To send notifications that wake up the device and appear on the screen without user interaction, app and smartphone operating system manufacturers must store a token that identifies the intended recipient’s device. The system creates what U.S. Senator Ron Wyden calls a “digital post office” that law enforcement can query to identify users of an app or communications platform. While it has become a powerful tool for criminal surveillance, privacy advocates warn it could also be easily used against others, such as activists or people seeking abortions in states where abortion is now illegal.
In many cases, tech companies don’t even ask for court orders for data: In fact, Apple only asks for subpoenas to be issued by December to obtain the data. This allows federal agents and police to obtain identifying information without the involvement of a judge until a change in policy requires a judicial order.
Europe’s sweeping digital markets bill is due to take effect next week, forcing major “gatekeeper” tech companies to open up their services. Meta-owned WhatsApp is opening up its encryption features to interoperate with other messaging apps; Google is giving European users more control over their data; Apple will allow third-party app stores and app sideloading for the first time .
Apple’s proposed changes proved controversial, but ahead of their implementation on March 7, the company reiterated its view that sideloading apps poses more security and privacy risks. The company said in a white paper that apps in third-party app stores may be more likely to contain malware or try to access people’s iPhone data. Apple said it is introducing new checks to ensure the security of apps.
“These safeguards will help keep EU users’ iPhone experience as safe, private and secure as possible, albeit not to the same extent as in other parts of the world,” the company claimed. Apple also said it has received requests from EU organizations such as banks and defense In the letter, these organizations expressed concerns about employees installing third-party apps on their work devices.
This week, WhatsApp scored a landmark legal victory in its long-running lawsuit against notorious mercenary hacking firm NSO Group, accusing the spyware seller of allegedly compromising its app and its users’ devices. Judge Phyllis Hamilton sided with WhatsApp in the case, requiring NSO Group to hand over the code for its Pegasus spyware, which has long been considered one of the most sophisticated spyware programs to target mobile devices, sometimes Attack via vulnerabilities in WhatsApp. The code handover, which includes Pegagus versions from 2018 to 2020 as well as NSO documentation about its spyware, could help WhatsApp prove its claims that NSO hackers targeted 1,400 of its users, including at least 100 “civil society” members , such as reporters and journalists. Human rights defender. “Spyware companies and other malicious actors need to understand they can be caught and cannot ignore the law,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said. guardian.
Here’s a solid rule of thumb: Don’t have any device in or around your home that has a camera, is connected to the Internet, and is made by a Chinese manufacturer you’ve never heard of. In the latest reminder, this week’s Consumer Reports revealed that the security of countless brands of video doorbells is absolutely shoddy, to the point where, for many devices, anyone can just walk up to the door, hold down the button and Pair their own smartphone with it and then monitor via your camera. Investigations revealed that in some cases they were even able to obtain a serial number from the device, allowing it to be hijacked over the internet from anywhere in the world. Consumer Reports found that the devices were sold under the Eken and Tuck brand names, but they appeared to share the same manufacturer as no fewer than 10 other devices with similar designs. While these devices may sound obscure, they are reportedly sold through major retail platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Shein, and Temu. In some cases, Amazon even stamped the devices with an “Amazon’s Choice: Overall Choice” badge — even after Consumer Reports alerted Amazon to the safety flaw.