Facebook, Twitter Take Down Network of Russian-Linked Fake Accounts

Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. said they had taken down a network of Russian-linked fake accounts operated out of Ghana and Nigeria which targeted the United States. Facebook told reporters that the network, which it removed from Facebook and Instagram for engaging in foreign interference, was in the early stages of building audiences and was operated by local nationals, some wittingly and some unwittingly, on behalf of individuals in Russia.

Chinese Hackers Spreading Malware via Fake Coronavirus Documents

Chinese hackers have used fake documents about the coronavirus to deliver malicious software and steal sensitive user information, according to a report from researchers documenting a growing wave of cybercrime exploiting fears about the global pandemic. As the novel coronavirus has moved across the world, cybercriminals and spies have taken advantage of the growing demand for information by loading malicious software into tracking maps, government reports and health fact sheets in numerous languages.

French Consumer Watchdog Planning to Fine Apple Over Sales Practices

France’s competition watchdog is set to fine iPhone maker Apple Inc over anti-competitive behavior in its distribution and sales network, two sources close to the matter said. Apple mentioned in its latest annual report that France’s competition authority was alleging that aspects of the its sales and distribution practices were violating French competition law, which it denies.

EU Revives Alliance with U.S. Tech Companies to Combat Disinformation

The European Union is reviving an alliance formed last year with U.S. tech companies to combat online political disinformation, now focused on false information about the coronavirus. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, has renewed a rapid-alert system it created with Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Mozilla Corp. to ensure that measures against disinformation about the novel coronavirus are shared quickly with EU governments.

White House Asks for Help from Tech Companies to Fight Coronavirus

The White House sought help from Amazon, Google and other tech giants in the fight against coronavirus, hoping that Silicon Valley might augment the government’s efforts to track the outbreak, disseminate accurate information and assist Americans who are out of work or school. The requests came during a roughly two hour-long meeting between top Trump administration aides, leading federal health authorities and representatives from companies including Cisco, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Twitter, as Washington sought to leverage the tech industry’s powerful tools to connect workers and analyze data to combat an outbreak that’s already infected more than 1,000 in the United States.

Amazon Removing Coronavirus Books That Copy Information from Websites

At first glance, Richard J. Baily’s book, “Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know About the Wuhan Corona Virus and How to Prevent It,” appears to be an authoritative deep dive on how to prepare for the pandemic. The book, however, isn’t what it appears to be. Each of the book’s chapters were directly plagiarized from other parts of the web.

Whisper App Allowed Open Access to Users' Confessions, Other Details

Whisper, the secret-sharing app that called itself the “safest place on the Internet,” left years of users’ most intimate confessions exposed on the Web tied to their age, location and other details, raising alarm among cybersecurity researchers that users could have been unmasked or blackmailed. The data exposure, discovered by independent researchers and shown to The Washington Post, allowed anyone to access all of the location data and other information tied to anonymous “whispers” posted to the popular social app, which has claimed hundreds of millions of users.

Senator Wants Justice Dep't to Investigate Porn Site for Sex Trafficking

GOP Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) is calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into Pornhub, one of the most popular pornography websites in the world, over allegations that it is hosting videos of sex trafficking victims, including young women and children. In a letter to the DOJ, Sasse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked the DOJ to investigate Pornhub and its parent company, MindGeek Holding SARL, over "their involvement in this disturbing pipeline of exploiting children and other victims and survivors of sex trafficking."

Israeli Spyware Maker NSO Group Asks Judge to Sanction Facebook

An Israeli spyware maker is asking a judge to sanction Facebook Inc. for allegedly skirting international law and lying about it to a judge to gain advantage in a lawsuit. NSO Group claims Facebook failed to properly provide notice under the rules of the Hague Convention when it sued NSO Group in October, accusing the company of creating bogus WhatsApp accounts to send malware and hack into the phones of 1,400 people.

White House to Meet with Big Tech Companies to Discuss Coronavirus

The White House will meet large technology companies to coordinate efforts over the coronavirus outbreak, seeking to control a contagious respiratory illness that has infected almost 1,000 people in the United States and more than 100,000 globally. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy confirmed to Reuters the meeting would include Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Amazon.com Inc, Twitter Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Security Researcher Removes Blog Post After Threat from Talkspace

A security researcher said he was forced to take down a blog post describing an apparent bug in Talkspace’s website that gave him a year’s subscription for free, after the company rejected his findings and sent the researcher a legal threat. John Jackson said he was able to sign up to Talkspace, a popular therapy app, as if he were an employee at one of the companies whose health insurance plans covers Talkspace’s services.

Streaming Service Quibi Denies Patent Infringement in Suit from Eko

Quibi Holdings LLC says it’s being wrongfully accused of infringing a patent for a key feature of a short-form streaming video service it plans to launch April 6 and asked a judge to block any pending lawsuits. Closely held Interlude US Inc., which goes by the name Eko, sent a letter to Quibi on Jan. 28 demanding that it “immediately stop the use of its Turnstyle technology,” which determines the orientation of a user’s phone and seamlessly switches content based on the way the phone is held.

Australia Files Privacy Suit Against Facebook Over Cambridge Analytica

The Australian privacy regulator filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc., accusing the social media giant of sharing the personal details of more than 300,000 people with political consultant Cambridge Analytica without their knowledge. In the Federal Court lawsuit, the Australian Information Commissioner accused Facebook of breaching privacy law by disclosing 311,127 users’ information for political profiling via a survey product, “This Is Your Digital Life,” on its website.

Amazon Working with Attorneys General to Fight Coronavirus Price-Gouging

Amazon.com Inc said it is working with state attorneys general to identify and prosecute third-party sellers who are taking advantage of fears of the spreading coronavirus to engage in price-gouging on the Amazon website. In a letter to U.S. Senator Edward Markey, the company said it has removed more than 530,000 product offers over price-gouging concerns as well as “millions” of products that make unsupported claims about their ability to fight coronavirus.

DuckDuckGo to Share Data About Online Trackers to Enhance Privacy

DuckDuckGo, the maker of search engine and browser technology that doesn't track you online, is sharing data it's collected about online trackers with other companies so they can also protect your privacy. The company said it's started sharing a data set called Tracker Radar that details 5,326 internet domains used by 1,727 companies and organizations that track you online.

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