FFT news digest — 6 January 2023
FFT news digest — 6 January 2023
In a less than stellar start to 2023 for Twitter and its proprietor, Elon Musk, hackers have leaked email addresses that are linked to 235 million Twitter accounts. The leak could enable theoretically anonymous Twitter handles to be connected with real-world identities. As security experts told The Washington Post, “that poses threats of exposure, arrest or violence against people who used Twitter to criticize governments or powerful individuals, and it could open up others to extortion.” The US Federal Trade Commission is already conducting an inquiry into whether Twitter had violated an agreement to improve its protection of user data. Meanwhile, as Musk continues to try to drive revenues, Twitter is to lift its ban on political advertising. When it was introduced in 2019, Twitter said “political message reach should be earned, not bought.” It’s also relaxing restrictions on “cause-based” ads on topics such as social equality and environmental change. In a tweet, Twitter said it would “align our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets. As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter.”
Threats
Ransomware continues to be one of the most significant threats facing organisations, with The Guardian newspaper apparently one of the latest victims. Staff have been working from home since December 21, with the paper’s offices expected to remain almost completely closed until later this month. While the paper said it believed the issue was a “ransomware attack,” no group has claimed responsibility and The Guardian hasn’t released any details of what happened. It has managed to continue publishing because of a (very sensible) separation of its IT systems, with legacy solutions including HR and some print functions the most affected. The scale of ransomware is extraordinary. Last year, it affected up to 1,981 schools, 290 hospitals, 105 local governments and 44 universities and colleges in the US alone, according to Emsisoft . The true numbers may be far higher because Emsisoft only counted the incidents that were disclosed and many attacks aren’t reported. Given the threat, it’s essential to ensure basic measures are in place to mitigate it. These include applying security updates, enabling secure authentication mechanisms, implementing an effective backup policy, and segregating business critical systems. Students : International students from China are the target of a gang trying to steal their financial details. The Chinese-speaking gang uses voicemails and impersonates organisations including Bank of China, China Mobile and the China’s embassy in the UK. Bushido Token Official : The six most impersonated UK government agencies in 2022 were the NHS, TV Licensing, HM Revenue & Customs, Gov.uk, DVLA, and Ofgem. NCSC
Surveillance
The new year has begun with a rash of stories showing the growing normalisation of sophisticated surveillance technologies. The AP reports on how security services around the world have used information from COVID-19 tracing tools to monitor and, in some cases, harass their citizens. Unsurprisingly, perhaps the most extreme use of surveillance is seen in China, according to The Washington Post . Motherboard looks at a growing industry that is explicitly marketing surveillance technologies as a way to evict tenants and increase rents. Big Brother Watch has criticised covert devices installed by Airbnb owners to monitor noise levels in their rental properties.
Location
The conflict in Ukraine has provided more examples of the risks of posting content on social media…especially in war zones. In one case, a Russian volunteer posted photos and videos of a country club being used as a temporary base. Some were complete with location metadata. The club was promptly destroyed. Russian soldiers are theoretically banned from using mobile phones when deployed but, as The New York Times reports , it’s an edict systematically ignored. Elsewhere, Russia blamed its own forces for the deaths of at least 89 and as many as 400 soldiers in a Ukrainian missile strike. Gen. Lt. Sergei Sevryukov said mobile phone signals had revealed their location. In this case, military commanders might be trying to deflect attention from the fact that they’d co-located hundreds of troops and stocks of ammunition within range of Ukrainian artillery.
In brief
Facial recognition : A Black man spent almost a week in jail after Louisiana police relied on an incorrect facial recognition match to secure warrants to arrest him. “Facial recognition software is particularly bad at recognizing African-Americans and other ethnic minorities,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation says . NOLA.com Verification : Also in Lousiana, residents wishing to avail themselves of Pornhub’s services now have to verify their age with their digital driving licences. Reclaim The Net says downloads of the digital ID have increased from a daily average of between 1,200 and 1,500 to over 5,000 since the change came into force. Paper : A mysterious buyer purchased a defunct Virginia newspaper and took its archive offline. The buyer seemed particularly interested in erasing stories about a rape accusation from 19 years ago. The Washington Post