Security News

Google data puts innocent man at the scene of a crime
2020-03-10 12:35

Like many of us, McCoy had an Android phone that was linked to his Google account, and he used plenty of apps that store location data: Gmail, YouTube, and an exercise-tracking app called RunKeeper that feeds off of Google location data and which helps users to track their workouts. On the day of the burglary - 29 March 2019 - Google knew that McCoy had passed the scene of the crime three times within an hour as he looped through his neighborhood during his workout.

Cryptocurrency crime losses more than double to $4.5 billion in 2019
2020-02-13 06:00

Cryptocurrency users, exchanges and investors suffered $4.5 billion in crypto-related losses resulting from thefts, hacks, and fraud, a CipherTrace report reveals. Of additional concern for banks, 66 percent of dark market vendors sell stolen financial products and compromised accounts for cryptocurrency.

Day 4 of outage: UK's Manchester police deploy exciting new carbon-based method to record crime
2020-02-07 15:27

Greater Manchester Police is struggling with a partial outage of a Capita-built computer system used by frontline officers to input information. The PoliceWorks systems, which form part of the force's new iOPS - a £27m project undertaken by everyone's favourite outsourcer - went down after a planned IT upgrade at midnight on Monday.

If only 3 in 100,000 cyber-crimes are prosecuted, why not train cops to bring these crooks to justice once and for all, suggests think-tank veep
2020-01-30 11:03

So says Mieke Eoyang, long-time US government policy adviser and veep of the national security program at Washington DC think tank Third Way. After citing figures from Uncle Sam that show only three in 1,000 cyber-crimes are actually prosecuted - the actual ratio could be closer to three in 100,000 as the FBI tends to underestimate the extent of cyber-crime, she explained - Eoyang said police and agents are either told not to pursue online fraudsters or not given the training and resources to do so.

Maryland: Make malware possession a crime! Yes, yes, researchers get a free pass
2020-01-27 18:15

A US state that was struck by a ransomware attack last year is now proposing a local law that would ban possession of malicious software. Local news website the Baltimore Fishbowl reported that Maryland's Senate heard arguments on Senate Bill SB0030, a proposition that would "Label the possession and intent to use ransomware in a malicious manner as a misdemeanor" punishable with up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

2019 experienced massive spate of crypto crimes, $4.4 billion to date
2019-12-02 05:00

With only seven months left for nations to pass laws and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to comply with the guidelines, the majority of cryptocurrency exchanges are not equipped to handle...

Accenture’s new offering helps financial institutions combat financial crime and comply with regulations
2019-11-25 04:00

Accenture has introduced a compliance-as-a-service offering to help financial institutions, fintech and technology companies cost-effectively combat financial crime and comply with related...

ID Thieves Turn to Snail Mail as Juicy Target for Financial Crimes
2019-11-22 22:49

Hackers turn to old-school mail-forwarding scams to commit modern-day ID theft and financial crimes.

Shock! US border cops need 'reasonable suspicion' of a crime before searching your phone, laptop
2019-11-12 23:57

Massachusetts judge reminds America of that little thing called the Fourth Amendment The seizure and search of phones and laptops at the US border is unconstitutional, a judge said Tuesday in a...

Global Crime Ring Bilks U.S. Military Members, Vets Out of Millions
2019-11-01 17:14

An elaborate fraudster ring stole PII then used DoD and VA benefits portals to steal payments and funds from bank accounts.