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 …

Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware

For more than a decade, dozens of journalists and human rights activists have been targeted and hacked by governments all over the world. Cops and spies in Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, India, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, among Read More …

South Korea: Shinhan Card reports massive data breaches

Shinhan Card, one of the country’s top credit card issuers, reported a massive data leak Tuesday. The Seoul-based company said more than 190,000 cases of potential data exposure have been identified that involve merchant partners’ personal and business information. The Read More …

US insurance giant Aflac says hackers stole personal and health data of 22.6 million people

In June, U.S. insurance giant Aflac disclosed a data breach where hackers stole customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers and health information, without saying how many victims were affected. On Tuesday, the company confirmed it has begun notifying around Read More …

Data breach exposes 400,000 bank customers’ information

A major data breach tied to U.S. fintech firm Marquis is rippling through banks, credit unions and their customers. Hackers broke into Marquis systems by exploiting a known but unpatched vulnerability in a SonicWall firewall, gaining access to deeply sensitive Read More …

The EU prepares ground for wider data retention – and VPN providers are among the targets

EU governments are pushing to widen data retention obligations for apps that citizens use every day – and the best VPN apps are among those targeted. A new internal document dated November 27 (first published by Netzpolitik) provides important insights Read More …

Hacking group says it’s extorting Pornhub after stealing users’ viewing data

The hacking group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, which includes members of a gang known as ShinyHunters, said it is attempting to extort porn site Pornhub, after claiming to have stolen personal information belonging to the website’s premium members. On Friday, Pornhub Read More …

LastPass 2022 Data Breach — 1.6 Million Users Exposed By Security Failure

Any data breach affecting 1.6 million people is big news, especially when it involves one of the most prominent password managers out there: LastPass. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office has just fined LastPass £1.2 million ($1.6 million) for failing to Read More …