FBI is buying location data to track US citizens

The FBI has resumed purchasing reams of Americans’ data and location histories to aid federal investigations, the agency’s director, Kash Patel, testified to lawmakers on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2023 that the FBI has confirmed it was Read More …

Salt Typhoon is hacking the world’s phone and internet giants

Salt Typhoon is behind one of the broadest hacking campaigns in recent years, targeting some of the world’s largest phone and internet companies and stealing tens of millions of phone records about senior government officials. The hacking group, attributed to Read More …

Samsung TVs stop spying on viewers in Texas, here’s how to disable ACR anywhere

Samsung has settled a lawsuit with the Texas Attorney General over how its smart TVs collect and monetize viewing data using Automated Content Recognition (ACR). As part of the settlement, Samsung agreed to stop collecting ACR data from Texans without Read More …

Predator spyware allows full sensor surveillance on iPhones

Apple may have introduced colored status bar indicators in iOS 14 to alert users when the camera or microphone is active, but experts have warned this does not stop all malware. Spyware developed by Intellexa and Cytrox, dubbed Predator, can Read More …

US Department of Homeland Security reportedly sent hundreds of subpoenas seeking to unmask anti-ICE accounts

The Department of Homeland Security has been increasing pressure on tech companies to identify the owners of social media accounts that criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to The New York Times. This echoes other recent reporting, with Bloomberg Read More …

Ireland proposes new law allowing police to use spyware

Ireland is considering new legislation to give its law enforcement agencies more surveillance powers, including allowing the use of spyware. The Irish government announced this week the introduction of the Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill, which would regulate the Read More …

StealC malware control panels could give experts the tools they need to spy on hackers

Cybersecurity researchers have managed to break into the web-based control panel for the StealC infostealer and gain valuable information on how the malware operates, and who both the attackers and the victims are. StealC is an immensely popular infostealer malware Read More …

Firefox joins Chrome and Edge as sleeper extensions spy on users

A group of cybercriminals called DarkSpectre is believed to be behind three campaigns spread by malicious browser extensions: ShadyPanda, GhostPoster, and Zoom Stealer. Malwarebytes Labs wrote about the ShadyPanda campaign in December 2025, warning users that extensions which had behaved Read More …

In 2025, age checks started locking people out of the internet

If 2024 was the year lawmakers talked about online age verification, 2025 was the year they actually flipped the switch.​ In 2025, across parts of Europe and the US, age checks for certain websites (especially pornography) turned long‑running child‑protection debates Read More …

U.S. DOJ: Disney Agrees to $10M Civil Penalty and Injunction for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Laws

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has entered a stipulated order resolving a case against Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC, (collectively, Disney). The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated this matter, negotiated a resolution Read More …