How to Passcode-Lock Any App on Your Phone

Letting someone see your phone shouldn't also mean letting them snoop on your texts, photos, or emails. Here's how to stop it from happening...

Encryption-Busting EARN IT Act Advances in Senate

Plus: A massive crime bust in Europe, a warning from US Cyber Command, and more of the week's top security news...

The Worst Hacks and Breaches of 2020 So Far

Iran, China, Russia—the gang was all here in the first half of this year. Oh, and also an unprecedented pandemic that’s been a boon for hackers...

New Mac Ransomware Is Even More Sinister Than It Appears

The malware known as ThiefQuest or EvilQuest also has spyware capabilities that allow it to grab passwords and credit card numbers...

Schools Already Struggled With Cybersecurity. Then Came Covid-19

A lack of dedicated funding and resources made it hard to keep data secure—and that was before classes moved almost entirely online...

How to Get Safari's New Privacy Features in Chrome and Firefox

Apple's browser is getting serious about security protections. If you can't or won't switch, don't worry: you don't have to fall behind...

Is It Legal for Cops to Force You to Unlock Your Phone?

Because the relevant Supreme Court precedents predate the smartphone era, the courts are divided on how to apply the Fifth Amendment...

Julian Assange Faces New Conspiracy Allegations

Plus: Evil Corp hacking, an anti-encryption bill, and more of the week's top security news...

An Embattled Group of Leakers Picks Up the WikiLeaks Mantle

After releasing over a million hacked law enforcement files, DDoSecrets got banned from Twitter. But it has no plans to slow down...

How Thousands of Misplaced Emails Took Over This Engineer's Inbox

Kenton Varda gets dozens of messages a day from Spanish-speakers around the world, all thanks to a Gmail address he registered 16 years ago...

Google Will Delete Your Data by Default—in 18 Months

Starting today, the search giant will make a previously opt-in auto-delete feature the norm...

Apple Pushes Back Against Ad Tracking in Safari and iOS 14

At WWDC, the company detailed a litany of privacy-friendly improvements to its software...

Anonymous Stole and Leaked a Megatrove of Police Documents

The so-called BlueLeaks collection includes internal memos, financial records, and more from over 200 state, local, and federal agencies...

What Is a Side Channel Attack?

Computers constantly give off more information than you might realize—which hackers can use to pry out their secrets...

How to Switch to Signal and Bring All your Texts With You

Thinking of boosting your SMS security by switching to Signal? These tips make sure your messages come with you—even to a new phone...

Sneaky Mac Malware Is Posing as Flash Downloads

Plus: OnlyFans pirates, a nasty Netgear bug, and more of the week's top security news...

A Report Blames ‘CIA Failures’ for the Agency's Worst Hack

A series of WikiLeaks disclosures that exposed a trove of the intelligence organization's secrets could have been avoided, a task force found...

Facebook and Twitter Want to Keep the Justice System Skewed Against Defendants

Their CEOs have pledged support for reform amid the George Floyd protests—while their lawyers are fighting to preserve law enforcement’s advantage in court...

Bot Mafias Have Wreaked Havoc in 'World of Warcraft Classic'

Blizzard has suspended or closed over 74,000 accounts in the last month, as bots have upended the game's economy...

Zoom Reverses Course and Promises End-to-End Encryption for All Users

The videoconferencing platform had previously said that only paid accounts would get the feature—a move privacy advocates roundly decried...

Body Cameras Haven't Stopped Police Brutality. Here's Why

Amid worldwide protests over racism and police violence, lawmakers are once again turning to the devices as a tool for reform...

The Russian Disinfo Operation You Never Heard About

The campaign known as Secondary Infektion appears to be a distinct effort from the meddling of the IRA and GRU—and it went undetected for years...

Ripple20 Bugs Put Hundreds of Millions of IoT Devices at Risk

The so-called Ripple20 vulnerabilities affect equipment found in data centers, power grids, and more...

Former eBay Execs Allegedly Made Life Hell for Critics

Surveillance. Harassment. A live cockroach delivery. US attorneys have charged six former eBay workers in association with an outrageous cyberstalking campaign...

Dating Apps Exposed 845 GB of Explicit Photos, Chats, and More

3somes, Gay Daddy Bear, and Herpes Dating are among the nine services that leaked the data of hundreds of thousands of users...

How To Stop Instagram From Tracking Everything You Do

Though the Facebook-owned app doesn't give users complete control, there are ways to limit the data it collects and the types of ads you see...

How to Clean Up Your Old Posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

These tips and tools will help you scrub your social media profiles clean, or give you a fresh start without giving up your username and followers...

Zoom Shut Down US-Based Activists at China's Request

Hackers for hire, a particularly ignominious phishing campaign, and more of the week’s top security news...

Coder-Turned-Kingpin Paul Le Roux Gets His Comeuppance

The programmer who became a flagrant drug lord and weapons trafficker was sentenced in New York City to 25 years in prison...

Researchers Expose a New Vulnerability in Intel's CPUs

The Software Guard eXtension is supposed to protect encryption keys and other sensitive data. But this isn't the first time it's been defeated...

Spies Can Eavesdrop by Watching a Light Bulb's Vibrations

The so-called lamphone technique allows for real-time listening in on a room that's hundreds of feet away...

Amazon Won’t Let Police Use Its Facial-Recognition Tech for One Year

Amid nationwide protests over police brutality, the company is stopping law enforcement from using its most controversial product...

Android 11 Will Help You Rein In Zombie App Permissions

The latest update to Google's operating system has a host of privacy and security improvements...

Georgia’s Failure Shows How Not to Run an Election in the Pandemic

Limiting in-person polling sites makes it both harder to vote and more dangerous...

IoT Security Is a Mess. Privacy 'Nutrition' Labels Could Help

Just like with foods that display health information the package, researchers are exploring a tool that details how connected devices manage data...

How Covid-19 Contact Tracing Works on Your Phone

Developers are working on track-and-trace systems to keep infection levels low. The apps aren't here yet, but here's what they do—and how you can enable them...

China and Iran Tried to Hack the Biden and Trump Campaigns

Plus: An iOS zero day, surveillance planes, and more of the week's top security news...

The Police's Military Tactics Turn Peaceful Protests Violent

Research shows that calm and negotiation, not excessive force, reduces damage. So why are officers still turning to tear gas?...

Weed Sales on the Dark Web Surged Early in the Pandemic

Research shows that as Covid-19 lockdowns spread, people turned to internet dealers for their pot fix...

Games Don't Do Enough to Combat Toxicity at Launch

Riot Games has cutting-edge moderation tools at its disposal. Few of them are present in Valorant, which launched this week...

Zoom's End-to-End Encryption Will Be for Paying Customers Only

The videoconferencing company says it wants to be able to work with law enforcement to catch bad actors on its platform...

The Pentagon’s Hand-Me-Downs Helped Militarize Police. Here’s How

Over several decades, the 1033 program has shipped over $7.4 billion of Defense Department property to more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies...

‘Nonlethal’ Anti-Protest Weapons Can Cause Serious Harm

Rubber bullets and tear gas are billed as relatively safe. They're anything but...

Facebook 'Manage Activity' Is a Long Overdue Privacy Feature

The new Manage Activity feature will let you archive and bulk delete posts for the first time...

This Bot Hunts Software Bugs for the Pentagon

Mayhem emerged from a 2016 government-sponsored contest at a Las Vegas casino hotel. Now it's used by the military...

This $350 "Anti-5G" Device Is Apparently Just a USB Stick

Plus: A LiveJournal hack, Qatar's contact-tracing privacy failure, and more of the week's top security news...

NSA: Russia's Sandworm Hackers Have Hijacked Mail Servers

In a rare public warning, the US spy agency says the notorious arm of Russian military intelligence is targeting a known vulnerability in Exim...

Google Chrome Is Getting a Bunch of New Privacy Features

The next version of the browser will be more secure than ever. Here’s what you need to know...

Shadowserver, an Internet Guardian, Finds a Lifeline

Ten weeks ago, Shadowserver's main source of funding dried up. Now it's back on level footing...

State-Based Contact Tracing Apps Could Be a Mess

With no nationwide Covid-19 notification software in sight, security and interoperability issues loom large...