This Clever New Idea Could Fix AirTag Stalking While Maximizing Privacy
Apple updated its location-tracking system in an attempt to cut down on AirTag abuse while still preserving privacy. Researchers think they’ve found a better balance.
Microsoft’s AI Chatbot Replies to Election Questions With Conspiracies, Fake Scandals, and Lies
With less than a year to go before one of the most consequential elections in US history, Microsoft’s AI chatbot is responding to political queries with conspiracies, misinformation, and out-of-date or incorrect information. When WIRED asked the chatbot, initially called Bing Chat and recently renamed Microsoft Copilot, about polling locations for the 2024 US election, the bot referenced in-person voting by linking to an article about Russian president Vladimir Putin running for reelection next year. When asked about electoral candidates, it listed numerous GOP candidates who have already pulled out of the race.
The EU Just Passed Sweeping New Rules to Regulate AI
The European Union agreed on terms of the AI Act, a major new set of rules that will govern the building and use of AI and have major implications for Google, OpenAI, and others racing to develop AI systems.
The Mirai Confessions: Three Young Hackers Who Built a Web-Killing Monster Finally Tell Their Story | WIRED
Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, PayPal, Slack. All down for millions of people. How a group of teen friends plunged into an underworld of cybercrime and broke the internet—then went to work for the FBI.
Here’s How Violent Extremists Are Exploiting Generative AI Tools
Experts are finding thousands of examples of AI-created content every week that could allow terrorist groups and other violent extremists to bypass automated detection systems. #algorithms #censorship #content #disinformation #israel-hamas #moderation #terrorism #war
23andMe User Data Stolen in Targeted Attack on Ashkenazi Jews
At least a million data points from 23andMe accounts appear to have been exposed on BreachForums. While the scale of the campaign is unknown, 23andMe says it's working to verify the data.
The International Criminal Court Will Now Prosecute Cyberwar Crimes
FOR YEARS, SOME cybersecurity defenders and advocates have called for a kind of Geneva Convention for cyberwar, new international laws that would create clear consequences for anyone hacking civilian critical infrastructure, like power grids, banks, and hospitals. Now the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague has made it clear that he intends to enforce those consequences—no new Geneva Convention required. Instead, he has explicitly stated for the first time that the Hague will investigate and prosecute any hacking crimes that violate existing international law, just as it does for war crimes committed in the physical world.
How China Demands Tech Firms Reveal Hackable Flaws in Their Products
Some foreign companies may be complying—potentially offering China’s spies hints for hacking their customers.
Apple’s Decision to Kill Its CSAM Photo-Scanning Tool Sparks Fresh Controversy
Child safety group Heat Initiative plans to launch a campaign pressing Apple on child sexual abuse material scanning and user reporting. The company issued a rare, detailed response on Thursday.
Unmasking Trickbot, One of the World’s Top Cybercrime Gangs
A WIRED investigation into a cache of documents posted by an unknown figure lays bare the Trickbot ransomware gang’s secrets, including the identity of a central member.
The Cheap Radio Hack That Disrupted Poland’s Railway System
The sabotage of more than 20 trains in Poland by apparent supporters of Russia was carried out with a simple “radio-stop” command anyone could broadcast with $30 in equipment.
An Apple Malware-Flagging Tool Is ‘Trivially’ Easy to Bypass
The macOS Background Task Manager tool is supposed to spot potentially malicious software on your machine. But a researcher says it has troubling flaws.
New ‘Downfall’ Flaw Exposes Valuable Data in Generations of Intel Chips
The vulnerability could allow attackers to take advantage of an information leak to steal sensitive details like private messages, passwords, and encryption keys.
TETRA Radio Code Encryption Has a Flaw: A Backdoor
A secret encryption cipher baked into radio systems used by critical infrastructure workers, police, and others around the world is finally seeing sunlight. Researchers say it isn’t pretty.
A Shady Chinese Firm’s Encryption Chips Got Inside NATO and NASA
The US government warns encryption chipmaker Hualan has suspicious ties to China’s military. Yet US agencies still use one of its subsidiary’s chips, raising fears of a backdoor.
Millions of Gigabyte Motherboards Were Sold With a Firmware Backdoor | WIRED
Hidden code in hundreds of models of Gigabyte motherboards invisibly and insecurely downloads programs—a feature ripe for abuse, researchers say.
The Team of Sleuths Quietly Hunting Cyberattack-for-Hire Services
For a decade, a group called Big Pipes has worked behind the scenes with the FBI to target the worst cybercriminal “booter” services plaguing the internet. WHEN THE FBI announced the takedown of 13 cyberattack-for-hire services yesterday, it may have seemed like just another day in law enforcement’s cat-and-mouse game with a criminal industry that has long plagued the internet’s infrastructure, bombarding victims with relentless waves of junk internet traffic to knock them offline. In fact, it was the latest win for a discreet group of detectives that has quietly worked behind the scenes for nearly a decade with the goal of ending that plague for good.
SolarWinds: The Untold Story of the Boldest Supply-Chain Hack
It was late 2019, and Adair, the president of the security firm Volexity, was investigating a digital security breach at an American think tank. The intrusion was nothing special. Adair figured he and his team would rout the attackers quickly and be done with the case—until they noticed something strange. A second group of hackers was active in the think tank’s network. They were going after email, making copies and sending them to an outside server. These intruders were much more skilled, and they were returning to the network several times a week to siphon correspondence from specific executives, policy wonks, and IT staff.
Ransomware Attacks Have Entered a ‘Heinous’ New Phase
With victims refusing to pay, cybercriminal gangs are now releasing stolen photos of cancer patients and sensitive student records.
A Major App Flaw Exposed the Data of Millions of Indian Students
A mandatory app exposed the personal information of students and teachers across the country for over a year.
A Police App Exposed Secret Details About Raids and Suspects | WIRED
SweepWizard, an app that law enforcement used to coordinate raids, left sensitive information about hundreds of police operations publicly accessible.
Ransomware Attacks Have Entered a ‘Heinous’ New Phase
With victims refusing to pay, cybercriminal gangs are now releasing stolen photos of cancer patients and sensitive student records.
A Major App Flaw Exposed the Data of Millions of Indian Students
A mandatory app exposed the personal information of students and teachers across the country for over a year.
A Police App Exposed Secret Details About Raids and Suspects | WIRED
SweepWizard, an app that law enforcement used to coordinate raids, left sensitive information about hundreds of police operations publicly accessible.