Is AWS Liable in Capital One Breach?

Amazon is at least partly blame for the massive 2019 Capital One breach that impacted more than 100 million customers, senators are alleging. Security researchers however are of two minds. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission FTC this week, U.S. senators Ron Wyden D-Ore. and Elizabeth Warr...

News Wrap: Hotel Robot Hacks, FTC Stalkerware Crackdown

Threatpost editors break down the top news stories for the week ended Oct. 25. The biggest stories include: An unsecured NFC tag opening a door to trivial exploitation of robots that are used inside Japanese hotels. The FTC has banned the sale of three apps – marketed to monitor children and...

Beware of Stalking Apps

The Federal Trade Commission FTC has released an article warning consumers of “stalking apps”—spyware that secretly monitors smartphones. These apps can share information like call history, text messages, photos, GPS locations, and browser history without the user's knowledge. Although this can b...

FTC Cracks Down on Stalkerware With Retina-X App Bans

UPDATE The Federal Trade Commission FTC has barred the sale of three “stalking apps” until their developer can prove they are used legally. The case is the first crackdown by the FTC on “stalkerware,” which is software that can be installed on devices to track their owners’ location, activity and...

FTC Promotes International Charity Fraud Awareness Week

The Federal Trade Commission FTC has released an article promoting International Charity Fraud Awareness Week ICFAW, which runs October 21–25. FTC, the National Association of State Charities Officials, and state and international partners coordinated this campaign to help both charities and dono...

Execs Could Face Jail Time For Privacy Violations

A new data privacy bill threatens large tech firms, like Facebook, with tough penalties – including monetary fines and up to 20 years of jail time for executives – if they violate user privacy policies. The “Mind Your Own Business Act,” proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden D-Ore. on Thursday, gives the...

A week in security (September 9 – 15)

Last week on the Labs blog, we looked at free VPN offerings, how malware can hinder vital emergency services, and explored how the Heartbleed vulnerability is still causing problems. We also talked about a large FTC settlement involving Google, and how to keep an eye out for leaky AWS buckets...

YouTube ordered to cough up $170M settlement over COPPA infraction

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission FTC announced that it has required Google and YouTube to pay a settlement fee totaling $170 million after its video-sharing platform was found violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act COPPA. The complaint was filed by the FTC and the New York...

Google Fined $170 Million For Violating Kids' Privacy On YouTube

Google has finally agreed to pay $170 million fine to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York attorney general that its YouTube service earned millions by illegally harvesting personal information from children without their parents' consent. The settlement requires...

You'll Get Your Equifax Money. It Just Might Take a While

Despite the FTC pushing people away from an Equifax cash payout, there's a good chance you'll get all $125. Eventually...

FTC Releases Alert on the Capital One Data Breach

The Federal Trade Commission FTC has released an alert on the Capital One data breach that exposed the personal information of 106 million Capital One credit card customers and applicants. FTC reminds users to check and monitor their credit report to protect against identify theft and to be aware...

How to Get Your Equifax Settlement Money

A settlement with the FTC means Equifax will pay victims of its breach $125 or more. Make sure it pay ups...

This Week in Security News: Unpatched Systems and Lateral Phishing

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about an attack against Elasticsearch that delivers backdoors as its payload. Additionally, read how cybercriminals are turning to...

Equifax to Pay up to $700 Million in 2017 Data Breach Settlement

Equifax, one of the three largest credit-reporting firms in the United States, has to pay up to $700 million in fines to settle a series of state and federal investigations into the massive 2017 data breach that exposed the personal and financial data of nearly 150 million Americans—that's almost...

Equifax to Pay $700 Million in 2017 Data Breach Settlement

Equifax will pay as much as $700 million to settle federal and state investigations on the heels of its infamous 2017 breach, which exposed the data of almost 150 million customers. The consumer credit reporting agency on Monday said it will dish out $300 million to cover free credit monitoring...

Privacy Experts: Facebook's $5B Fine Unlikely to Do Much

The $5 billion fine that the Federal Trade Commission has slapped on Facebook for privacy violations may be the largest ever levied by the agency, but it’s being derided as “chump change” and ineffective by lawmakers and privacy analysts. The settlement, reported Friday evening, stems from...

Facebook to Pay $5 Billion Fine to Settle FTC Privacy Investigation

After months of negotiations, the United States Federal Trade Commission FTC has approved a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook over its privacy investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The settlement will put an end to a wide-ranging probe that began more than a year ago and...

D-Link Agrees to 10 Years of Security Audits to Settle FTC Charges

Taiwanese networking equipment manufacturer D-Link has agreed to implement a "comprehensive software security program" in order to settle a Federal Trade Commission FTC lawsuit alleging that the company didn't take adequate steps to protect its consumers from hackers. Your wireless router is the...

A week in security (June 3 – 9)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we rounded up some leaks and breaches, reported about Magecart skimmers found on Amazon CloudFront CDN, proudly announced we were awarded as Best Cybersecurity Vendor Blog at the annual EU Security Blogger Awards, discussed how Maine inches closer to shutting down...

A week in security (May 27 – June 2)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we took readers through a deep dive—way down the rabbit hole—into the novel malware called “Hidden Bee.” We also looked at the potential impact of a government agency’s privacy framework, and delivered to readers everything they needed to know about ATM attacks and...