Legal & Security
19 April 2018
Facebook among tech firms to sign 'digital Geneva convention' The Guardian
More than 30 global technology firms have signed up to a “digital Geneva convention”, committing never to partake in cyber-attacks against individuals or businesses.
17 April 2018
US and UK blame Russia for 'malicious' cyber-offensive New York Times
The cyberwar between the west and Russia has escalated after the UK and the US issued a joint alert accusing Moscow of mounting a “malicious” internet offensive that appeared to be aimed at espionage, stealing intellectual property and laying the foundation for an attack on infrastructure.
15 April 2018
Google loses UK landmark 'right to be forgotten' case The Guardian
A businessman has won his legal action to remove search results about a criminal conviction in a landmark “right to be forgotten” case that could have wide-ranging repercussions.
13 April 2018
After Cambridge Analytica, Privacy Experts Get to Say 'I Told You So' New York Times
Doc Searls met with a group of fellow internet privacy experts one recent afternoon here at the Computer History Museum. On a whiteboard were the words “OUTRAGE” and “MAKE HAY” — capitalized, underlined and surrounded by lines jutting in all directions like a cartoon “BOOM!”
11 April 2018
Ransomware tops malicious attack charts BBC News
Ransomware has become the most popular form of malware used in cyber-attacks, suggests a study.
28 March 2018
How Facebook Helps Shady Advertisers Pollute the Internet New York Times
It was a Davos for digital hucksters. One day last June, scammers from around the world gathered for a conference at a renovated 19th century train station in Berlin. All the most popular hustles were there: miracle diet pills, instant muscle builders, brain boosters, male enhancers. The “You Won an iPhone” companies had display booths, and the “Your Computer May Be Infected” folks sent salesmen. Russia was represented by the promoters of a black-mask face peel, and Canada made a showing with bot-infested dating sites.
A Cyberattack Hobbles Atlanta, and Security Experts Shudder New York Times
The City of Atlanta’s 8,000 employees got the word on Tuesday that they had been waiting for: It was O.K. to turn their computers on.
26 March 2018
People are using bitcoin's system to share child pornography, researchers say Washington Post
German researchers have found about 1,600 files of non-financial data, some of which link to or contain child pornography and other objectionable material, on the system that stores bitcoin transactions.
23 March 2018
Revenge porn forums sharing drives full of alphabetised photos of Australian women ABC News
There's a secretive online world, where men trade nudes of women without their consent, often with their names and locations attached.
The Darkest Web: exploring the ugly world of illegal online marketplaces The Guardian
It’s an arresting concept: the idea that rippling beneath the internet there is a dark twin breathing and growing. A place where drugs are sold; where hitmen advertise their services; where material to match any sexual urge can be found.
21 March 2018
Bitcoin's blockchain contains child abuse images, meaning the cryptocurrency's possession could be 'illegal' ABC News
The multi-billion-dollar markets behind cryptocurrencies are in jeopardy after child abuse images were found in bitcoin's blockchain.
16 March 2018
Cyberattacks Put Russian Fingers on the Switch at Power Plants, U.S. Says New York Times
The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of engineering a series of cyberattacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will.
11 March 2018
Your Google Home or Fitbit could be used against you in court ABC News
If that smart new home device in your bedroom is voice activated, then it's always listening.
08 March 2018
The Internet of Things and the law ABC Law Report
There is a growing market for those smart, home management devices that can answer a question, play you a song, control your room temperature or stream a TV series for you.
02 March 2018
Germany Says Hackers Infiltrated Main Government Network New York Times
Hackers using highly sophisticated software penetrated the German government’s main data network, a system that was supposed to be particularly secure and is used by the chancellor’s office, ministries and the Parliament, government officials have said.
27 February 2018
Supreme Court to hear Microsoft case: A question of law and borders Washington Post
The Supreme Court is set to hear on Tuesday a case that could have far-reaching implications for law enforcement access to digital data and for U.S. companies that store customer emails in servers overseas.
Covert 'Replay Sessions' Have Been Harvesting Passwords by Mistake Wired
Yes, websites track your behavior online. But some go much further than what you'd reasonably expect, using so-called session replays to create a detailed log of everything you do and type on a site. And new research shows that in some cases these movie-like recordings are even storing your passwords.
19 February 2018
The tactics of a Russian troll farm BBC News
The indictment of 13 Russians charged with attempting to manipulate American voters using social media shines a fascinating light on a sophisticated, relentless operation to exploit the internet for political gain. Here's how US investigators say the Russians did it.
15 February 2018
Google's Chrome To Mark All HTTP Sites As Insecure Come July
Google is one of the many companies doing their bit to make the internet more secure. A significant milestone will occur in July 2018 for users of their Chrome browser when all HTTP websites will be marked as insecure with the release of Chrome 68 as they strongly advocate that sites adopt HTTPS encryption, according to a post on the Google Security Blog.
09 February 2018
Identity Fraud Affected 16.7 Million U.S. Consumers in 2017, Report Reveals Security Intelligence
The number of identity theft victims rose by 8 percent to 16.7 million U.S. consumers in 2017, according to a new report.
08 February 2018
Dozens charged for Infraud cyber-crime site BBC News
Thirty-six people have been charged for their alleged involvement in running a cyber-crime service responsible for more than $530m of losses.
Cybersecurity: we can hack it CSIRO
It is estimated that 3,885,567,619 people across the world have access to the internet, roughly 51.7% of the world population. More often than not, the internet is used to benefit society — from connecting opposite sides of the world to making knowledge more accessible. But sometimes, the anonymity provided by the internet creates risks of cyberbullying as well as threats to cyber security.
24 January 2018
Cybercrime: £130bn stolen from consumers in 2017, report says The Guardian
Hackers stole a total of £130bn from consumers in 2017, including £4.6bn from British internet users, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Norton.
Cyber-attack on UK a matter of 'when, not if', says security chief The Guardian
The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has warned that a major cyber-attack on the UK is a matter of “when, not if”, raising the prospect of devastating disruption to British elections and critical infrastructure.
22 January 2018
Australia's financial regulator wants to go undercover on dark web The Guardian
The corporate watchdog wants new powers for its investigators to go undercover to combat financial crime on the dark web.
