Apple’s new iOS setting addresses a hidden layer of location tracking

Most iPhone owners have hopefully learned to manage app permissions by now, including allowing location access. But there’s another layer of location tracking that operates outside these controls. Your cellular carrier has been collecting your location data all along, and 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 …

US removes three spyware-linked executives from sanctions list

Merom Harpaz, Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou – three individuals who were sanctioned by the US for alleged links to commercial spyware products, have had their bans lifted recently. In a new press release published 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 …

Leaks show Intellexa burning zero-days to keep Predator spyware running

Intellexa is a well-known commercial spyware vendor, servicing governments and large corporations. Its main product is the Predator spyware. An investigation by several independent parties describes Intellexa as one of the most notorious mercenary spyware vendors, still operating its Predator Read More …

Surveillance tech provider Protei was hacked, its data stolen, and its website defaced

A Russian telecom company that develops technology to allow phone and internet companies to conduct web surveillance and censorship was hacked, had its website defaced, and had data stolen from its servers, TechCrunch has learned. Founded in Russia, Protei makes Read More …

Italian political consultant says he was targeted with Paragon spyware

Francesco Nicodemo, a consultant who works with left-wing politicians in Italy, has gone public as the latest person targeted with Paragon spyware in the country. On Thursday, Nicodemo said in a Facebook post that for 10 months, he preferred not Read More …

CEO of spyware maker Memento Labs confirms one of its government customers was caught using its malware

On Monday, researchers at cybersecurity giant Kaspersky published a report identifying a new spyware called Dante that they say targeted Windows victims in Russia and neighboring Belarus. The researchers said the Dante spyware is made by Memento Labs, a Milan-based Read More …

UK government tries again to access encrypted Apple customer data

The U.K. government is still trying to gain access to encrypted iCloud data, according to the Financial Times, after British officials allegedly filed a new secret order demanding Apple build a backdoor. On Wednesday, the British newspaper reported that the Read More …

Microsoft terminates services for Israeli military after investigation into mass surveillance of Palestinians

Microsoft has terminated a set of services for the Israeli military after an investigation suggested Israel was using the company’s cloud computing technology for mass surveillance of Palestinians. In a statement posted the company’s blog, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Read More …