Today’s Tech Sightings: Facebook Denies Pakistan Policy Change Request Facebook informed the Pakistani government it was not interested in complying with its request to change authentication policies from email addresses to telephone numbers. Last week, Pakistan asked Facebook to make the change in order to track fake account owners and those who engage in hate […]
Facebook Rejects Pakistan Policy Change; ‘GhostCtrl’ Malware Returns
The Cost of Sharing WhatsApp’s Data; APT3 Hackers Linked to Beijing
Today’s Tech Sightings: Facebook Fined $122M in Europe for Misleading WhatsApp Filing European Commission antitrust regulators slapped Facebook Thursday with $122 million in fines for providing “inaccurate or misleading” information for the vetting of its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014. The Commission said Facebook claimed it could not automatically match WhatsApp user accounts on […]
WannaCry Blame Game Points to North Korea
Today’s Tech Sightings: The finger-pointing is underway in the massive WannaCry or WannaCrypt ransomware attack that affected nearly 150 countries, with security researchers suggesting North Korean hackers might be behind it and Microsoft blaming the U.S. government. The hackers allegedly used tools leaked by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to exploit a vulnerability in […]
Android’s App Permissions Flaw; Assistive Tech Gets Smarter
Today’s Tech Sightings: Serious App Permissions Flaw Will Not be Fixed Until Android O Google’s Android operating system might get a lot of unwanted attention from hackers because of its popularity, but research from Check Point security firm points to deeper problems. Google Play’s app permission model grants apps downloaded from the store extensive access, […]
The Trouble With Android; ‘Instant Apps’ Coming to Android JellyBean
Today’s Tech Sightings: Can Google Win Its Battle With Android Malware? The Android operating system continues to get the lion’s share of malware and ransomware by virtue of its large market dominance, according to recent data. Unlike Apple, which does not encourage non-Apple apps, Google allows Android users to download apps from other stores, in […]
Ransomware Payouts on the Rise; STEM Stigmas Start as Early as Age 6
Today’s Tech Sightings: Symantec: Cyber Extortion Demands Surge as Victims Keep Paying Hackers are getting bolder as more of their victims are willing to pay hefty sums to free their computers from malicious software, according to cybersecurity firm Symantec. The trend is encouraging cybercriminals to demand increasingly hefty sums from users. The average amount tripled […]
Kids Lose Sleep With Touchscreen Use; an Argument for Editing Tweets
Today’s Tech Sightings: Study: Kids Who Use Touchscreen Devices Sleep Less at Night Earlier research has linked television and video games to sleep problems, but for the first time, a new study appearing in the Scientific Advances journal, looked at the use of mobile touchscreen devices among children. The study found that infants and toddlers […]
Window’s Data-collection Explained; Facebook Expands in Africa
Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft Opens Up on Windows Data Collection It’s no secret that Windows 10 has been collecting all sorts of “analytics” data and raising privacy concerns in the process in the absence of clarity. Microsoft has now provided more details about the sort of data its Windows 10 Creators Update will be collecting […]
iOS Spyware Pegasus Returns for Android; Apple’s Mac Pro Faux-pas
Today’s Tech Sightings: State-backed Spyware Is Using Android Phones to Eavesdrop, Grab Data A new incarnation of spyware previously used to snoop on activists on iPhones now targets Android smartphones. Lookout and Google researchers announced the original strain, also known as Pegasus, last year, when it was being used by a state to monitor Middle […]
Alleged Rape Streams on Facebook; Brain Interface Lets Paralyzed ‘Talk’
Today’s Tech Sightings: 40 People Watched Alleged Live Sexual Assault on Facebook, Did Nothing Six men are being hunted in Chicago for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old and live-streaming the attack on Facebook. Authorities told AP none of the 40 people who reportedly watched the live video reported it to police. The girl’s mother reported her […]