Maths and tech specialists need Hippocratic oath, says academic
Exclusive: Hannah Fry says ethical pledge needed in tech fields that will shape futureMathematicians, computer engineers and scientists in related fields should take a Hippocratic oath to protect the public from powerful new technologies under development in laboratories and...
Myki data release breached privacy laws and revealed travel histories, including of Victorian MP
Researchers able to identify MP Anthony Carbines’s travel history using tweets and Public Transport Victoria datasetThe three-year travel history of a Victorian politician was able to be identified after the state government released the supposedly “de-identified” data of more...
Major breach found in biometrics system used by banks, UK police and defence firms
Fingerprints, facial recognition and other personal information from Biostar 2 discovered on publicly accessible databaseThe fingerprints of over 1 million people, as well as facial recognition information, unencrypted usernames and passwords, and personal information of employees, was discovered on...
From Watergate to El Paso: should we be relying on unelected bodies to protect us? | John Naughton
Web security firm Cloudflare’s decision to terminate 8chan as a customer is welcome, but risks setting a dangerous precedentLast Saturday morning, a gunman armed with an assault rifle walked into a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, and shot...
Chinese cyberhackers ‘blurring line between state power and crime’
Cybersecurity firm FireEye says ‘aggressive’ APT41 group working for Beijing is also hacking video games to make money A group of state-sponsored hackers in China ran activities for personal gain at the same time as undertaking spying operations for...
Briton who helped stop 2017 WannaCry virus avoids jail over malware charges
Marcus Hutchins pleaded guilty to two malware chargesHutchins sentenced to time served and supervised releaseA British cybersecurity expert credited with helping stop a worldwide computer virus in May 2017 will not serve any additional time behind bars for...
Is buying a ‘smart nappy’ really such a clever idea? | Arwa Mahdawi
Anxious parents may see the appeal of measuring their baby’s vital signs – but sharing your child’s data with a private company may not be wiseThis week’s instalment of innovations no one was waiting for is brought to you...
The Great Hack: the film that goes behind the scenes of the Facebook data scandal
This week, a Netflix documentary on Cambridge Analytica sheds light on one of the most complex scandals of our time. Carole Cadwalladr, who broke the story and appears in the film, looks at the fallout – and finds ‘surveillance...
How do I remove malware from my Windows laptop?
Don’s laptop is infected with malware and he’d like a clean machine, what’s the best way? What’s the cheapest way to get my Windows laptop swept and cleaned out of malware etc? DonThere are two obvious ways to clean...
Hacked forensic firm pays ransom after malware attack
Largest private provider Eurofins hands over undisclosed fee to regain control of systems Britain’s largest private forensics provider has paid a ransom to hackers after its IT systems were brought to a standstill by a cyber-attack, it has been...
How Chinese spy app allows officials to harvest personal data
Intrusive software collects emails and texts and could be used to track movementThe tourists travelling into China were never supposed to know their phones had been compromised.The surveillance app being installed on their devices should have been removed by...
Australian National University hit by huge data breach
Vice-chancellor says hack involved personal and payroll details going back 19 yearsThe Australian National University is in damage control after discovering a major data breach a fortnight ago in which a “significant” amount of staff and student information was...
The Guardian view on cybercrime: the law must be enforced | Editorial
Governments and police must take crime on the internet seriously. It is where we all live nowAbout half of all property crime in the developed world now takes place online. When so much of our lives, and almost all...
Saudi Arabia accused of hacking London-based dissident
Kingdom targeted satirist Ghanem Almasarir with Israeli malware, letter of claim allegesSaudi Arabia has been accused of launching a sophisticated hacking attack against a prominent dissident in London who is allegedly living under police protection, according to a letter...
George Orwell’s dystopia is with us today | Letters
As several Observer stories reveal, individuals are being watched and scrutinised just as the author predictedYour article on George Orwell’s prescient novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, coincided with several stories showing that his dystopia is upon us (“Big Brother’s long shadow”,...
Ready or Not, Here Comes FIDO: How to Prepare for Success
Planning and Preparation Are Key to Successfully Adopting FIDO Standards for “Simpler, Stronger Authentication”
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Amazon, Microsoft, May be Putting World at Risk of Killer AI, Says Report
Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies that could spearhead a global AI arms race, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons.
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The Joy of Six… critical security patches: Cisco small biz switches open to hijacking via web UI
Turn it on, download these fixes, crank it up – and rip the KNOB off Cisco has emitted a fresh round of software updates to address security holes in its network switches and controllers.…
New FISMA Report Shows Progress, Gaps in Federal Cybersecurity
No major incidents mixed with continuing gaps in implementation paint an improving, but still muddy, picture of cybersecurity in the federal government.
A botnet has been cannibalizing other hackers’ web shells for more than a year
Neutrino botnet is hijacking servers by taking over other hackers' PHP and Java web shells.
