Don’t go crazy anyone, but there is a serious flaw in all supported versions of Microsoft Windows that allows attackers to take over your machine. The so-called Follina vulnerability can be exploited using a weaponized Word document, and security researchers say they’ve already spotted government-backed hackers using the attack in the wild. Fingers crossed that Microsoft, which downplays the severity of the flaw, issues a patch soon.
Speaking of fixes, everything from Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android to Chrome, Firefox, and Zoom received major security updates in May. Check out our full list of available updates to see which apps you should check out ASAP.
We also explored the race to protect your voice from hackers and corporate greed. And we tried to unravel the mystery of China’s sudden warnings about US state-sponsored hackers going after Chinese systems, despite the fact that these hacks are well known and happened many years ago.
Meanwhile, in India, the country’s telecoms regulator is preparing to crack down on spam and scammers by requiring callers’ names to appear on caller ID. The idea sounds good—until you realize the privacy implications and the fact that such a plan might not even work.
Finally, because nothing is sacred, Canada’s privacy commissioner announced this week that a mobile app for Tim Hortons, the beloved coffee chain, illegally spied on its users’ locations. The app, which uses location-tracking technology from US-based Radar, collected a constant stream of users’ location data – checking as often as every 2.5 minutes – and created an ‘event’ every time a user ‘logged in or out’ from his home, office, major sports complex or rival coffee shop, according to the commissioner’s office.
But that’s not all, folks. Each week, we round up the big security and privacy news that we haven’t covered ourselves. Click the links for the full stories and be safe out there.
If you lived in Illinois between May 1, 2015 and April 25, 2022, Google may owe you cash. The company recently settled a class-action lawsuit over a feature in the Google Photos app that categorized photos of people based on their faces. the problem? According to the lawsuit, Google failed to obtain consent for this from millions of users, a violation of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. Google did not admit fault as part of the settlement, but agreed to pay $100 million and implement measures to avoid further privacy violations. If you were an Illinois resident during that seven-year period and appeared in a photo uploaded to the Google Photos app, you can claim your piece of the $100 million pie.
The blurred line between “at war” and “not at war” became even more blurred this week. General Paul Nakasson, head of US Cyber Command and the NSA, told Sky News that the US military had conducted “a series of operations across the spectrum” including “offensive, defensive and information operations” to support Ukraine’s defense against the invasion of Russia declined to disclose details of those operations, but said the general’s admission matched that of the U.S. By agreeing to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems with a range of 50 miles, the Kremlin responded to this news, saying the US was “adding fuel to the fire”.
As part of the US Supreme Court’s investigation into the leaking of a draft opinion overturning guaranteed abortion rights in the United States, Court officials have been asked to turn over their personal phone records and sign an affidavit, according to CNN. The “unprecedented” move is shocking to civil liberties advocates. As Albert Fox Kahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, wrote for WIRED: “The intrusive investigation reveals a disturbing about-face by the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice John Roberts in particular, on surveillance powers.” Officials, meanwhile, reportedly hesitate to refuse a request for telephone records or to seek legal advice for fear of being wrongly suspected of having issued the draft opinion on A politician reporters.
One Trump-era conspiracy theory may finally be put to rest — at least in theory. A 52-page classified report on the “exposition” of Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s former US national security adviser, has now been made public thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Buzzfeed News’ Jason Leopold. Republicans have long accused Obama administration officials of releasing Flynn’s name in classified materials for political purposes in the run-up to the 2016 election. But the Justice Department’s report, prepared by former U.S. Attorney John Brash, found “no evidence that disclosure requests were made for political or other improper reasons during the 2016 election period or the subsequent transition period.” ” Flynn eventually resigned in 2017. for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about Flynn’s conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
