Mozilla will now block third-party tracking cookies and cryptomining by default

In a move seen as a swipe at Chrome, Firefox is continuing its fight against Facebook and Google’s online ad tracking empire. The browser, owned by Mozilla, will now block third-party tracking cookies by default. This Enhanced Tracking Protection will be automatically turned on for all global users as part of the standard setting. The …

Apple to begin treating online web tracking as a security vulnerability

Apple has announced that it is going to take a hard stance on online privacy with a new anti-tracking policy in Safari. The iPhone maker has published a “WebKit Tracking Prevention Policy” that goes into specifics about the types of anti-tracking methods it has developed, the practices it believes are harmful to users, and the …

Amazon’s cloud computing business is slowing down

The company posted its second-quarter earnings today (July 25), and Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-computing division, generated $8.3 billion in the quarter, a jump of more than 35% over the same quarter last year. Cloud services, a business Amazon originally entered to support its own infrastructure, has become incredibly fruitful for the online retailer. …

Social media taxes may widen digital divide between those with and those without digital skills

Today, Africa lags behind other continents in internet connectivity. One of the greatest barriers to getting people online in Africa is cost, with individuals paying an average of 9 percent of monthly income for 1GB of data, compared with 5 percent globally. These high costs are being exacerbated in East and Southern Africa where some …

Big tech companies to pay a 3% tax of total annual revenues to the France after Bill passes

Big tech companies will now be required to pay a 3% tax of total annual revenues to the French government after a Bill targeting GAFA companies —  an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon — was passed on Thursday. A new 3% tax will be applied to tech companies that make €750 million globally …

GDPR bites: proposed British Airways £183m record fine a wake-up call for other organisations

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has declared that it intends to fine British Airways a record total of £183.4m because of a data breach it suffered during the summer of 2018. The airline fell victim to a cyberattack that saw hackers gain access to personal information and credit card data of hundreds of thousands of its customers …

Android banking trojan returns updated with ability to record the screens of infected devices

An Android banking trojan has returned with improvements which allow it to record the screens of infected devices while also adding new techniques that help the malware remain hidden from victims. First detailed by cybersecurity researchers at ThreatFabric in October last year, BianLian started life as a dropper for other forms of malware, most notably …

Report Reveals Huawei Telecom Gear Much More Vulnerable to Hackers Than Rivals Devices

WASHINGTON—Telecommunications gear made by China’s Huawei Technologies Co. is far more likely to contain flaws that could be leveraged by hackers for malicious use than equipment from rival companies, according to new research by cybersecurity experts that top U.S. officials said appeared credible. Over half of the nearly 10,000 firmware images encoded into more than …

McAfee: Fake apps tops threats to mobile security in 2019

The widespread usage and integration of mobile devices and applications into all spheres of society has helped establish fake apps among today’s biggest cybersecurity threats. According to the McAfee Mobile Threat Report 2019, nearly 65,000 new fake apps were detected in December of last year alone— over 6 times the amount reported in June 2018. …

American Institute of CPAs will soon roll out .cpa internet domain

The AICPA is in final contract talks with the internet’s global governing body to oversee a new internet domain for CPAs. The Institute announced on Monday that it is in the final stages of being awarded the exclusive .cpa domain, which will provide a unique and secure online identity for certified public accountants and CPA …