InSecurity Complex

Facebook fans flames with privacy policy tweaks

Privacy advocates in the U.S. and the European Union are on edge over changes Facebook is enacting in its language governing its terms of service.

Their upset comes as Facebook is proposing modifications to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (PDF) that, at least on the surface, seem fairly minor and don't indicate any radical shift in thinking or practice in terms of privacy.

Specifically, the revised document says that the "Privacy Policy" is now called "Data Use Policy," wording that was changed in the company's actual privacy guidelines more than a year … Read more

Dude, where's your phone? Lookout knows... and tells

It's no surprise that the most common place to lose a smartphone in many cities is a cafe. In New York, though, it's a fast food restaurant; in Brussels, a dentist's office; in Seoul, a martial arts dojo; and in Moscow, an auto shop.

That's according to new data released today by mobile security firm Lookout, whose service includes a feature that helps people locate lost or stolen smartphones. The company, which boasts 15 million users worldwide, located nine million lost iPhones or Android-based devices for people last year, or one phone every 3.5 … Read more

Verizon: Hacktivists stole 100 million+ records in 2011

Financially motivated criminals were behind most of last year's data breaches, but hacktivists stole almost twice as many records from organizations and government agencies, according to the Data Breach Investigations Report being released by Verizon today.

While more than 80 percent of the data breaches in 2011 were due to organized criminal activity, the number of records pilfered from activist groups represented 58 percent of the total, the report finds.

In particular, hacktivists targeted corporations and big agencies, and consumer data. Activist groups accounted for more than 22 percent of the data breaches targeting large organizations. Meanwhile, 95 percent … Read more

'Dark trade' in Web-censoring tools exposed by Pakistan plan

For years, Silicon Valley companies have quietly conducted a lucrative trade selling software and equipment to countries that restrict dissent over the Internet. But the recent dust-up involving an Internet filtering plan by Pakistan has turned the spotlight on a controversial business that may have a difficult time remaining secret much longer.

Broad public backlash appears to have prompted Pakistan officials to back off plans this week to build a system that will enable them to easily filter and block Internet content seen by the more than 170 million people living in the country. But Pakistan isn't the first … Read more

Privacy suit filed against Path, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, others

Thirteen individuals have filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen mobile app makers--including Path, Twitter, Apple, and Facebook--who were accused of automatically uploading user address books without permission.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas, names 13 plaintiffs, most of them from Austin, and seeks class-action status. The defendants in the suit are: Path, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, Beluga, Yelp, Burbn, Instagram, Foursquare Labs, Gowalla, Foodspotting, Hipster, LinkedIn, Rovio Mobile, ZeptoLab UK, Chillingo, Electronic Arts, and Kik.

"Literally billions of contacts from the address books of tens of millions of unsuspecting wireless mobile device … Read more

AllClear ID offers free ID theft mobile app

A Texas company is releasing a free mobile app today that will alert people if their personal data has been stolen and makes it into the hands of criminals.

AllClear ID offers identity fraud protection services to consumers when their data has been exposed by an attack on a corporate database or other compromise. For instance, Sony hired the company to help its 75 million PlayStation Network customers after the system was hacked and their names, addresses, e-mail addresses and other information were exposed last April.

While very few of the data breach incidents actually result in harm to consumers, … Read more

SXSW: 'Hot-spot honeypot' hacker's heaven

AUSTIN, Texas--Some funny things were happening at the South by Southwest conference here today. My virtual private network connection kept getting disabled, and even stranger, on a friend's laptop a window popped up showing an animated cartoon cat flying through the air with a rainbow in its wake.

The image, known as Nyan Cat after a popular 2011 Internet meme, immediately alarmed me because it was used by the hacker group LulzSec on at least one occasion. I joked about being hacked, and my friend quickly turned off his laptop. (See CNET's related story about how to protect your Wi-Fi links, … Read more

Disillusioned ex-Anonymous first outed Sabu last year

The trail to the New York apartment where a hacker named "Sabu" of LulzSec and Anonymous fame was arrested last June can be traced back to a former Anonymous participant who turned against the group over its WikiLeaks activities.

Sabu, whose name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges in August and spent the last six months or so working as an informant for the FBI. The undercover operation led to hacking-related charges being filed against four alleged cohorts in the U.K., Ireland, and Chicago yesterday.

Sabu was the proverbial big fish who was … Read more

Will LulzSec arrests stop high-profile hacks? Don't bet on it

The group of hackers known as "LulzSec" frequently taunted government pursuers over the last year as they published sensitive data snatched from myriad public and corporate Web sites.

Tuesday, we may have learned what happens when you mock the feds for too long. Authorities announced that five men in the U.K., Ireland, New York, and Chicago had been charged with hacking-related offenses. They also said the alleged LulzSec leader, known as Sabu, had entered a guilty plea on August 15 to 12 counts of computer hacking conspiracies and other crimes. According to the U.S. Attorney's … Read more