United States and Israel started a war in Iran last week that has already killed more than 1,200 Iranians and spilled over throughout the Middle East. They are there many unknowns about the goals of the US president Donald Trump as the conflict enters its second week and the situation seems to be ready causing an energy crisis and wonders around the world.
Iran is on a shutdown of the Internet throughout the country while there is only a government-built intranet in the country, plunging Iranians into digital darkness and making it difficult for humanitarian aid workers, journalists, and others to disseminate information inside and outside the country. As the strike in Tehran started last weekend, it seems The hacked application sent messages saying “surrender” and “help is on the way” to Iranians across the country.
At the same time, GPS attacks like jamming—not to mention physical threats—are increasing in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening shipping. Security camera hacking has emerged as part of the war playbook. And anti-missile systems across the Middle East are under stress—and in some cases destroyed—in strikes.
Trump dismissed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week. His tenure was marked by harsh anti-immigration tactics and the ICE and CBP killings of two American protesters. A very sophisticated iPhone hacking tool which was likely built for the US government is in the hands of many other countries as well as fraudsters who may have used the tools to infect tens of thousands of phones or more. Some US lawmakers are call for an investigation into the threat of a hacking technique dating back decades. By WIRED he went inside how music streaming CEO Elie Habib created the open-source threat network map World Monitor in his spare time.
And there is more. Each week, we round up security and privacy news that we didn’t cover in depth ourselves. Click on the headlines to read the full story. And stay safe out there.
US Customs and Border Protection has admitted, for the first time, that it bought phone location data from the widespread, heavily monitored online advertising industry. The agency’s assertions were included in a document, called the Privacy Threshold Analysis, found by 404 Media through a Freedom of Information Act request. The document relates to cases that CBP conducted between 2019 and 2021.
The post reports that CBP bought the data integrated with real-time bidding processes. When you see ads online or in apps, they’re shown to you after automated, instant auctions take place where advertisers bid to show you that specific ad. The worst parts of the advertising industry may collect data from your device, including your phone’s identification information and location data; this is then repackaged and sold to companies and organizations. The data has been called a “gold mine” for tracking people’s daily activities.
CBP did not respond to 404 Media’s request for comment on whether it is still buying the data; however, ICE is reportedly planning to buy access to another system, called Webloc, which allows entire neighborhoods to be monitored for cell phone movements.
The FBI was able to identify the protester in Atlanta after finally obtaining information from the Swiss encrypted email service Proton Mail, court documents revealed this week. Court document reviewed by 404 Media shows that payment information linked to Proton’s email address was released to US law enforcement and Swiss authorities after a request was made under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which allows organizations to share data internationally.
Swiss authorities sent a data request under Swiss law to Proton for payment details linked to an email address protecttheatlantaforest@protonmail.comwhich was associated with protests in Atlanta. This information was released to US law enforcement officials under international agreements, and they were able to identify the person associated with the account.
