Security

Microsoft left a kernel-level, zero-day bug in Windows for six months before patching it

Researchers prove they can exploit chatbots to spread AI worms

In context: Big Tech continues to recklessly shovel billions of dollars into bringing AI assistants to consumers. Microsoft's Copilot, Google's Bard, Amazon's Alexa, and Meta's Chatbot already have generative AI engines. Apple is one of the few that seems to be taking its time upgrading Siri to an LLM and hopes to compete with an LLM that runs locally rather than in the cloud.

More than 100,000 GitHub repositories found spreading malicious packages

WhatsApp scores major legal victory over Pegasus spyware maker, forcing it to provide closely-guarded code

Foreign spies are learning how to sabotage critical infrastructure, Australian intelligence agency warns

Researchers develop self-destructing circuits to defend against attacks, counterfeiting

Biden orders security probe into Chinese "connected" vehicles, labeling them a potential security threat

Consumer Reports finds dangerous security vulnerabilities in cheap doorbell cameras

IBM says their latest AI-enhanced storage platform can identify ransomware in under a minute

Tumblr and WordPress blogs will be exploited for AI model training

A ransomware group says it has stolen almost 200GB of data from Epic Games (updated)

Criminals hijacked more than 8,000 trusted domains, sent millions of malicious emails

LockBit ransomware group bounces back a week after law enforcement had disrupted hacking operation

Number of data breaches falls globally, triples in the US

Why it matters: A recent study investigating data breaches throughout 2023 reveals a total of 299.8 million accounts were compromised across the year. While this figure is alarmingly high, it represents an 18% reduction from the 366.7 million breached accounts in 2022. Despite this global decrease, the situation in the United States has worsened, with the number of breaches tripling, positioning it as the world's most frequently targeted country.

Facial recognition software discovered in college campus vending machines

Avast fined $16.5 million by FTC for selling user browsing data to advertisers

Apple secures iMessage against threats from quantum computers

MIT's minuscule terahertz RFID tag foils counterfeiters with metallic glue

LockBit website seized, operations disrupted in joint international law enforcement operation

Wyze cameras were once again letting users see other people's homes after cloud outage

Another day, another FBI takedown of routers infected by malware

AMD Ryzen CPUs are impacted by all of these serious vulnerabilities

A hot potato: All users with AMD Ryzen processors from the last few years should check and update their motherboard firmware ASAP, especially if they haven't done so since before 2023. AMD has published a detailed chart describing four severe security issues affecting server, desktop, workstation, HEDT, mobile, and embedded Zen CPUs. Recent BIOS updates have addressed most, but not all of the flaws.

Beware: AI girlfriends are little more than data-harvesting nightmares

ExpressVPN disables security feature that was leaking DNS requests to third-party servers

Canada moves to ban the Flipper Zero amid rising auto theft concerns

Bottom line: The popularity of the Flipper Zero has Canadian officials on edge. While the tool's capabilities do raise concerns, the knee-jerk prohibition highlights the tricky balance between empowering white-hat hackers and preventing malicious misuse of technology.