You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Google runs some of the most venerated cybersecurity operations on the planet: its team, for example, finds powerful undiscovered security vulnerabilities, while its directly counters hacking backed by governments, including North Korea, China, and Russia. And those two teams caught an unexpectedly big fish recently: an “expert” hacking group exploiting 11 powerful vulnerabilities to compromise devices running iOS, Android, and Windows. But MIT Technology Review has learned that the hackers in question were actually Western government...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Google runs some of the most venerated cybersecurity operations on the planet: its team, for example, finds powerful undiscovered security vulnerabilities, while its directly counters hacking backed by governments, including North Korea, China, and Russia. And those two teams caught an unexpectedly big fish recently: an “expert” hacking group exploiting 11 powerful vulnerabilities to compromise devices running iOS, Android, and Windows. But MIT Technology Review has learned that the hackers in question were actually Western government...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.At first the Chinese hackers ran a careful campaign. For two months, they exploited weaknesses in Microsoft Exchange email servers, picked their targets carefully, and stealthily stole entire mailboxes. When investigators eventually caught on, it looked like typical online espionage—but then things accelerated dramatically. Around February 26, the narrow operation turned into and much more chaotic. Just days later, Microsoft publicly disclosed the hacks—the hackers are now known as Hafnium—and issued a security fix. But by then attackers were...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.At first the Chinese hackers ran a careful campaign. For two months, they exploited weaknesses in Microsoft Exchange email servers, picked their targets carefully, and stealthily stole entire mailboxes. When investigators eventually caught on, it looked like typical online espionage—but then things accelerated dramatically. Around February 26, the narrow operation turned into and much more chaotic. Just days later, Microsoft publicly disclosed the hacks—the hackers are now known as Hafnium—and issued a security fix. But by then attackers were...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.You’ve heard of Apple’s famous walled garden, the tightly controlled tech ecosystem that gives the company unique control of features and security. All apps go through a strict Apple approval process, they are confined so sensitive information isn’t gathered on the phone, and developers are locked out of places they’d be able to get into in other systems. The barriers are so high now that it’s probably more accurate to think of it as a castle wall.  Virtually every expert agrees that the locked-down nature of iOS has solved some...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.You’ve heard of Apple’s famous walled garden, the tightly controlled tech ecosystem that gives the company unique control of features and security. All apps go through a strict Apple approval process, they are confined so sensitive information isn’t gathered on the phone, and developers are locked out of places they’d be able to get into in other systems. The barriers are so high now that it’s probably more accurate to think of it as a castle wall.  Virtually every expert agrees that the locked-down nature of iOS has solved some...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Thousands of companies and governments are racing to discover whether they have been hit by the Russian hackers who reportedly infiltrated several US government agencies. The initial breach, on December 13, included the Treasury as well as the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security. But the stealthy techniques the hackers used mean it could take months to identify all their victims and remove whatever spyware they installed. To carry out the breach, the hackers first broke into the systems of SolarWinds, an American software company....…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Thousands of companies and governments are racing to discover whether they have been hit by the Russian hackers who reportedly infiltrated several US government agencies. The initial breach, on December 13, included the Treasury as well as the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security. But the stealthy techniques the hackers used mean it could take months to identify all their victims and remove whatever spyware they installed. To carry out the breach, the hackers first broke into the systems of SolarWinds, an American software company....WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The pandemic made for a lot of differences in this year’s US elections, including vastly expanded access to mail-in ballots and early voting. That upended the Election Day rituals many Americans had become used to—but it resulted in more people voting than ever before.  It also meant they voted more securely than ever. Officials around the country spent the last four years working to make election systems more resilient, so that if one thing goes wrong, there is still a way to keep the democratic process moving forward. E-poll books have...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The pandemic made for a lot of differences in this year’s US elections, including vastly expanded access to mail-in ballots and early voting. That upended the Election Day rituals many Americans had become used to—but it resulted in more people voting than ever before.  It also meant they voted more securely than ever. Officials around the country spent the last four years working to make election systems more resilient, so that if one thing goes wrong, there is still a way to keep the democratic process moving forward. E-poll books have...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The European Union has agreed to stricter rules on the sale and export of cyber-surveillance technologies like facial recognition and spyware. After years of negotiations, the new regulation will be announced today in Brussels. Details of the plan were in Politico last month. The regulation requires companies to get a government license to sell technology with military applications; calls for more due diligence on such sales to assess the possible human rights risks; and requires governments to publicly share details of the licenses they...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The European Union has agreed to stricter rules on the sale and export of cyber-surveillance technologies like facial recognition and spyware. After years of negotiations, the new regulation will be announced today in Brussels. Details of the plan were in Politico last month. The regulation requires companies to get a government license to sell technology with military applications; calls for more due diligence on such sales to assess the possible human rights risks; and requires governments to publicly share details of the licenses they...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.There have been many conspiracy theories about the 2020 US election, from lies about vote-by-mail fraud to the discredited idea that millions of non-citizens get to vote. But just two weeks before Election Day, the most common disinformation claim is currently the idea that the vote is “rigged,” researchers say. The conspiracy theory is so all-encompassing that experts say it’s become uniquely challenging for platforms like Facebook and Twitter to handle. The , or EIP, is a group of researchers aimed at mitigating the impact of attempted...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.There have been many conspiracy theories about the 2020 US election, from lies about vote-by-mail fraud to the discredited idea that millions of non-citizens get to vote. But just two weeks before Election Day, the most common disinformation claim is currently the idea that the vote is “rigged,” researchers say. The conspiracy theory is so all-encompassing that experts say it’s become uniquely challenging for platforms like Facebook and Twitter to handle. The , or EIP, is a group of researchers aimed at mitigating the impact of attempted...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.For the first time ever, a patient’s death has been linked directly to a cyberattack. Police have launched a "negligent homicide" investigation after ransomware disrupted emergency care at Düsseldorf University Hospital in Germany. The victim: Prosecutors in Cologne say a female patient from Düsseldorf was scheduled to undergo critical care at the hospital when the September 9 attack disabled systems. When Düsseldorf could no longer provide care, she was transferred 19 miles (30 kilometers) away to another hospital. The hackers could be held...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.For the first time ever, a patient’s death has been linked directly to a cyberattack. Police have launched a "negligent homicide" investigation after ransomware disrupted emergency care at Düsseldorf University Hospital in Germany. The victim: Prosecutors in Cologne say a female patient from Düsseldorf was scheduled to undergo critical care at the hospital when the September 9 attack disabled systems. When Düsseldorf could no longer provide care, she was transferred 19 miles (30 kilometers) away to another hospital. The hackers could be held...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Many of the things you do online every day are protected by encryption so that no one else can spy on it. Your online banking and messages to your friends are likely encrypted, for example—as are government secrets. But that protection is under threat from the development of quantum computers, which threaten to render modern encryption methods useless.  Quantum machines from the classical computers we use today. Instead of using traditional binary code, which represents information with 0s and 1s, they use quantum bits, or qubits. The...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.Many of the things you do online every day are protected by encryption so that no one else can spy on it. Your online banking and messages to your friends are likely encrypted, for example—as are government secrets. But that protection is under threat from the development of quantum computers, which threaten to render modern encryption methods useless.  Quantum machines from the classical computers we use today. Instead of using traditional binary code, which represents information with 0s and 1s, they use quantum bits, or qubits. The...WW…

You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The news: Norway is halting its coronavirus contact tracing app, Smittestopp, after criticism from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, which said that the country’s low rate of infections meant that the app’s privacy invasions were no longer justified. As a result, the app will cease collecting new data, all data collected so far is being deleted, and work on it is effectively paused indefinitely. The background: Norway’s infection rate is steady and among the lowest in Europe. However, officials at the Norwegian Institute of Public...…You need to enable JavaScript to view this site.The news: Norway is halting its coronavirus contact tracing app, Smittestopp, after criticism from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, which said that the country’s low rate of infections meant that the app’s privacy invasions were no longer justified. As a result, the app will cease collecting new data, all data collected so far is being deleted, and work on it is effectively paused indefinitely. The background: Norway’s infection rate is steady and among the lowest in Europe. However, officials at the Norwegian Institute of Public...WW…