Security News

Mass surveillance programs run by the UK, French and Belgian governments are illegal, Europe's top court has decided in a huge win for privacy advocates. The European Court of Justice announced on Tuesday that legislation passed by all three countries that allows the government to demand traffic and location data from internet and mobile providers in "a general or indiscriminate way" breaks EU data privacy laws - even when national security concerns are invoked.

French shipping giant CMA CGM on Monday revealed that it has been dealing with a cyberattack that forced it to shut down some systems. "The CMA CGM network remains available to the Group's customers for all booking and operation requests."

A judge in Paris has ordered a French trial for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian suspected of money laundering on the bitcoin exchange BTC-e, also wanted by Washington and Moscow, his lawyer and other sources told AFP. Vinnik was extradited to France in January from Greece, where he had been arrested on an American warrant in 2017. Vinnik allegedly operated the BTC-e exchange until his arrest at the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki, which set off a three-way extradition tussle between the United States, France and Russia.

Paris prosecutors asked investigating judges on Wednesday to order a criminal trial for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian suspected of money laundering on the bitcoin exchange BTC-e, and who is also wanted by Washington and Moscow. They have also sought an order for Vinnik's continued detention since his extradition in January from Greece, where he was arrested on an American warrant in 2017, the prosecutor's office told AFP. Vinnik, 40, operated the BTC-e exchange until his arrest at the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki, which set off a three-way extradition tussle between the United States, France and Russia.

France's highest administrative authority on Friday dismissed a challenge by Google against a fine of 50 million euros for failing to provide adequate information on its data consent policies. The fine was imposed in 2019 by France's data watchdog, the CNIL. It found at the time that Google made it too difficult for users to understand and manage preferences on how their personal information is used, in particular with regards to targeted advertising.

France is rolling out an official coronavirus contact-tracing app aimed at containing fresh outbreaks as lockdown restrictions gradually ease, becoming the first major European country to deploy the smartphone technology amid simmering debates over data privacy. Officials and experts say tracing apps aren't a magic bullet against the virus but can aid time-consuming manual contact tracing efforts.

France's privacy watchdog gave the green light Tuesday to a government-backed cellphone app that will alert users if they have been in contact with an infected person. Use of the app called StopCovid will be voluntary, and will keep track of users who had been in close proximity of one another over a two-week period.

A large number of French critical infrastructure firms were hacked as part of an extended malware campaign that appears to have been orchestrated by at least one attacker based in Morocco, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. In 2018, security intelligence firm HYAS discovered a malware network communicating with systems inside of a French national power company.

Haurus charged 100 to 300 euros or more for fake identification cards, driver's licences or birth certificates, as well as bank documents, phone records or GPS coordinates for tracking specific individuals. "You provide the identity/registration number to copy, or your own requests, and I'll find what you need," read one message from Haurus on the Blackhand v2 forum, according to details of the investigation seen by AFP. Haurus even touted a "Starter pack" of a French driver's licence, an ID card and six blank cheques, for 500 euros instead of 680 euros.

Good news? They're not paying the ransom A French hospital has suffered a ransomware attack that reportedly caused the lockdown of 6,000 computers.…