Security News

The FBI has not followed internal rules when applying to spy on US citizens for at least five years, according to an extraordinary report [PDF] by the Department of Justice's inspector general. The failure to follow so-called Woods Procedures, designed to make sure the FBI's submissions for secret spying are correct, puts a question mark over more than 700 approved applications to intercept and log every phone call and email made by named individuals.

Social distancing has affected consumer shopping patterns, and a TransUnion survey found that 22% of Americans said they've been targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19. Consumers are greatly reliant on online retailers during the coronavirus pandemic, and businesses must be armed to combat fraud, while making sure the company's web and mobile platforms are bug-free.

As of March 5, the map lists 176 cases in the US. A United Nations aviation agency built the 3DFX Dispersion map, which shows the movement of the coronavirus around the world via air traffic routes from its origin in Wuhan, China. The geographic information system map displays multiple layers of data, including deaths, confirmed cases, and cases by country.

A report from Atlas VPN finds that one in three Americans worries about identity theft, while only 20% are concerned about becoming a murder victim. Along with being concerned about identity theft, 72% say they are worried about having personal information stolen by hackers.

The controversial surveillance program that gave the NSA access to the phone call records of millions of Americans has cost US taxpayers $100m - and resulted in just one useful lead over four years. It is perhaps no wonder that the NSA and the FBI has spent years stalling and refusing to hand over any information about the program.

Most Americans are worried about how companies and governments will use technology like facial recognition and encryption, and how it will affect their data and security, according to a new survey from VPN provider ExpressVPN. The survey of 1,200 adults revealed Americans' deep concern for online privacy, and who do not support the encryption backdoors required by the US government. If they found out their personal information had been sold to a third party, 92% of Americans would delete a regularly used app.

Four members of the Chinese military have been charged with breaking into the networks of the Equifax credit reporting agency and stealing the personal information of tens of millions of Americans, the Justice Department said Monday, blaming Beijing for one of the largest hacks in history to target consumer data. The case is the latest Justice Department accusation against Chinese hackers suspected of breaching networks of American corporations.

The United States today announced criminal charges against four Chinese Army soldiers who, it is claimed, are the hackers who stole 145 million Americans' personal data from credit scorer Equifax. Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke, and Liu Lei, are all said to have been members of the People's Liberation Army's 54th Research Institute hacking team, and are accused of illegally accessed Equifax's customer databases.

The United States today announced criminal charges against four Chinese Army soldiers who, it is claimed, are the hackers who stole 145 million Americans' personal data from credit scorer Equifax. Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke, and Liu Lei, are all said to have been members of the People's Liberation Army's 54th Research Institute hacking team, and are accused of illegally accessed Equifax's customer databases.

U.S. lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill that aims to reform the National Security Agency's surveillance programs in an effort to protect citizens' rights. The senator, a vocal critic of the NSA's surveillance programs, last year introduced a bill that sought to put an end to the mass collection of Americans' phone records.