Security News
UK-headquartered Kape Technologies announced on Monday it has acquired ExpressVPN in a $936m cash and stocks deal, a move it claims will double its customer base to at least six million. In a canned statement, Kape said combining the two companies would "Create a premium consumer privacy and security player," and that the acquisition "Further positions Kape to define the next generation of privacy and security protection tools and services to return greater control over the digital sphere to consumers."
The Spanish National Police have, at the request of America, arrested UK citizen Joseph O'Connor in Estepona, Spain, in connection with the July 2020 takeover of more than 130 Twitter accounts. The US Department of Justice said that, in addition to the alleged Twitter account joyride, O'Connor, 22, has been charged in a federal district court in northern California with computer intrusions tied to the commandeering of TikTok and Snapchat user accounts.
A Leeds-based claims management firm has been fined £200,000 for making more than 11 million unwanted PPI calls, the UK's data watchdog announced today. The investigation, prompted by complaints to the Information Comissioner's Office and the Telephone Preference Service, found that Brazier Consulting Services Ltd had made repeated nuisance calls to people about the misselling of payment protection insurance.
The United States is comfortably the world's most powerful nation when measured on "Cyber capabilities that make the greatest difference to national power," according to British think tank The International Institute for Strategic Studies. The report says America's "Capability for offensive cyber operations is probably more developed than that of any other country, although its full potential remains largely undemonstrated".
Two Kent-registered IT companies have been wound up in the High Court of England and Wales for trying to scam punters with fake pop-ups to generate tech support cons. The court heard that Msinfosys Support Ltd and MS Global Support Ltd, both operated by the same director, generated unsolicited pop-up error messages that appeared on people's computers.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has inked a deal with Norton where it will refund customers whose antivirus software subscription was automatically renewed. Today's agreement comes after the regulator launched legal action against Norton in March - a first for a consumer protection case - when the company refused to furnish the CMA with the information needed during the course of the investigation.
Furniture Village - the UK's largest independent furniture retailer with 54 stores nationwide - has been hit by a "Cyber-attack", the company confirmed to The Register. The problems emerged last weekend on 29 May when Furniture Village admitted it was experiencing "Technical issues" and it was unable to answer calls.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has reached agreement with antivirus vendor McAfee that means some customers whose software subscription was automatically renewed will be able to get a refund. It's quite the slap on the wrist for McAfee, whose software tends to be bundled with a large number of devices sold in the UK. Customers who signed up with the company may not have understood the ins and outs of auto-renewal, hence the CMA action.
With Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove expected to announce app-based "COVID status certificates," the UK's post-lockdown plan looks set to come under fierce attack. They join other campaign groups, including Liberty, in backing the statement: "We oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of COVID status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs."
Ten thousand Britons have been targeted on LinkedIn by recruiters for the Chinese and Russian intelligence services, according to an awareness campaign launched by domestic spy agency MI5 this morning. Details were previewed in this morning's Times newspaper, which warned specifically of people with "Access to classified or sensitive information" being targeted by Britain's enemies.