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Family Tree DNA offers to trade privacy to catch criminals
The at-home DNA testing company Family Tree DNA is asking customers to share their genetic data to help law enforcement solve crimes. A video featuring Ed Smart, the father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, attempts to frame the sharing of its genetic database with FBI as a positive. According to MIT Technology Review, the video will air as an ad in San Diego, where police were recently able to solve a 1979 murder after finding a link in a publicly available DNA database. The ad is part of a larger campaign featured prominently on Family Tree DNA's website.
Family Tree DNA will let customers opt-out of the FBI's genetic data access
Genealogy company Family Tree DNA hit the headlines last month after it was revealed the firm had given law enforcement agencies access to its DNA database. The FBI was allowed to comb through the information in a bid to identify crime suspects, igniting confidentiality concerns and privacy fears. Now, the gene-testing service has announced it will let customers bar law enforcement from accessing their data.
US conducts criminal investigation into Facebook's data deals
Investigations into Facebook's data handling keep piling up. The New York Times has learned that federal prosecutors are in the midst of a criminal investigation into the data deals Facebook arranged with tech companies. It's not known when the investigation began or just what the focus is, but a New York grand jury reportedly used subpoenas to obtain records from two or more "prominent makers of smartphones." The deals included heavyweights like Apple, Microsoft and Sony.
US arrests cryptocurrency exec over 'multibillion-dollar' fraud
Cryptocurrency scams are nothing new, but they're rarely as large as this. US law enforcement has arrested Konstantin Ignatov over a fraud charge relating to OneCoin, the cryptocurrency he helped found. Ignatov, his sister Ruja Ignatova (also charged, but hiding) and others allegedly orchestrated a "multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme" where people received commissions for persuading people to buy OneCoin packages that themselves were junk. OneCoin reportedly rigged prices, sold people non-existent coins and didn't even have a true blockchain to manage the currency.
Iranian hackers stole terabytes of data from software giant Citrix
Citrix is best-known for software that runs behind the scenes, but a massive data breach is putting the company front and center. The FBI has warned Citrix that it believes reports of foreign hackers compromising the company's internal network, swiping business documents in an apparent "password spraying" attack where the intruders guessed weak passwords and then used that early foothold to launch more extensive attacks. While Citrix didn't shed more light on the incident, researchers at Resecurity provided more detail of what likely happened in a conversation with NBC News.
Fifth 'Celebgate' account hijacker sentenced to 34 months in prison
The "celebgate" photo leaks might be years old by now, but that isn't stopping the courts from doling out stiff punishment for the account hijacks. A federal judge has sentenced Chris Brannan to 34 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to identity theft and unauthorized access charges. He admitted to compromising the iCloud, Facebook and Yahoo accounts of 200 targets through both phishing attacks as well as social engineering (where he researched targets to answer their security questions).
Canada will allow US extradition of Huawei CFO to move forward
Huawei financial chief Meng Wanzhou is one step closer to facing sanctions-related fraud charges in the US. Canada's Department of Justice has issued an Authority to Proceed measure that greenlights the extradition process for Meng, making it that more likely she'll head south. A British Columbia Supreme Court will set the date for the extradition hearing at a March 6th court date where Meng will appear.
Huawei pleads not guilty to stealing US trade secrets
In a US federal court in Seattle, Chinese tech firm Huawei pleaded not guilty to several charges that allege the company engaged or attempted to engage in theft of trade secrets, the Associated Press reported. US District Judge Richardo S. Martinez, who presided over today's hearing, has set a trial date for March 2020 for the case. If Huawei is found guilty, it could face a fine of up to $5 million.
UK will track thousands of criminals with GPS tags
It's not a novel idea to make criminals wear GPS bracelets, but they could soon be relatively commonplace in the UK. The country's government plans to use them for around-the-clock monitoring of criminals across England and Wales by the summer, with a handful of regions already putting them to use. They'll be used to both track behavior when out of prison (say, to ensure offenders attend rehab) and enforce geographic limits like restraining orders.
'Upskirting' is now a crime in the UK
After some setbacks, the UK's bill forbidding "upskirting" has become law. The Voyeurism Act takes effect in April and gives creeps up to two years in prison if they take photos under a person's clothing without consent for the sake of "sexual gratification or to "cause humiliation, distress or alarm." The most egregious perpetrators will also find themselves on the sex offenders register. Summary convictions can involve a year in prison, a fine or both.
DOJ busts gang for allegedly selling fake cars on eBay
The Department of Justice has unsealed information about an organized crime ring that used online sites like eBay and Craigslist to defraud people. 20 people, including 16 people from Romania and Bulgaria, stand accused of RICO, wire fraud and money laundering offenses, as well as identity theft.
First person sentenced for SIM hijacking faces 10 years in prison
SIM card hijackers are starting to face the consequences of their actions. California college student Joel Ortiz has agreed to a plea deal that will have him serve 10 years in prison for stealing over $5 million in cryptocurrency through SIM swapping -- the first time someone has faced a sentence for the crime, authorities told Motherboard. Ortiz admitted to compromising about 40 victims through the technique, which typically involves making phony SIM swap requests and using the newly gained control to obtain logins that require two-factor authentication.
Second Apple employee accused of stealing self-driving car tech
Apple is grappling with another employee accused of stealing autonomous vehicle trade secrets. NBC News has learned that the FBI arrested Jizhong Chen for allegedly trying to swipe self-driving car tech and pass it along to a Chinese competitor. After an employee saw him taking photos in a sensitive work area, the company conducted an investigation that discovered thousands of sensitive documents on his personal computer, including roughly a hundred photos from inside an Apple building. They also found that he'd recently applied to work at that competitor.
Man sentenced to 65 months in prison over phone 'cloning' scheme
The US is tying loose ends on an elaborate cellphone crime spree. A Florida judge has sentenced Braulio De la Cruz Vasquez to 65 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges he worked with four co-conspirators (who've already pleaded guilty) as part of a ring that would 'clone' phones and use them for international calls. De la Cruz would receive identifying information linked to wireless subscribers' accounts and use that to "reprogram" cellphones he controlled. After that, his partners would send international calls to his home internet connection and route them through the hijacked phones, making the unwitting victims pay for others' calls.
Huawei denies US sanctions and trade secret charges
Huawei isn't taking kindly to the US' charges of sanction violations and trade secret theft. A spokesperson told Engadget the company was "disappointed" to hear of the charges and flatly "denies" it or an associated company (namely Skycom) committed any of the crimes in the indictments. It's also "not aware of any wrongdoing" by CFO Meng Wanzhou, according to the statement (available below). Huawei went so far as to suggest the US was unfair and trying to revive a dead case.
US charges Huawei with stealing trade secrets and violating sanctions
The US has filed 10 trade secret-related charges and 13 linked to sanction violations against Chinese telecom Huawei. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the charges in a joint press conference Monday, which are likely to further deepen the tensions between the US and China.
Trolls threaten laid off reporters in coordinated online campaign
Unfortunately, sustained online harassment campaigns are still a reality. NBC News has learned that trolls have launched a coordinated threat campaign against BuzzFeed and Huffington Post (owned by Engadget parent Verizon) journalists recently let go as part of layoffs. They appear to have originated from 4chan and used the same far-right memes before launching into racist and sexist slurs as well as death threats. The attackers have largely targeted writers on social networks like Twitter and Instagram, although they've also used email and even PayPal.
US charges 'Call of Duty' swatter's alleged co-conspirators
Now that Call of Duty swatter Tyler Bariss has pleaded guilty, law enforcement is pursuing the people allegedly linked to his crimes. Federal agents have charged Neal Patel, Logan Patten and Tyler Stewart for reportedly conspiring with Barriss in both swatting attacks (that is, trick police into sending a SWAT team) and false bomb threats in locations across the US, including Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. Patel and Patten also face respective charges for bank fraud and threatening to injure in interstate commerce.
Hitman convicted thanks to fitness watch location data
An alleged hitman has learned hard lessons about the the value of GPS data on fitness watches. A Liverpool jury has found Mark Fellows guilty of the 2015 murder of mob boss Paul Massey in part thanks to location info from the accused's Garmin Forerunner. An expert inspecting the watch's info discovered that Fellows had recorded a 35-minute trip that took him to a field just outside Massey's home ahead of the murder. He appeared to be scouting the route he would take later to perform the hit, a claim supported by cell site and CCTV evidence showing Fellows driving his car past Massey's house numerous times in the week before the slaying.
FBI investigates fake texts sent to House Republicans
Law enforcement is looking into one of the stranger digital attacks against US politicians in recent memory. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the FBI is investigating fake text messages sent to "several" Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Illinois' Adam Kinzinger. The currently mysterious perpetrator posed as VP Mike Pence's press secretary, Alyssa Farah, and asked representatives for both their availability for meetings and the whereabouts of other politicians.
