Bank of France Governor Says Central Banks Should Issue Cryptocurrency

Digital currency could be useful as cash transactions dwindle in some countries but central banks should be in charge of issuing it, not private companies, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said. Spurred by the rise of cryptocurrencies and Facebook’s plans to launch its Libra currency, central banks worldwide are looking into the possibility of issuing digital money to prevent the loss of state control over money.

Google Starts Charging for Responses to Law Enforcement Demands

Facing an increasing number of requests for its users’ information, Google began charging law enforcement and other government agencies this month for legal demands seeking data such as emails, location tracking information and search queries. Google’s fees range from $45 for a subpoena and $60 for a wiretap to $245 for a search warrant, according to a notice sent to law enforcement officials.

State Attorneys General, DOJ to Share Information on Google Probes

State attorneys general will meet with U.S. Justice Department attorneys to share information on their respective probes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit, a step that could eventually lead to both groups joining forces, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting is seen as the start of a periodic dialogue that could expand into more formal cooperation as the probes continue, the people said.

Here's Where Trump, Democratic Candidates Stand on High-Tech Issues

In the run-up to the U.S. 2020 presidential election, many Democratic White House contenders have argued in favor of either breaking up or tightening regulation of companies such as Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc’s Google and Amazon.com Inc. Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has also stepped up its scrutiny of Big Tech, conducting a wide-ranging probe into whether major digital tech companies engaged in anticompetitive practices. Here are the leading presidential candidates’ positions on Big Tech.

Cybersecurity Experts Confused by Reports of Bezos's Phone Hacking

A report concluding that Saudi Arabia likely hacked into Jeff Bezos ’ smartphone has spurred questions and confusion among cybersecurity experts, even as it has prompted renewed scrutiny of the kingdom and its crown prince. Cyberforensics specialists said the report, which is dated November 2019 but didn’t surface publicly until now, relied heavily on circumstantial evidence to make the case that a WhatsApp account associated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was probably used to hack into the iPhone of Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Inc. and owner of the Washington Post.

Homeland Security Pushing Against Sale of Counterfeit Goods Online

The Trump administration is moving to curb the sale of imported counterfeit goods over the Internet, warning electronic commerce platforms and warehouse operators of greater scrutiny and penalties if they don’t help ferret out fakes. The Department of Homeland Security is set to outline its immediate actions and longer-term goals for enlisting e-commerce players to combat counterfeit products that officials say undermine U.S. technology and manufacturing, harm bricks-and-mortar retailers and endanger consumers.

UN Calls for Probe After Reports Bezos's Phone Hacked by Saudi Crown Prince

The United Nations is calling for an investigation after receiving information suggesting that Saudi Arabia's crown prince was potentially involved in hacking the phone of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post. The statement alleges that the hack was an attempt by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to "influence, if not silence, The Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia."

  • Read the article: CNET

Apple Says EU's Push for Common Phone Charger Could Hamper Innovation

iPhone maker Apple pushed back against EU lawmakers’ call for a common charger, warning the move could hamper innovation, create a mountain of electronic waste and irk consumers. Apple’s comments came a week after lawmakers at the European Parliament called for a common charger for all mobile phones and amended a draft law to say the ability to work with common chargers would be an essential requirement for radio equipment in the bloc.

FedEx Warns Customers About Text Scam Sending Fake Links

FedEx is warning its customers about a new text-based scam that has been using the company’s name to obtain personal information from phone users. In the past week, a number of people have taken to Twitter with screenshots of messages sent to their phones disguised as package notifications from FedEx. The messages, which sometimes address users by their names, ask them to set their delivery preferences and include a tracking code.

Twitter Tells Facial Recognition Company to Stop Using Photos, Data

A mysterious company that has licensed its powerful facial recognition technology to hundreds of law enforcement agencies is facing attacks from Capitol Hill and from at least one Silicon Valley giant. Twitter sent a letter to the small start-up company, Clearview AI, demanding that it stop taking photos and any other data from the social media website “for any reason” and delete any data that it previously collected, a Twitter spokeswoman said.

Study Finds Self-Contradictory Language in Android Apps' Privacy Policies

A large number of Android mobile apps listed on the official Google Play Store contain self-contradictory language in their privacy policies in regards to data collection practices, according to an academic study. Examples include privacy policies that stated in one section that they do not collect personal data, only to contradict themselves in subsequent sections, where they state they collect emails or customer names -- which are clearly personally-idenfiable information.

Google Engineers Reportedly Find Security Flaws in Apple's Safari Browser

According to a new report from the Financial Times, Google engineers found multiple security flaws in Apple’s Safari browser that could have potentially allowed hackers to track users. Due to flaws in Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature (which is ironically designed to prevent users from getting tracked on the web), it actually left users’ data exposed to hackers, allowing them to track the user around the web.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Dispute Over Facebook Facial Recognition

The Supreme Court declined to take up a high-profile court battle over whether users can sue Facebook for using facial recognition technology on their photos without proper consent. The high court rejected Facebook's bid to review the case, meaning the social media giant will likely have to face the multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit over whether it violated an Illinois privacy law.

Federal Prosecutors in Brazil Charge American Journalist with Cybercrimes

Federal prosecutors in Brazil charged the American journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes for his role in bringing to light cellphone messages that have embarrassed prosecutors and tarnished the image of an anti-corruption task force. In a criminal complaint made public on Tuesday, prosecutors in the capital, Brasília, accused Mr. Greenwald of being part of a “criminal organization” that hacked into the cellphones of several prosecutors and other public officials last year.

Bezos's Phone Hacked by File Sent from Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

The Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had apparently been sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, sources have told the Guardian. The encrypted message from the number used by Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have included a malicious file that infiltrated the phone of the world’s richest man, according to the results of a digital forensic analysis.

Apple Dropped Plan to Let iPhone Users Fully Encrypt iCloud Backups

Apple Inc. dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The tech giant’s reversal shows how much Apple has been willing to help U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies, despite taking a harder line in high-profile legal disputes with the government and casting itself as a defender of its customers’ information.

Facebook Apologizes for Vulgar Translation of Chinese Leader's Name

Facebook apologized after its platform translated Xi Jinping, the name of the Chinese leader, from Burmese to a vulgar word in English. The mistranslation caught the company’s attention when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto civilian leader of Myanmar, wrote on her official Facebook page about Mr. Xi’s two-day visit to her country.

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