Security
Inside the World’s Biggest Hacker Rickroll
As a graduation prank, four high school students hijacked 500 screens across six school buildings to troll their classmates and teachers.
By Matt Burgess
The Low Threshold for Face Recognition in New Delhi
Police in India's capital say they only require an 80 percent accuracy rate for matches, raising new alarm bells for civil liberty advocates.
The Android 13 Privacy Settings You Should Update Now
Google’s new mobile operating system has arrived. Take back some control with these privacy and security tips.
By Matt Burgess
Spyware Scandals Are Ripping Through Europe
The latest crisis that rocked the Greek government shows the bloc’s surveillance problem goes beyond the notorious NSO Group.
The Feds Gear Up for a Privacy Crackdown
Plus: Cisco gets hit by ransomware, Twilio gets phished, a new way to fight email spammers, and much more.
By Matt Burgess and Andrew Couts
All Access
A Single Flaw Broke Every Layer of Security in MacOS
An injection flaw allowed a researcher to access all files on a Mac. Apple issued a fix, but some machines may still be vulnerable.
By Matt Burgess
Cybercrime
The US Offers a $10M Bounty for Intel on Conti Ransomware Gang
The State Department organization has called for people to share details about five key members of the hacking group.
By Matt Burgess
Unfollow
This Anti-Tracking Tool Checks If You’re Being Followed
The Raspberry Pi-powered device can scan for phones around you. If it keeps spotting the same one, it’ll send you an alert.
By Matt Burgess
Glitchy McFlatface
The Hacking of Starlink Terminals Has Begun
It cost a researcher only $25 worth of parts to create a tool that allows custom code to run on the satellite dishes.
By Matt Burgess
GDPR
Will Europe Force a Facebook Blackout?
Regulators are close to stopping Meta from sending EU data to the US, bringing a years-long privacy battle to a head.
By Matt Burgess
Critical Update
Apple Just Patched 39 iPhone Security Bugs
Plus: A Google Chrome patch licks the DevilsTongue spyware, Android’s kernel gets a tune-up, and Microsoft fixes 84 flaws.
Security Roundup
You Pay More When Companies Get Hacked
Plus: Google delays the end of cookies (again), EU officials were targeted with Pegasus spyware, and more of the top security news.
By Matt Burgess
Counter Measures
How Tor Is Fighting—and Beating—Russian Censorship
Russia has been trying to block the anonymous browser since December—with mixed results.
By Matt Burgess
Splinternet
Russia Is Quietly Ramping Up Its Internet Censorship Machine
Since Vladimir Putin blocked Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in March, Russia has been pushing away from the global internet at a rapid pace.
By Matt Burgess
Loose Wire
The Unsolved Mystery Attack on Internet Cables in Paris
As new details about the scope of the sabotage emerge, the perpetrators—and the reason for their vandalism—remain unknown.
By Matt Burgess
Security Roundup
Amazon Handed Ring Videos to Cops Without Warrants
Plus: A wild Indian cricket scam, an elite CIA hacker is found guilty of passing secrets to WikiLeaks, and more of the week's top security news.
By Matt Burgess
A Privacy Panic Flares Up in India After Police Pull Payment Data
Nonprofit donors had their information given to law enforcement without consent, highlighting limited data protections in the world’s largest democracy.
Cyber Warfare
Russian ‘Hacktivists’ Are Causing Trouble Far Beyond Ukraine
The pro-Russian group Killnet is targeting countries supporting Ukraine. It has declared "war" against 10 nations.
By Matt Burgess
Lock Up
Will These Algorithms Save You From Quantum Threats?
Quantum-proof encryption is here—decades before it can be put to the test.
By Amit Katwala
Instascam
How to Avoid the Worst Instagram Scams
Fake sellers. Competitions. Crypto cons. There are plenty of grifts on the platform, but you don’t have to get sucked in.
By Matt Burgess
Security Roundup
Gun Database Breach Leaks Details on Thousands of Owners
Plus: Indian hacker-for-hire groups, Chinese student espionage efforts, and more.
By Matt Burgess
Electric Dream
Is Your New Car a Threat to National Security?
Putting sensor-packed Chinese cars on Western roads could be a privacy issue. Just ask Tesla.
By Justin Ling
Critical Update
You Need to Update Windows and Chrome Right Now
Plus: Google issues fixes for Android bugs. And Cisco, Citrix, SAP, WordPress, and more issue major patches for enterprise systems.
Crumb Trails
‘Supercookies’ Have Privacy Experts Sounding the Alarm
A German ad-tech trial features what Vodafone calls “digital tokens.” Should you be worried?
Encryption
How to Move Your WhatsApp Chats Across Devices and Apps
It's never been easier to switch between iPhone and Android—and to get your messages out of the Meta ecosystem entirely.
By Matt Burgess