sale of everyone's data to right-wing zealots like Steve Bannon for political power. Not Facebook finding out because they already knew. For years. In fact, Facebook knew it so well, the company legally threatened Observer and NYT to prevent their reporting on it, to keep everyone else from finding out.
When China hoards its hackers everyone loses
They say you don't notice something good until it's gone. With China's decision to restrict its information security researchers from participating in global hacking competitions, we're about to see what that looks like on the global "zero day" stage.
MoviePass: The new face of unbridled data greed
In a presentation during the Entertainment Finance Forum last week, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe bragged to the attendees about his company's app saying, "We know all about you." "We know your home address, of course; we know the makeup of that household, the kids, the age groups, the income," he continued. Once more, we're reminded that every app on our phones has the potential to pool various data on us, enough to paint a remarkably accurate portrait of our life. As if to drill that point home, Lowe added: "We watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterward."
How 'sex trafficking' just opened the censorship floodgates
In a 388 to 25 vote Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed legislation that makes websites criminally responsible if they can be seen as facilitating sex work. It still needs to get through the Senate, but with his daughter's endorsement, Trump is anticipated to sign it. Along with its maddening misconceptions about preventing sex trafficking and helping victims, FOSTA-SESTA incorrectly defines sex work and sex trafficking as one thing.
No, postcards won’t solve our Russian interference problem
We just learned all the ways Russian propaganda agents fooled American social media companies, thanks to the recent indictments of Russian nationals by Team Mueller. After years of these companies forcing us to adhere to their contrived "community safety" policies and made-up rules to police our identities (which they swore was for our own good), their failures are rather spectacular.
How security became more important than convenience
Since the dawn of infosec, the belief that we users are a group of dullard cattle who blindly trade our own security for convenience at every turn has been trumpeted by the stewards of IT and the infosec-arrogant, while bolstered by old research. Not anymore, says a new in-depth study from IBM on consumers' relationships with biometrics, authentication and the future of identity. If they have a choice, consumers now prefer taking extra security steps over using "123456" as a password.
Strava’s fitness heatmaps are a 'potential catastrophe'
The 2018 cybersecurity race to the bottom is off to an exciting start. First out of the gate is Strava — now widely known as the "social network for athletes" -- and its reckless data-visualization "heat map" gimmick that revealed details of secret military bases around the world. It was the kind of incident deserving of a plot line in a ridiculous Hollywood drama. And yet, here we are, with Twitter and the whole world discussing and dissecting fitness routes of soldiers and agents in sensitive locations, such as American bases in Afghanistan and Syria, a possible secret CIA base in Somalia, military facilities in war zones and much more.
Voting-machine makers are already worried about Defcon
Last year, Defcon's Voting Village made headlines for uncovering massive security issues in America's electronic voting machines. Unsurprisingly, voting-machine makers are working to prevent a repeat performance at this year's show. According to Voting Village organizers, they're having a tough time getting their hands on machines for white-hat hackers to test at the next Defcon event in Las Vegas (held in August). That's because voting-machine makers are scrambling to get the machines off eBay and keep them out of the hands of the "good guy" hackers.
Facebook's fake war on fake news
It's hard watching Facebook struggle. Like how for the past two years it's alternated between looking like it's doing something about fake news, and actually doing something about fake news. The company's latest stab at the problem is saying it will change what people see in their News Feeds. The goal is to show users fewer posts from companies or brands, and more shares (or posts) from friends; in particular, ones its algorithm thinks will get you excited.
Don’t pirate or we’ll mess with your Nest, warns East Coast ISP
Internet slowdowns at home aren't just annoying anymore. They can be hazardous to your health or dangerous if you're in an area that freezes. Internet service provider Armstrong Zoom has roughly a million subscribers in the Northeastern part of the U.S. and is keen to punish those it believes are using file-sharing services.
2017’s biggest cybersecurity facepalms
2017 was a year like no other for cybersecurity. It was the year we found out the horrid truths at Uber and Equifax, and border security took our passwords. A year of WannaCry and Kaspersky, VPNs and blockchains going mainstream, health care hacking, Russian hackers, WikiLeaks playing for Putin's team, and hacking back. In 2017 we learned that cybersecurity is a Lovecraftian game in which you trade sanity for information. Let's review the year that was (and hopefully will never be again).
As online ads fail, sites mine cryptocurrency
Between the incessant headlines and chatter on social media, it feels like everywhere we go some libertarian evangelist appears asking us if we have a second to talk about the blockchain -- like a religious wingnut lurking outside the grocery store.
All the cool gifts are made for spying on you
It's the gift-giving season, and high-tech gadgets are more exciting than ever. Alexa, Siri, Cortana and even "Okay Google" are ready to come over for holiday ham, ready to help you turn on a light or play you some Spotify. Those always-on microphones, cameras and WiFi-connected devices are cheaper, cooler and more convenient than ever.
Uber, but for toxic techbro culture
Some companies are just born with an infinite number of chances to keep doing everything wrong and yet somehow seem immune to the consequences. Uber is one of those companies. Uber's latest scandal -- a fat hack and its dirty coverup -- is just one in a long line of Uber-riffic examples on just how far a certain kind of privilege gets you.
The big stores that track your every online move
A study by Princeton researchers came to light earlier this month, revealing that more than 400 of the world's most popular websites use the equivalent of hacking tools to spy on you without your knowledge or consent.
Digital democracy's steep decline
We thought the internet was going to be great for equality, freedom, and maybe even human rights, but now we're not so sure. Turns out, the internet is great for propaganda. And totally unraveling democracy. If only the people who invented and run everything we use online had thought of this! If only they had imagined someone using their social sites, apps, advertising networks, and comment systems to attack and oppress people of color, women, anyone who wants healthcare, and enemies of the state (the same thing, usually). They didn't think of these things because they were coding, developing, and seeking venture capital in order to make the world a better place. Also licking advertiser bootheels. And lobbying.
The naked truth about Facebook’s revenge porn tool
Facebook has announced it's trialling a tool in Australia to fight revenge porn on its platform, one that requires victims to send the company a copy of the violating images. Amazingly, this is true, and not a Clickhole story. It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder if there are human people at Facebook, and do they even understand what words mean? Because as we unravel the details of this tool -- totally not conceived by actual robots or a company with a zero percent trust rating among users -- we realize it's a very confusing tool indeed.
Critical Heathrow Airport security files found in the bushes
When you're unemployed, you tend to notice the world around you a bit more than the average working stiff. That's how a regular, unemployed fellow in London happened to find intimate and detailed security protocols and maps for London's main airport, Heathrow, lying on the ground in broad daylight The unnamed man noticed a USB stick in a row of bushes lining the sidewalk on Ilbert Street, along Queen's Park, in West London, so he grabbed it. It wasn't exactly outside the airport's security offices. That's eighteen miles from the airport, or about 40 minutes by car.
