Security News | TechCrunch

Apple says Mac users targeted in zero-day cyberattacks

Zack Whittaker — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 23:45:53 +0000

Apple said the security update for Macs, iPhones, and iPads is "recommended for all users."

PSA: You shouldn’t upload your medical images to AI chatbots

Zack Whittaker — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:20:45 +0000

Security and privacy advocates have long warned that sensitive medical data can be used to train AI models, and can expose personal data down the line.

GitHub launches $1.25M open source fund with a focus on security

Paul Sawers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:32:02 +0000

The open source funding problem is very real, but a slew of initiatives have emerged of late, with startups, corporations, and venture capitalists launching various programs to support some of the most critical projects via equity-free financing. Today it’s GitHub’s turn, launching the GitHub Secure Open Source Fund with an initial commitment of $1.25 million […]

YC-backed Formal brings a clever security reverse-proxy out of stealth

Romain Dillet — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Formal is a security startup coming out of stealth on Tuesday with a nice list of investors and an interesting product positioning. The company has designed a reverse-proxy for data stores and APIs so that security teams can more easily secure access to sensitive data. In more practical terms, Formal is a proxy that you […]

US extradites Russian accused of extorting millions in Phobos ransomware payments

Carly Page — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:18:53 +0000

Phobos ransomware has been used to extort at least $16 million from over a thousand victims globally, according to the DOJ

Microsoft to launch new custom chips for data processing, security

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:30:05 +0000

Microsoft on Tuesday revealed new custom chips aimed at powering workloads on its Azure cloud and bolstering security, particularly a new hardware accelerator that can manage data processing, networking, and storage-related tasks. The Azure Boost DPU is Microsoft’s first data processing unit, designed for “data-centric workloads with high efficiency and low power,” the company said. […]

Microsoft beefs up Windows security with new recovery and patching features

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:30:02 +0000

In the aftermath of the devastating CrowdStrike outage this July, Microsoft vowed to do better even though it insisted that the event was an aberration. Evidently unwilling to take chances (or risk further hits to its credibility), the company on Tuesday, during Microsoft Ignite 2024, shared how it’s making changes to Windows to prevent similar […]

CISA Director Jen Easterly to depart agency on January 20

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:10:10 +0000

CISA's director will depart the agency after three years at the helm, as part of the "seamless transition" of government power.

AI training software firm iLearningEngines says it lost $250,000 in recent cyberattack

Carly Page — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:55:52 +0000

The US-based firm said hackers misdirected a $250,000 wire transfer payment that it hasn't been able to recover.

Space tech giant Maxar confirms hacker accessed employees’ personal data

Carly Page — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 13:50:34 +0000

Maxar has 2,600 employees — with more than half having security clearances to work on classified U.S. government projects.

T-Mobile hack linked to Chinese breaches of telecom networks

Zack Whittaker — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 15:54:36 +0000

This is the ninth known cyberattack to target T-Mobile in recent years, according to an ongoing count by TechCrunch.

What a second Trump term means for the future of ransomware

Carly Page — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 15:05:00 +0000

The U.S. government has made big strides over the past four years in the ongoing fight against the “scourge of ransomware,” as President Joe Biden described it. At the start of his term, Biden and his administration were quick to declare ransomware a national security threat, unlocking new powers for the military and intelligence agencies. […]

NSO Group admits cutting off 10 customers because they abused its Pegasus spyware, say unsealed court documents

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 20:52:53 +0000

Newly unsealed documents brought by a WhatsApp lawsuit shows NSO Group's spyware, Pegasus, was used to hack as many as "tens of thousands” of devices.

Think you need a VPN? Start here.

Zack Whittaker — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Not everyone actually needs to use a VPN. This simple guide will help you decide if you need a VPN for your situation.

New Apple security feature reboots iPhones after 3 days, researchers confirm

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:13:31 +0000

“Inactivity reboot" effectively puts iPhones in a more secure state by locking the user's encryption keys in the iPhone's secure enclave chip.

Bitsight buys dark web security specialist Cybersixgill for $115M

Ingrid Lunden — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:32:07 +0000

More consolidation is afoot in the world of cybersecurity. Bitsight, a cybersecurity startup last valued at $2.4 billion when ratings firm Moody’s took a stake in the business and became its largest shareholder in 2021, is acquiring Cybersixgill for $115 million. Boston-based Bitsight’s focus is cyber risk management. It works with enterprises to assess their […]

FBI confirms China-backed hackers breached US telecom giants to steal wiretap data

Carly Page — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 09:55:30 +0000

The FBI and CISA say they have uncovered a "broad and significant" China-linked cyber espionage campaign

Lawyer allegedly hacked with spyware names NSO founders in lawsuit

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 20:04:20 +0000

Spanish lawyer Andreu Van den Eynde is suing NSO Group and its founders Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, accusing them of illegal hacking.

Hot Topic data breach exposed personal data of 57 million customers

Carly Page — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:57:39 +0000

Millions of customers of Hot Topic have been informed that their personal data was compromised during an October data breach at the American retailer. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), the breach notification service, said this week that it alerted 57 million Hot Topic customers that their data had been compromised. The stolen data includes email […]

Snowflake hackers identified and charged with stealing 50 billion AT&T records

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:17:17 +0000

The U.S. Department of justice indicted two hackers for breaking into the systems of AT&T and several other companies.