Security News
Britain, the United States and Canada accused Russian hackers on Thursday of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a coronavirus vaccine, warning scientists and pharmaceutical companies to be alert for suspicious activity. Intelligence agencies in the three nations alleged that the hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and said to be part of the Russian intelligence services, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in COVID-19 vaccine development.
Britain's cyber-security agency on Thursday accused a hacking group it said "Almost certainly" operates as part of Russian intelligence services of trying to steal research into potential coronavirus vaccines. The National Cyber Security Centre said the attacks by the group APT29 were ongoing but targets have so far included UK, US and Canadian vaccine research and development organisations.
Amnesty International warned Tuesday that contact-tracing technology developed to contain the novel coronavirus threatens users' privacy, highlighting Bahraini, Kuwaiti and Norwegian apps as "Among the most dangerous". Detailed technical analysis of 11 such apps around the world showed that Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway's offerings were "Carrying out live or near-live tracking of users' locations", the rights group said.
Mimecast has been securing remote workers since long before the COVID-19 bio-nasty hit, so Mimecast's Thom Bailey will instruct our Tim Phillips on how to protect oneself in the new normal. How hackers have weaponized the coronavirus pandemic.
Norway's health authorities said on Monday they had suspended an app designed to help trace the spread of the new coronavirus after the national data protection agency said it was too invasive of privacy. Launched in April, the smartphone app Smittestopp was set up to collect movement data to help authorities trace the spread of COVID-19, and inform users if they had been exposed to someone carrying the novel coronavirus.
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.
As more governments turn to tracing apps in the fight against the coronavirus, a deep-rooted tension between the need for public health information and privacy rights has been thrust into the spotlight. China, where the outbreak was first detected, rolled out several apps using either geolocation via mobile networks or data compiled from train and airline travel or motorway checkpoints.
It's the twentieth anniversary of the ILOVEYOU virus, and here are three interesting articles about it and its effects on software design....
The Indian government has acknowledged "Potential security issues" in the Aarogya Setu contact-tracing app which its opposition labels as a "Surveillance system with no oversight", but says the code issues are not that big a deal. Unlike other nations' contact-tracing apps, Aarogya Setu is not open source or known to be based on other open-source efforts.
As governments race to develop mobile tracing apps to help contain infections, attention is turning to how officials will ensure users' privacy. Traditional methods involving in-person interviews of patients are time consuming and labor intensive, so countries want an automated solution in the form of smartphone contact tracing apps.