Category Archives: lawsuit

Facebook: NSO Group used U.S.-based servers in operations against WhatsApp users

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Lawyers for WhatsApp’s parent company alleged in documents filed Thursday that NSO Group, the Israeli software surveillance firm accused of spying on over a thousand WhatsApp users, has used U.S.-based servers to launch its attacks. In court documents, Facebook-owned WhatsApp claims NSO Group used a server run by Los Angeles-based hosting provider QuadraNet “more than 700 times during the attack to direct NSO’s malware to WhatsApp user devices in April and May 2019.” Additionally, NSO Group used a remote server hosted by Amazon to target WhatsApp users, WhatsApp software engineer Claudiu Gheorghe said in the filing. The filing is a blow to NSO Group’s claims that its signature product, Pegasus, isn’t capable of running operations in the United States. “That invasion of WhatsApp’s servers and users’ devices constitutes unlawful computer hacking at the heart of the [Computer Fraud and Abuse Act]’s unauthorized-access offense,” WhatsApp claims in the filing. The filing is […]

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Facebook Privacy Tracking Lawsuit Can Continue, Court Says

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Everyone knows that when you use a social media site such as Facebook, the website is collecting information about you. I’m not sure whether, even with privacy settings set, that people know who is getting access to this information, for what purposes… Continue reading Facebook Privacy Tracking Lawsuit Can Continue, Court Says→

Zoom shareholder accuses executives of fraud over security practices

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A Zoom shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the video-conferencing company for allegedly covering up security vulnerabilities in its app. The suit, filed April 7 in a San Francisco federal court, accuses top Zoom executives of failing to disclose flaws in the company’s software, now used by some 200 million people daily. Zoom misrepresented problems with the software’s encryption protocol, failed to disclose that it was sharing user data with Facebook and concealed the extent to which user data was vulnerable to hackers, according to the suit. Zoom chief executive Eric Yuan apologized for security issues in a blog post Monday, saying the company intends to improve its practices. Investor Michael Drieu filed the lawsuit amid ongoing scrutiny of San Jose-based Zoom’s data protection practices. The number of daily users has skyrocketed, up from 10 million in early March, according to the company, as much of the world’s white-collar workforce has […]

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Two schoolkids sue Google for collecting biometrics

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The suit is about biometrics and children’s privacy in Google’s education apps, which are suddenly, wildly popular now due to COVID-19. Continue reading Two schoolkids sue Google for collecting biometrics→

Maine Suit Challenges Privacy Regulation on First Amendment Grounds

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When it comes to First Amendment free speech rights, the Supreme Court has sided mostly with consumers. Will that change with a Maine case? In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law that mandated that anti-abortion clinics advise pa… Continue reading Maine Suit Challenges Privacy Regulation on First Amendment Grounds→

Uber to file federal suit against Los Angeles over users’ real-time location data

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Real-time, in-trip geolocation data isn’t good for traffic/bike lane planning, a draft of the suit says. What it’s good for is surveillance. Continue reading Uber to file federal suit against Los Angeles over users’ real-time location data→

ACLU Sues Over U.S. Airport Facial-Recognition Technology

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Civil-liberties group wants more transparency about who the government is partnering with and how they are using the information gathered in biometric checks. Continue reading ACLU Sues Over U.S. Airport Facial-Recognition Technology→

Pentagon asks court for time to reconsider JEDI award to Microsoft

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The JEDI contract award process might never be done. Following legal challenges from Amazon after the Pentagon’s massive, $10 billion cloud contract was awarded to Microsoft in October, the Pentagon indicated in court documents last night that it wishes to reconsider the award. It’s just the latest plot twist in an epic government procurement saga. […] Continue reading Pentagon asks court for time to reconsider JEDI award to Microsoft→

Homeland Security sued over secretive use of face recognition

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As of June 2019, CBP had processed more than 20 million travelers using facial recognition, civil rights group ACLU says. Continue reading Homeland Security sued over secretive use of face recognition→

NSO Group works to explain no-show in court for WhatsApp suit, plots defense

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The Israeli surveillance software firm accused of exploiting WhatsApp to run surveillance operations against users has asked the court for a 120-day extension to reply to WhatsApp’s lawsuit. NSO Group alleges that Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company, lied in a recent procedural filing about whether it had properly served NSO Group under The Hague Convention, according to court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California obtained by CyberScoop. “Facebook lied to the court in its February 27 application for default, saying that service was complete,” NSO Group said in a statement shared with CyberScoop. “In fact, Facebook and its lawyers had been told two days earlier (February 25) by the Government of Israel that service under the Hague Convention was not complete — a fact Facebook concealed from the court.” It’s the latest logistics squabble in the case, which alleges NSO Group’s custom malware was […]

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