Security & Privacy

U.S. says Chinese government behind cyberespionage

The Chinese government and military have engaged in widespread cyberespionage targeting U.S. government and business computer networks, the Pentagon said Monday.

China maintained a steady campaign of computer intrusions in 2012 that were designed to acquire information about the U.S. government's foreign policy and military plans, according to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military.

"China is using its computer network exploitation capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support U.S. national defense programs," according to the 83-page 2013 "… Read more

Google's Schmidt: Don't worry too much about 'Big Brother'

NEW YORK--Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Monday tried to dismiss fears about "Big Brother" knowing too much about everyone.

Many companies, including Google, have been developing new technology that users literally wear. Items such as Google Glass can track a person's location, heart rate, and other activity, and they're likely to become even more sophisticated in the future. They may become so advanced that people barely realize they're on, and they may not realize how much information is actually being collected.

However, Schmidt said that while we may all be hooked up to dozens … Read more

Google's Schmidt: The Internet needs a delete button

NEW YORK--The Internet needs a delete button, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Monday.

Actions someone takes when young can haunt the person forever, Schmidt said, because the information will always be on the Internet. He used the example of a young person who committed a crime that could be expunged from his record when he's an adult. But information about that crime could remain online, preventing the person from finding a job.

"In America, there's a sense of fairness that's culturally true for all of us," Schmidt said. "The lack of a delete … Read more

Traces of malware activity detected in App Store game

MacWorld is reporting that a program on the iOS App Store may be detected as containing malware, but in analysis the program is not considered to be malicious.

After its readers wrote in about the potential of malware in a game called Simply Find It that is available on the iTunes App Store, MacWorld confirmed traces of nonfunctional Trojan horse malware embedded in an MP3 file used by the program, which shows an HTML iframe reference to a potentially malicious (but currently unresponsive) Web page.

This is not the first time that malwarelike activity has been found in programs in … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 earns Pentagon security nod

Samsung is now clear to start pitching its new flagship phone to the government.

The handset maker announced Friday that its Knox-enabled mobile devices have been approved by the Pentagon for government use. Samsung's Knox software offers high-level encryption, a VPN feature, and a way to separate personal data from work data. The software also enables IT administrators to manage a mobile device through specific policies.

For now, the Galaxy S4 is the only Samsung device equipped with Knox. But the company promises that other smartphones as well as tablets will receive the security software.

The thumb's up … Read more

Smartphone safety lagging, Consumer Reports finds

Sometimes, you are better off with a dumb phone.

That way, you aren't exposed to all the potential risks of carrying a smartphone. As Consumer Reports shows today in its annual "State of the Net" report, carrying a modern mobile phone is a heckuva convenience but creates all sorts of problems that go beyond what most people realize.

The magazine interviewed 1,656 adult smartphone users and extrapolated the results nationally:

Many users don't secure their phones. Almost 40 percent don't take even minimal security measures. Malicious software is a real threat. Last year, 5.… Read more

Apple, Verizon earn poor marks in EFF privacy report

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning that some companies should not be trusted with your data -- but some should, and actively fight on the user's behalf.

Out of the 18 major Web and technology companies listed in the latest report from the U.S. privacy and civil liberties group, only six firms had five out of six stars rating how far they will go to either protect users from the government or even fight on their behalf in court.

The report published by the EFF (PDF) ranks the selected firms based on their privacy policies and law enforcement … Read more

Airbnb starts verifying user profiles

Airbnb, which helps people find vacation rentals all around the world, today will start verifying the identity of all users by asking for their real-life papers, the company announced on Tuesday.

Airbnb is asking both travelers and those who have property listings to provide two forms of identification for a new verification process. The company will take people's IDs from Airbnb reviews and social media sites, like LinkedIn or Facebook, and will ask users to fill in information only they would know or scan a photo ID to confirm a match.

For now, the company plans to require 25 … Read more

Twitter warns of additional hacks, threats

Twitter knows that many high-profile accounts have suffered at the hands of hackers in recent days, but is putting much of the onus of responsibility on the account holders themselves.

On Monday, Twitter sent a memo to major media and news outlets about the threat -- if they hadn't known already or at least reported on some of them -- and noted that it believed these "attacks will continue." (Buzzfeed posted the memo in full.)

Twitter acknowledged that the "incidents" appear to be "spear phishing attacks that target your corporate email," that appear … Read more