Zack Whittaker, Author at 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.

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.

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.

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.

It’s the Senate’s last chance to pass the PRESS Act

Zack Whittaker — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 21:20:00 +0000

The PRESS Act would protect a journalist's sources, and gained unanimous bipartisan support when passed by the House in January.

FBI says hackers are sending fraudulent police data requests to tech giants to steal people’s private information

Zack Whittaker — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:50:27 +0000

The warning is a rare admission from the FBI about the threat from fake emergency data requests submitted by hackers with access to police email accounts.

The TechCrunch Cyber Glossary

Zack Whittaker, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Carly Page — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 20:30:00 +0000

This glossary includes some of the most common terms and expressions we use in our articles, and explanations of how — and why — we use them.

Mozilla Foundation lays off 30% staff, drops advocacy division

Zack Whittaker — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 20:05:02 +0000

This is the second layoff at Mozilla this year, the first affecting dozens of staff on the side of the organization that builds the popular Firefox browser.

The biggest underestimated security threat of today? Advanced persistent teenagers

Zack Whittaker — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:35:00 +0000

These attacks are highly effective, have caused huge data breaches and resulted in huge ransoms paid to make the hackers go away.

MoneyGram replaces CEO weeks after massive customer data breach

Zack Whittaker — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:10:15 +0000

The CEO's removal comes soon after the company confirmed it had lost an unspecified amount of personal customer information in an earlier September cyberattack.

How the ransomware attack at Change Healthcare went down: A timeline

Zack Whittaker — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:20:00 +0000

A hack on UnitedHealth-owned tech giant Change Healthcare likely stands as one of the biggest data breaches of U.S. medical data in history.

UnitedHealth says Change Healthcare hack affects over 100 million, the largest-ever US healthcare data breach

Zack Whittaker — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 20:55:23 +0000

Health insurance giant UnitedHealth blamed a ransomware gang for the data breach that included a substantial proportion of America's health data.

Apple will pay security researchers up to $1 million to hack its private AI cloud

Zack Whittaker — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 20:14:35 +0000

Ahead of the debut of Apple’s private AI cloud next week, dubbed Private Cloud Compute, the technology giant says it will pay security researchers up to $1 million to find vulnerabilities that can compromise the security of its private AI cloud. In a post on Apple’s security blog, the company said it would pay up […]

Microsoft said it lost weeks of security logs for its customers’ cloud products

Zack Whittaker — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 19:06:12 +0000

Missing logs could make it more difficult to identify unauthorized access to the customers' networks during that two-week window.

The biggest data breaches in 2024: 1 billion stolen records and rising

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Some of the largest, most damaging breaches of 2024 already account for over a billion stolen records. Plus, some special shout-outs.

National Public Data, the hacked data broker that lost millions of Social Security numbers and more, files for bankruptcy

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 15:15:54 +0000

The data broker who lost one of the biggest databases of Social Security numbers in a data breach earlier this year, files for bankruptcy protection.

MoneyGram says hackers stole customers’ personal information and transaction data

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 21:31:47 +0000

The money transfer giant said hackers also stole some customer Social Security numbers during the September cyberattack.

The 30-year-old internet backdoor law that came back to bite

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 19:10:56 +0000

China reportedly hacked the wiretap systems required by U.S. internet providers under a 1994 U.S. wiretapping law.

VPN providers don’t protect your privacy online. Here’s what can.

Zack Whittaker — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:00:42 +0000

You probably don't need a VPN. Instead, these free and open-source tools, and other services, can help protect your privacy online.