Jeff Stone – Page 13 – WindowsTechs.com

How scammers use faked news articles to promote coronavirus ‘cures’ that only defraud victims

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Jeff Stone

Scammers are relying on fabricated news articles about the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to trick readers into signing up for bunk coronavirus cures. A network of content farm websites — the kind of sites that typically publish false hyperpartisan articles — are masquerading as legitimate news sites as part of an attempt to scam Americans, according to research published Wednesday by RiskIQ. By posting what appeared to be inflammatory news articles with headlines like “One Mom Has Found a Solution to Fight Back Coronavirus,” fraudsters aim to bring a would-be victim to their website, then inundate them with ads for expensive, and fake virus cures. “Our research found that several of the advertisements loaded on these fake news sites lead to subscription traps,” the report states. “A subscription trap works by offering a free or deeply discounted trial of a product while hiding clauses in the terms of service […]

The post How scammers use faked news articles to promote coronavirus ‘cures’ that only defraud victims appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading How scammers use faked news articles to promote coronavirus ‘cures’ that only defraud victims→

Facebook’s hate speech removals jumped by more than 100% in recent months

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Jeff Stone

The number of posts that Facebook removed for violating its policies around hate speech in the second quarter of 2020 more than doubled than the number of posts during the previous quarter, the company said. Facebook scrubbed 22.5 million pieces of hate speech — defined as violent or dehumanizing speech, statements of inferiority, slurs or calls for exclusion or segregation — from its platform, up from 9.6 million pieces of content in the first three months of the year. The uptick coincided with the removal of 14 networks that Facebook associated with “hate and/or white supremacist groups” such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys and avowed neo-Nazi groups Atomwaffen and Blood & Honour. The update comes as part of the firm’s regular community standards enforcement report. Facebook also removed 1.5 billion fake accounts during the same period. The numbers come after civil rights attorneys Facebook hired to audit its […]

The post Facebook’s hate speech removals jumped by more than 100% in recent months appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Facebook’s hate speech removals jumped by more than 100% in recent months→

Twitter, VPN services in Belarus disrupted during violent crackdown

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Jeff Stone

Belarus’ crackdown on protests following the re-election of an authoritarian leader also appears to include widespread internet blackouts and traffic throttling on major websites. Twitter confirmed Monday it was experiencing blocking and throttling in Belarus amid ongoing protests disputing the results of the presidential election. The company didn’t specifically attribute the disruptions to the government, though it said “Internet shutdowns are hugely harmful. They fundamentally violate basic human rights & the principles of the #OpenInternet.” The statement from Twitter comes after a number of journalists and demonstrators in the region reported that virtual private networks appeared to be blocked, and NetBlocks.org, which tracks digital disruptions, said shutdowns had stretched for nearly 24 hours at press time. Independent media sites, alternative voting resources and roughly half the foreign traffic typically entering the country also had been blocked, according to Access Now, a digital rights organization. Update: It has been almost 24 […]

The post Twitter, VPN services in Belarus disrupted during violent crackdown appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Twitter, VPN services in Belarus disrupted during violent crackdown→

2020 is misinformation’s tipping point

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Jeff Stone

Millions of Americans who already struggle to keep pace with the daily barrage of news are now becoming accustomed to another challenge that’s only becoming more complicated: weaponized misinformation. Misinformation, which has existed for centuries, has emerged as a major theme of the current moment, though, as conspiracy theories, propaganda and disinformation, or the intentional spread of deceptive material, thrive on social media. Now, as Americans contend with fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and growing suspicion in societal institutions, false and fabricated narratives have become attached to essentially every major news story. It’s part of the new reality, complicated by the fact that users on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere re-post sensational material, believing they’re acting in good faith. “A lot of people seem to be sincere believers in the content they’re spreading, even if it’s not real,” said Kate Starbird, an associate professor at the University of Washington focused on […]

The post 2020 is misinformation’s tipping point appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading 2020 is misinformation’s tipping point→

Facebook removes accounts posing as Black Trump supporters

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Jeff Stone

Facebook said Thursday its scrubbed hundreds of accounts from networks that impersonated Black Americans who appeared to support President Donald Trump. The group, based in Romania, was behind 35 Facebook accounts, three pages, and 88 Instagram accounts which aimed to inflate engagement on topics like the upcoming presidential election, conservative ideology and the Trump campaign. The same network also posted its support for QAnon, the far right conspiracy movement that’s categorized Democratic politicians and celebrities as Satan-worshipping child sex traffickers. The accounts formed one of nine inauthentic networks that Facebook said it removed Thursday as part of its monthly takedowns. The company has repeatedly stressed that it removes accounts based on behavior, such as masquerading as a fictitious person on the other side of the world, rather than posted content. Facebook does remove posts that encourage violence, or violate the company’s rules against harmful health misinformation. Facebook on Wednesday removed […]

The post Facebook removes accounts posing as Black Trump supporters appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Facebook removes accounts posing as Black Trump supporters→

US financial regulator fines Capital One $80 million over data breach

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Jeff Stone

A U.S. financial regulator has fined Capital One $80 million in connection with the 2019 data breach that compromised details on approximately 106 million people. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau within the Department of Treasury, announced the penalty over the bank’s failure “to establish effective risk assessment processes” before moving “significant information technology operations” to the cloud. OCC also flagged the bank for not correcting “deficiencies in a timely manner.” The bank also is required to improve its data security practices and update its approach to risk management as part of a consent decree with the OCC. Capital One reported $28.6 billion in total revenue in 2019. The McLean, Va.-based bank announced in July 2019 that a hacker had accessed information about 100 million credit card customers and applicants in the U.S., and another 6 million people in Canada. Customer addresses, income figures, birth dates […]

The post US financial regulator fines Capital One $80 million over data breach appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading US financial regulator fines Capital One $80 million over data breach→

State Department offers up to $10 million in rewards to ID hackers who interfere in election

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Jeff Stone

The U.S. government is trying to be more proactive in fending off election interference. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday offered up to $10 million in rewards for the identification or location of anyone trying to interfere in elections “through certain illegal cyber activities” at the direction of a foreign government. The offer comes amid ongoing concern about meddling efforts designed to influence the U.S. election scheduled for Nov. 3. U.S. intelligence agencies previously concluded that Russian intelligence agencies interfered in the 2016 election by hacking the Democratic National Committee, then distributing emails meant to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy. The State Department bounty notes that “persons engaged in certain malicious cyber operations targeting election or campaign infrastructure” may be subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The federal law prohibits hacking, or unauthorized access to protected computers, making it clear that the reward program […]

The post State Department offers up to $10 million in rewards to ID hackers who interfere in election appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading State Department offers up to $10 million in rewards to ID hackers who interfere in election→

The long-lasting consequences of Coalfire’s Iowa pentest fiasco

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Jeff Stone

The two security pros who were arrested for doing their job are still angry. Gary DeMurcurio and Justin Wynn, who work as penetration testers for Colorado-based security firm Coalfire Labs, were charged with burglary in September 2019 after they broke into an Iowa courthouse. Unlike in a typical break-in, though, Iowa state officials had hired DeMercurio and Wynn to test the courthouse’s defenses, then alert the authorities about any vulnerabilities that actual thieves may try to exploit. While prosecutors eventually dropped charges against the two pen-testers, the case made national headlines and highlighted the risks that security professionals take as part of their employment. Now, DeMercurio and Wynn are breaking their silence with a presentation at Black Hat, the virtual cybersecurity conference where they plan to detail their experience, and may delve into how performative security tactics, like arresting people without grounds, doesn’t actually solve anything. “The citizens of Iowa […]

The post The long-lasting consequences of Coalfire’s Iowa pentest fiasco appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading The long-lasting consequences of Coalfire’s Iowa pentest fiasco→

Twitter prepares to pay up to $250 million for using security data for advertising

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Jeff Stone

Twitter acknowledged it could pay up to $250 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for directing targeted advertising to users based off data submitted for security purposes. In a financial filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter estimated it would pay between $150 million and $250 million to the FTC. The penalty comes after the FTC drafted a complaint on July 28 alleging that Twitter used “phone number and/or email address data provided for safety and security purposes for targeted advertising during periods between 2013 and 2019,” Twitter said in the SEC filing. The complaint suggests Twitter violated a 2011 FTC consent order that required the company to establish a data security program, which required them to be transparent with users about the security and privacy measures in place. In October 2019, the company said it used email addresses and phone numbers to improve targeted advertising efforts. […]

The post Twitter prepares to pay up to $250 million for using security data for advertising appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Twitter prepares to pay up to $250 million for using security data for advertising→