An Italy-based firm’s hacking tools were used to spy on Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan, Google said Thursday, casting a light on a “flourishing” spyware industry.
Apple, Android Phones Targeted by Italian Spyware: Google
Sophisticated Android Spyware ‘Hermit’ Used by Governments
Security researchers at Lookout have analyzed a sophisticated Android spyware family that appears to have been created to serve nation-state customers.
HYCU Raises $53 Million for Data Backup Technology
Backup-as-a-service firm HYCU has raised $53 million in a Series B funding round that brings the total invested in the company to $140.5 million.
The new funding round was led by Acrew Capital, with participation from all previous investors, along with Atlassian Ventures and Cisco Investments.
Researchers: Wi-Fi Probe Requests Expose User Data
A group of academic researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany has discovered that mobile devices leak identifying information about their owners via Wi-Fi probe requests.
Mobile devices use these probe requests to receive information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and establish connections to them when a probe response is received.
Researcher Shows How Tesla Key Card Feature Can Be Abused to Steal Cars
A researcher has shown how a key card feature introduced by Tesla last year could be abused to add an unauthorized key that allows an attacker to open and start a vehicle.
The research was conducted by Martin Herfurt, an Austria-based member of the Trifinite research group, which focuses on Bluetooth security.
Apple Announces New Security Update Feature in iOS 16, macOS Ventura
Apple this week announced a new feature designed to ensure that important security updates will be delivered to its devices faster in an effort to protect users against potential threats.
The new feature, named Rapid Security Response, will become available in the upcoming iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, both scheduled for release in late 2022.
Spanish Judge to Seek Testimony From NSO on Pegasus Spyware
A Spanish judge will travel to Israel to seek testimony from the head of tech company NSO, the maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware used in tapping politicians’ phones in Spain, the country’s National Court said Tuesday.
Google Patches Critical Android Vulnerabilities With June 2022 Updates
Google this week announced that the latest Android patches resolve a total of 40 vulnerabilities, including several rated “critical.”
Apple Blocked 1.6 Million Risky, Vulnerable Apps in 2021
Apple says its App Store fraud prevention mechanisms last year stopped potentially fraudulent transactions totaling roughly $1.5 billion.
Throughout 2021, the company prevented more than 3.3 million stolen credit cards from making purchases in the App Store, and banned nearly 600,000 accounts from ever transacting again.
Logging and Security Analytics Firm Devo Banks New $100 Million Investment
Devo Technology, a late-stage startup building technology for data logging and security analytics, has closed a new $100 million funding round that pushes its valuation in the $2 billion range.