Russia bans Telegram messaging app after it declined to reveal its encryption key

Russia has banned the Telegram messaging app after it – because the company refuses to reveal its encryption key. A court in Moscow ruled to block the popular app after the firm declined to give state security services access to private conversations. It followed a long-running battle between authorities and Telegram, which has a reputation …

Bullish again, Bitcoin Prices Surge

Bitcoin prices rose sharply yesterday after months of downfall, showing that bullish sentiment has returned to the digital currency markets. “The bulls are back in charge,” said analyst Charles Hayter, who pointed to Bitcoin’s robust intraday gain and a short squeeze taking place on Bitfinex. The world’s largest cryptocurrency reached $8,055.20, climbing almost 20% in less than six …

British and US lawyers have launched joint class action lawsuit against Facebook, Cambridge Analytica Et Al

The Guardian reports that United Kingdom and US lawyers have launched a joint class action against Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and two other companies SCL Group Limited and Global Science Research Limited (GSR). for allegedly misusing the personal data of more than 71 million people. The lawsuit claims the firms obtained users’ private information from the …

Malicious crypto-mining apps with over 100,000 downloads found in the Google Play store

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have uncovered multiple android based malicious cryptocurrency-mining applications being distributed via the Google Play store, with the miners posing as games, sports streaming apps, and VPNs. Some of these have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. While the applications appear to provide legitimate functions, their real purpose is to secretly use …

Telegram rebuffs Russian regulators to hand over user data

Telegram rejected demands from Russian regulators to hand over data, The app maker has told the regulator that it is technically unable to hand the encryption keys to user accounts to the country’s secret services. This comes just weeks after the messaging platform was ordered to do so or risk being banned in the country …

Google is asking for web publishers’ consent to gather personal data ahead of GDPR

Google is requesting that web publishers provide it with the necessary consents to continue gathering personal information from Europeans for targeted ads as it gears up for the impending arrival of toughened data privacy laws. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May after which companies will be obligated to obtain …

Latest Android malware can record voice calls for extortion & blackmailing

IT security researchers have discovered an android malware which aims at stealing personal data from Android devices, recording live calls and surrounding noises in order to blackmail the victim – Dubbed RedDrop by Wandera researchers, the malware was discovered in 53 applications on third-party app stores including calculators, image editors, languages teaching and space exploration apps. All …

Germany’s government network hacked

A hacker group known for many high-level cyber attacks was able to infiltrate the German government’s secure computer networks, the dpa news agency reported Wednesday. Dpa cited unidentified security sources saying the group APT28 hacked into Germany’s foreign and defense ministries and managed to steal data. The attack was noticed in December and may have …