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Sources: FBI has probed Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group for its possible role in hacks of US residents, companies and intel gathering on governments since 2017 (Reuters)

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Reuters : Sources: FBI has probed Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group for its possible role in hacks of US residents, companies and intel gathering on governments since 2017   —  (Reuters) - The FBI is investigating the role of Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group Technologies in possible hacks on American residents … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Ofm4qt

Microsoft will now pay up to $20k for Xbox Live security exploits

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Think you’ve found a glaring security hole in Xbox Live? Microsoft is interested. The company announced a new bug bounty program today, focused specifically on its Xbox Live network and services. Depending on how serious the exploit is and how complete your report is, they’re paying up to $20,000. Like most bug bounty programs, Microsoft is looking for pretty specific/serious security flaws here. Found a way to execute unauthorized code on Microsoft’s servers? They’ll pay for that. Keep getting disconnected from Live when you play as a certain legend in Apex? Not quite the kind of bug they’re looking for. Microsoft also specifically rules out a few types of vulnerabilities as out-of-scope, including DDoS attacks, anything that involves phishing Microsoft employees or Xbox customers, or getting servers to cough up basic info like server name or internal IP. You can find the full breakdown here. This is by no means Microsoft’s first foray into bounty programs; they’ve got similar pr...

The EU Parliament overwhelmingly passes measure pushing for adoption of a common charging standard for mobile devices, which Apple said would stifle innovation (AppleInsider)

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AppleInsider : The EU Parliament overwhelmingly passes measure pushing for adoption of a common charging standard for mobile devices, which Apple said would stifle innovation   —  The European Parliament in a landslide vote on Thursday called on the EU Commission to adopt rules that would establish … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36DiTzf

Exonerated: Charges dropped against pentesters paid to break into Iowa courthouse

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Enlarge / The Dallas County Courthouse in Adel, Iowa. (credit: Stephen Matthew Milligan ) Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against two security professionals who were arrested and jailed last September for breaking into an Iowa courthouse as part of a contract with Iowa’s judicial arm. The dismissal, which was announced on Thursday, is a victory not only for Coalfire Labs, the security firm that employed the two penetration testers, but the security industry as a whole and the countless organizations that rely on it. Although employees Gary DeMercurio and Justin Wynn had written authorization to test the physical security of the Dallas County Courthouse in Iowa, the men spent more than 12 hours in jail on felony third-degree burglary charges. The charges were later lowered to misdemeanor trespass. The case cast a menacing cloud over an age-old practice that’s crucial to securing buildings and the computers and networks inside of them. Penetration testers are hired to...

Katie Hopkins' Twitter account suspended

The controversial commentator's account is suspended for violating the anti-hate policy. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/2uQgLqk

More than 200 browser extensions ejected from Firefox and Chrome stores

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Enlarge (credit: Mozilla ) Mozilla and Google are cracking down on malicious and abusive extensions available for the Firefox and Chrome browsers, respectively. The moves come in response to the recent detection of add-ons that turned out to violate the browser maker's policies, despite review processes designed to weed out wares that are malicious or have the potential to be malicious. The most significant move was Mozilla's ouster over the past month of almost 200 extensions. The majority of them— 129, to be exact —were developed by 2Ring , a maker of business software. There's no evidence the extensions were malicious, but Mozilla officials found they executed code hosted on a remote server, in violation of Mozilla policies. The representative added that current installations aren't affected and users who want to install an extension can still do so manually. A 2Ring representative said that company officials have contacted Mozilla about the move and are awai...

Survey of 12,043 US adults: 59% distrust Facebook for political and election news, including 62% of Republicans and 59% of Democrats, while 48% distrust Twitter (Danielle Abril/Fortune)

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Danielle Abril / Fortune : Survey of 12,043 US adults: 59% distrust Facebook for political and election news, including 62% of Republicans and 59% of Democrats, while 48% distrust Twitter   —  Facebook and Twitter are a long way from instilling confidence after letting misinformation flood their services during recent elections, according to a new survey. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Um0owP