This year was rife with ransomware. 2021 witnessed the attack on IT software company Kaseya that knocked 1,500 organizations offline, the CD Projekt Red hack that saw threat actors make off with source code for games including Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, and several high-profile attacks targeting big-name tech companies, from Olympus to Fujitsu and […]
TikTok rumor warning of threat to schools prompts closures and extra safety measures
A proliferation of ominous, non-specific rumors on TikTok and other social platforms suggested that schools across the U.S. faced threats of violence on Friday, December 17. While a number of schools responded to the trend by closing their doors, many local law enforcement agencies and at least one federal one have weighed in, disclosing that […]
Apple quietly pulls references to its CSAM detection tech after privacy fears
Apple has quietly removed all references to its child sexual abuse scanning feature from its website, months after announcing that the new technology would be baked into iOS 15 and macOS Monterey. Back in August, Apple announced that it would introduce the feature to allow the company to detect and report known child sexual abuse […]
EU’s data protection adviser latest to call for ban on tracking ads
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), an expert steering body which advises EU lawmakers on how to interpret rules wrapping citizen’s personal data, has warned the bloc’s legislators that a package of incoming digital regulations risks damaging people’s fundamental rights — without “decisive action” to amend the suite of proposals. The reference is to draft […]
US charges Kaseya hacker and seizes $6M from REvil ransomware gang
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged a 22-year-old Ukrainian citizen linked to the REvil ransomware gang for orchestrating the July ransomware attack against U.S. technology firm Kaseya. It has also seized more than $6 million in ransom tied to another member of the notorious ransomware group. During a news conference on Monday, U.S. […]
It’s not easy to control police use of tech—even with a law
A key backer of a 2018 Oakland law says the city is not following the rules.
UK offers cash for CSAM detection tech targeted at E2E encryption
The U.K. government is preparing to spend over half a million dollars to encourage the development of detection technologies for child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) that can be bolted on to end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms to scan for the illegal material, as part of its ongoing policy push around internet and child safety. In a […]
Google says geofence warrants make up one-quarter of all US demands
For the first time, Google has published the number of geofence warrants it’s historically received from U.S. authorities, providing a rare glimpse into how frequently these controversial warrants are issued. The figures, published Thursday, reveal that Google has received thousands of geofence warrants each quarter since 2018, and at times accounted for about one-quarter of […]
Apple’s CSAM detection tech is under fire — again
Apple has encountered monumental backlash to a new child sexual abuse material (CSAM) detection technology it announced earlier this month. The system, which Apple calls NeuralHash, has yet to be activated for its billion-plus users, but the technology is already facing heat from security researchers who say the algorithm is producing flawed results. NeuralHash is […]
This Week in Apps: In-app events hit the App Store, TikTok tries Stories, Apple reveals new child safety plan
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices alone. […]