Secret Service Tracking People’s Locations without Warrant

This feels important: The Secret Service has used a technology called Locate X which uses location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on phones. Because users agreed to an opaque terms of service page, the Secret Service believes it doesn't need a warrant...

The Global Surveillance Free-for-All in Mobile Ad Data

Not long ago, the ability to digitally track someone’s daily movements just by knowing their home address, employer, or place of worship was considered a dangerous power that should remain only within the purview of nation states. But a new lawsuit in a likely constitutional battle over a New...

43% of couples experience pressure to share logins and locations, Malwarebytes finds

All isn’t fair in love and romance today, as 43% of people in a committed relationship said they have felt pressured by their own partners to share logins, passcodes, and/or locations. A worrying 7% admitted that this type of pressure has included the threat of breaking up or the threat of physic...

When things go wrong: A digital sharing warning for couples

“When things go wrong” is a troubling prospect for most couples to face, but the internet—and the way that romantic partners engage both with and across it—could require that this worst-case scenario become more of a best practice. In new research that Malwarebytes will release this month, romant...

Google will start deleting location history

Google announced that it will reduce the amount of personal data it is storing by automatically deleting old data from "Timeline"—the feature that, previously named "Location History," tracks user routes and trips based on a phone’s location, allowing people to revisit all the places theyve been ...

A week in security (May 27 – June 2)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Data leak site BreachForums is back, boasting Live Nation/Ticketmaster user data. But is it a trap? The Ticketmaster "breach"—what you need to know Ticketmaster confirms customer data breach How to tell if a VPN app added your Windows device to a botnet Beware of...

How to turn off location tracking on Android

Android devices come with location services. Some apps need access to location services to function properly. However, there may be reasons why you don’t want your device to be located, often because you don’t want to be found and the device is always with you. Depending on who you are trying to...

Apple and Google are taking steps to curb the abuse of location-tracking devices — but what about others?

Since the advent of products like the Tile and Apple AirTag, both used to keep track of easily lost items like wallets, keys and purses, bad actors and criminals have found ways to abuse them. These adversaries can range from criminals just looking to do something illegal for a range of reasons,...

Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles as an Apple AirTag

Image: Shutterstock. Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geo-locate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly...

CVE-2024-27839

The CVE-2024-27839 entry describes a Find My privacy vulnerability in iOS/iPadOS where a malicious app could determine a user’s current location. impact is privacy leakage; root cause relates to how location data is handled for Find My. Apple fixed this in iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5. Affected produ...

Why car location tracking needs an overhaul

Across America, survivors of domestic abuse and stalking are facing a unique location tracking crisis born out of policy failure, unclear corporate responsibility, and potentially risky behaviors around digital sharing that are now common in relationships. No, we’re not talking about stalkerware...

Maybe the Phone System Surveillance Vulnerabilities Will Be Fixed

It seems that the FCC might be fixing the vulnerabilities in SS7 and the Diameter protocol: On March 27 the commission asked telecommunications providers to weigh in and detail what they are doing to prevent SS7 and Diameter vulnerabilities from being misused to track consumers locations. The FCC...

The Team Helping Women Fight Digital Domestic Abuse

Location-enabled tech designed to make our lives easier is often exploited by domestic abusers. Refuge, a UK nonprofit, helps women to leave abusive relationships, secure their devices, and stay safe...

How to Stop Google Bard From Storing Your Data and Location

Checking out this AI chatbot's new features? Make sure to keep these privacy tips in mind during your interactions...

China Accuses U.S. of Decade-Long Cyber Espionage Campaign Against Huawei Servers

China's Ministry of State Security MSS has accused the U.S. of breaking into Huawei's servers, stealing critical data, and implanting backdoors since 2009, amid mounting geopolitical tensions between the two countries. In a message posted on WeChat, the government authority said U.S. intelligence...

Google Agrees to $93 Million Settlement in California's Location-Privacy Lawsuit

Google has agreed to pay $93 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. state of California over allegations that the company's location-privacy practices misled consumers and violated consumer protection laws. "Our investigation revealed that Google was telling its users one thing – that it...

A new type of "freedom," or, tracking children with AirTags, with Heather Kelly: Lock and Code S04E17

"Freedom" is a big word, and for many parents today, it's a word that includes location tracking. Across America, parents are snapping up Apple AirTags, the inexpensive location tracking devices that can help owners find lost luggage, misplaced keys, and--increasingly so--roving toddlers setting...

Apple macOS Ventura Information Disclosure Vulnerability (CNVD-2023-61762)

Apple macOS Ventura is a desktop operating system from the American company Apple. Apple macOS Ventura suffers from an information disclosure vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker to determine a user's current location...

Code injection

A downgrade issue affecting Intel-based Mac computers was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.5. An app may be able to determine a user’s current location...

Strava heatmap loophole may reveal users' home addresses

Researchers at NC State University have outlined potential privacy issues with popular fitness app Strava which could lead to users' homes being pinpointed. The researchers' findings are detailed in a paper called Heat marks the spot: de-anonymising users' geographical data on the Strava heat map...