Earlier this week, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced it had rushed to patch up a security hole in its messaging service, which it believed had been exploited by the Israeli-owned NSO Group. Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group, reportedly implicated in this week’s WhatsApp hack attack, is facing a lawsuit backed by Amnesty International. The human rights group reportedly fears its staff... 

In the biggest women’s rights march in the country’s history, thousands of female activists swarmed the streets of Seoul, venting their anger at a ‘hidden cam’ porn industry and police bias in investigating sex crimes by men. Some 30,000 women, many of them wearing masks for fear of exposure, marched from Hyehwa Station in South Korean capital of Seoul, to protest what they say is a lackluster... 

The popular instant messaging system WhatsApp—owned by Facebook—has been revealed as an Israeli spyware platform using malicious code from the Jews-only state’s infamous NSO Group, according to a report in the Financial Times. According to the FT, the security breach in WhatsApp—which is used by 1.5 billion people worldwide—was discovered in May this year. Hackers install surveillance software... 

Smart assistants could soon come with a ‘moral AI’ to decide whether to report their owners for breaking the law. That’s the suggestion of academics at who say that household gadgets like the Amazon Echo and Google Home should be enhanced with ethical smart software. This would let them to weigh-up whether to report illegal activity to the police, effectively putting millions of... 

All-powerful tech giant Google has apologized for forgetting to tell users that it’s Nest Secure home security system had a built-in microphone. Nothing to see here, guys! Google’s Nest Secure system allows users to connect dozens of motion detectors, magnetic door alarms and security cameras to a centralized control unit. The unit monitors the user’s home, sending alerts if anything is amiss.... 

Amazon’s popular security system, Ring, is billed as a round-the-clock sentry for homeowners. But lax privacy practices have allowed Ring employees to turn the security cameras into ‘surveillance’ devices, reports claim. Starting in 2016, according to the Intercept, Ring provided employees based in Ukraine nearly unrestricted access to an Amazon database containing every video created by every... 

Americans are increasingly embracing Big Brother, according to a recent survey that found only one in four want restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by governments – a marked change from two months ago. Just one in four Americans want strict government limits on the use of biometric technology – with opposition shrinking further if such technology would help law enforcement,... 

An American citizen was apprehended during a “spying action” in Moscow, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said. He is currently being detained on suspicion of espionage. FSB agents detained a US national named Paul Whelan on Friday during “a spying action,” the agency’s press office told TASS. Criminal proceedings were launched against the man under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code,... 

Patents recently issued to Google provide a window into their development activities. While it’s no guarantee of a future product, it is a sure indication of what’s of interest to them. What we’ve given up in privacy to Google, Facebook, and others thus far is minuscule compared to what is coming if these companies get their way. These patents tell us that Google is developing smart-home products... 

Your cellphone is a gold mine of information about where you have been, who you have been talking to, and what you have been doing online. And now a “mysterious new tool” is enabling law enforcement authorities all over the nation to get access to that information on virtually any phone. So if you end up going to prison someday, it could be the evidence that is pulled out of your cellphone that... 

After the US banned Huawei from supplying equipment in the country and then prohibited the use of Huawei and ZTE devices by government officials, Uncle Sam is now trying to persuade its allies not to use the Chinese firm’s handsets and equipment as well. The information comes from people familiar with the matter and the USA has already contacted Germany, Italy, Japan and others. And this is... 

Google Chrome users recently became aware that the browser quietly scans their personal files without prior consent. Sputnik discussed this with professor Mauro Conti, the head of SPRITZ Security and Privacy Research Group and an associate professor at the University of Padua. Sputnik: So one of the main functions of an anti-virus is to scan files to determine the potential threat. Why is so much... 

Facebook has said it will no longer offer an advertising option that exploits personal data provided by third-party aggregators. The company, still bleeding from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, said it wants to improve privacy. Among the companies that will be affected by the new measure are: Acxiom, which provides data from the US, the UK, France, Germany and Australia, Epsilon, which monitors the... 

The Russian Foreign Ministry said 23 UK diplomats must leave Russia in response to Britain’s “provocative actions and groundless accusations” over ex-double agent Sergei Skripal’s poisoning. The British Council will also be shut. Britain’s ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Saturday morning, where he was informed of Moscow’s response to London’s... 

US intelligence leaders have publicly warned US citizens not use smartphones made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, as those companies are ”beholden to foreign governments,” and they fear those companies’ products could be used for espionage, information theft or foreign influence. During much-touted testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) on Tuesday, the leaders of the US...