TechLetters #164 Antivirus vendor fined for selling user data; New measures of online political influence, or misinformation; Post-quantum crypto in Apple iMessage; Spyware at European Parliament.
Security
US and UK disrupt LockBit ransomware operations. Some victims may decrypt their systems.
Feeling too secure? No problem! "cve-rs allows you to introduce common memory vulnerabilities (such as buffer overflows and segfaults) into your Rust program in a memory safe manner".
Apple is rolling out post-quantum cryptography in iMessage. Full replacement of encryption systems. Curiously, most quantum risk advice given to C-level boards is pretty poor. There's no functional quantum computer on the horizon. In fact, the current era of devices called "quantum computers" are merely basic demonstrators. They are incapable of making any useful calculations at all.
European Parliament defense subcommittee members smartphones hacked with software-based surveillance tool. Traces of spyware found on two devices.
Privacy
Signal is rolling out usernames soon. Sharing of phone numbers won't be necessary. Caveat: "both you and the people you are chatting with on Signal will need to be using the most updated version". They are also disposable. Changing it stops being findable.
U.S. FTC is fining ($16.5m) Avast. The antivirus vendor, for selling customers' web browsing histories (lists of visited websites, which are private, personal data).
Technology Policy
Other
New directions in political PR and influence campaigns. Spending millions of dollars to hire social media influencers with modest followings. Cheaper, trustworthy micro-influencers to conduct 'activities' the way to go? Beyond disinformation or trolling.
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