ReportWire

Tag: information security

  • France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the US

    LONDON — In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system. Soldiers in Austria are using open source office software to write reports after the military dropped Microsoft Office. Bureaucrats in a German state have also turned to free software for their administrative work.

    Around Europe, governments and institutions are seeking to reduce their use of digital services from U.S. Big Tech companies and turning to domestic or free alternatives. The push for “digital sovereignty” is gaining attention as the Trump administration strikes an increasingly belligerent posture toward the continent, highlighted by recent tensions over Greenland that intensified fears that Silicon Valley giants could be compelled to cut off access.

    Concerns about data privacy and worries that Europe is not doing enough to keep up with the United States and Chinese tech leadership are also fueling the drive.

    The French government referenced some of these concerns when it announced last week that 2.5 million civil servants would stop using video conference tools from U.S. providers — including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and GoTo Meeting — by 2027 and switch to Visio, a homegrown service.

    The objective is “to put an end to the use of non-European solutions, to guarantee the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications by relying on a powerful and sovereign tool,” the announcement said.

    “We cannot risk having our scientific exchanges, our sensitive data, and our strategic innovations exposed to non-European actors,” David Amiel, a civil service minister, said in a press release.

    Microsoft said it continues to “partner closely with the government in France and respect the importance of security, privacy, and digital trust for public institutions.”

    The company said it is “focused on providing customers with greater choice, stronger data protection, and resilient cloud services — ensuring data stays in Europe, under European law, with robust security and privacy protections.”

    Zoom, Webex and GoTo Meeting did not respond to requests for comment.

    French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing digital sovereignty for years. But there’s now a lot more “political momentum behind this idea now that we need to de-risk from U.S. tech,” Nick Reiners, at the Eurasia Group.

    “It feels kind of like there’s a real zeitgeist shift,” Reiners said

    It was a hot topic at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of global political and business elites last month in Davos, Switzerland. The European Commission’s official for tech sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, told an audience that Europe’s reliance on others “can be weaponized against us.”

    “That’s why it’s so important that we are not dependent on one country or one company when it comes to very critical fields of our economy or society,” she said, without naming countries or companies.

    A decisive moment came last year when the Trump administration sanctioned the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor after the tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands, issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of President Donald Trump.

    The sanctions led Microsoft to cancel Khan’s ICC email, a move that was first reported by The Associated Press and sparked fears of a “kill switch” that Big Tech companies can use to turn off service at will.

    Microsoft maintains it kept in touch with the ICC “throughout the process that resulted in the disconnection of its sanctioned official from Microsoft services. At no point did Microsoft cease or suspend its services to the ICC.”

    Microsoft President Brad Smith has repeatedly sought to strengthen trans-Atlantic ties, the company’s press office said, and pointed to an interview he did last month with CNN in Davos in which he said that jobs, trade and investment. as well as security, would be affected by a rift over Greenland.

    “Europe is the American tech sector’s biggest market after the United States itself. It all depends on trust. Trust requires dialogue,” Smith said.

    Other incidents have added to the movement. There’s a growing sense that repeated EU efforts to rein in tech giants such as Google with blockbuster antitrust fines and sweeping digital rule books haven’t done much to curb their dominance.

    Billionaire Elon Musk is also a factor. Officials worry about relying on his Starlink satellite internet system for communications in Ukraine.

    Washington and Brussels wrangled for years over data transfer agreements, triggered by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of U.S. cyber-snooping.

    With online services now mainly hosted in the cloud through data centers, Europeans fear that their data is vulnerable.

    U.S. cloud providers have responded by setting up so-called “sovereign cloud” operations, with data centers located in European countries, owned by European entities and with physical and remote access only for staff who are European Union residents.

    The idea is that “only Europeans can take decisions so that they can’t be coerced by the U.S.,” Reiners said.

    The German state of Schleswig-Holstein last year migrated 44,000 employee inboxes from Microsoft to an open source email program. It also switched from Microsoft’s SharePoint file sharing system to Nextcloud, an open source platform, and is even considering replacing Windows with Linux and telephones and videoconferencing with open source systems.

    “We want to become independent of large tech companies and ensure digital sovereignty,” Digitalization Minister Dirk Schrödter said in an October announcement.

    The French city of Lyon said last year that it’s deploying free office software to replace Microsoft. Denmark’s government and the cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus have also been trying out open-source software.

    “We must never make ourselves so dependent on so few that we can no longer act freely,” Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen wrote on LinkedIn last year. “Too much public digital infrastructure is currently tied up with very few foreign suppliers.”

    The Austrian military said it has also switched to LibreOffice, a software package with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs that mirrors Microsoft 365’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

    The Document Foundation, a nonprofit based in Germany that’s behind LibreOffice, said the military’s switch “reflects a growing demand for independence from single vendors.” Reports also said the military was concerned that Microsoft was moving file storage online to the cloud — the standard version of LibreOffice is not cloud-based.

    Some Italian cities and regions adopted the software years ago, said Italo Vignoli, a spokesman for The Document Foundation. Back then, the appeal was not needing to pay for software licenses. Now, it’s the main reason is to avoid being locked into a proprietary system.

    “At first, it was: we will save money and by the way, we will get freedom,” Vignoli said. “Today it is: we will be free and by the way, we will also save some money.”

    ___

    Associated Press writer Molly Hague in The Hague, Netherlands contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Under Armour looking into data breach affecting customers’ email addresses

    Clothing retailer Under Armour is investigating a recent data breach that purloined customers’ email addresses and other personal information, but so far there are no signs the hackers stole any passwords or financial information

    BALTIMORE — Clothing retailer Under Armour is investigating a recent data breach that purloined customers’ email addresses and other personal information, but so far there are no signs the hackers stole any passwords or financial information.

    The breach is believed to have happened late last year, and affected 72 million email addresses, according to information cited by the cybersecurity website Have I Been Pwned. Some of the records taken also included personal information that included names, genders, birthdates and ZIP codes.

    In an Under Armour statement acknowledging its investigation into the claims of a data breach, the Baltimore-based company said: “We have no evidence to suggest this issue has affected UA.com or systems used to process payments or store customer passwords. Any implication that sensitive personal information of tens of millions of customers has been compromised is unfounded.”

    Have I Been Pwned CEO Troy Hunt said that he agrees with Under Armour’s assertion, based on the information that has emerged so far. But he also said he was surprised by the lack of an official disclosure statement from the company.

    “That’s unusual, especially given the size of the organisation, the scale of the breach and the amount of time that has passed since the incident,” Hunt, based in Australia, wrote by email Thursday. “In their defence, they’re also the corporate victim of malicious criminal activity and I’m sure they’ve had their hands full dealing with the fallout.”

    Source link

  • Russian hackers target US engineering firm because of work done for Ukraine

    WASHINGTON — Hackers working for Russian intelligence attacked an American engineering company this fall, investigators at a U.S. cybersecurity company said Tuesday — seemingly because that firm had worked for a U.S. municipality with a sister city in Ukraine.

    The findings reflect the evolving tools and tactics of Russia’s cyber war and demonstrate Moscow’s willingness to attack a growing list of targets, including governments, organizations and private companies that have supported Ukraine, even in a tenuous way.

    Arctic Wolf, the U.S. cybersecurity firm that identified the Russian campaign, wouldn’t identify its customer or the city it worked with to protect their security, but said the company had no direct connection to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the group behind the attack, known to cybersecurity experts as RomCom, has consistently targeted groups with links to Ukraine and its defense against Russia.

    “They routinely go after organizations that support Ukrainian institutions directly, provide services to Ukrainian municipalities, and assist organizations tied to Ukrainian civil society, defense, or government functions,” said Ismael Valenzuela, Arctic Wolf’s vice president of labs, threat research and intelligence.

    The attack on the engineering firm was identified by Arctic Wolf in September before it could disrupt the engineering company’s operations or spread further.

    A message left with officials at the Russian Embassy in Washington seeking comment was not immediately returned.

    Many towns and cities around the world enjoy sister-city relationships with other communities, using the program to offer social and economic exchanges. Several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, Albany, N.Y. and Cincinnati, have sister-city relationships with communities in Ukraine.

    The campaign in September came just a few weeks after the FBI warned that hackers linked to Russia were seeking to break into U.S. networks as a way to burrow into important systems or disrupt critical infrastructure. According to the latest bulletin from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Russia-aligned hackers have multiple motives: disrupting aid and military supplies to Ukraine, punishing businesses with ties to Ukraine, or stealing military or technical secrets.

    Last month, the Digital Security Lab of Ukraine and investigators at SentinelOne, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, exposed a speedy and sprawling cyberattack on relief groups supporting Ukraine, including the International Red Cross and UNICEF. That hacking campaign used fake emails impersonating Ukrainian officials that sought to fool users into infecting their own computers by clicking on malicious links.

    The investigators at SentinelOne stopped short of attributing the attack to the Russian government but noted that the operation targeted groups working on Ukrainian assistance and required six months to plan. The “highly capable adversary” behind the campaign, the investigators determined, is “an operator well-versed in both offensive tradecraft and defensive detection evasion.”

    Source link

  • One Tech Tip: iPhone users can now add US passport info to their digital wallets

    Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, iPhone users can now add their passport details to their Apple digital wallets.

    The company on Wednesday unveiled its new “Digital ID” system for users to add their U.S. passport information to Apple Wallet, which can be scanned at airport readers if travelers don’t have a Real ID.

    Digital ID acceptance “will roll out first in beta” at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at more than 250 U.S. airports for “in-person identity verification during domestic travel.”

    The company warned that Digital ID doesn’t replace a physical passport and can’t be used for international travel and crossing borders.

    Apple already allowed people in 12 states and Puerto Rico to add their driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, while TSA already accepts some form of a digital ID in at least 16 states and Puerto Rico.

    “You can breeze through more than 250 TSA checkpoints faster and more securely than ever before,” the agency’s website says.

    Here’s a guide on how to add your passport:

    Setup

    Open your iPhone’s Wallet app, tap the plus sign at the top and then tap the Digital ID option on the menu. If that doesn’t work for you, type in “Digital ID” into the app’s search bar.

    Grab your passport and follow the instructions. You’ll have to use the camera to scan your passport’s photo page. Next, place your iPhone on the chip embedded on the passport’s back page to authenticate the data.

    Finally, you will need to verify your identity, first by taking a selfie and then by carrying out a series of facial and head movements, such as turning your head or closing your eyes.

    Once the verification procedures are done, the Digital ID will be added to the Wallet.

    How to use

    Using your iPhone to present your Digital ID is similar to using it to make a purchase.

    Double-click the phone’s side button, which calls up the Wallet app. On the stack of cards, tap on the Digital ID. When it’s your turn at the TSA kiosk, hold your phone or Apple watch up to the reader.

    The machine will take your picture, and then your phone will let you review the information that’s being requested, such as name and date of birth. In order to authenticate those details, you’ll have to use the phone’s face or fingerprint scanner.

    What about security?

    Apple says your passport data is encrypted and stored on the device, and it can’t see when or where users present their Digital ID or the data that was shown.

    The use of a face or fingerprint scan makes sure that only the person who the ID belongs to can release the info.

    The company says that iPhone users don’t need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to present their Digital ID.

    Where can I use mobile IDs?

    More than a dozen states already accept some form of a mobile ID at airport checkpoints, according to TSA.

    The list includes: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico.

    Travelers can go to the TSA website for more details.

    ____

    Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

    ___

    AP Airlines and Travel Writer Rio Yamat contributed.

    Source link

  • AT&T reached a $177M data breach settlement. What consumers should know about claiming their money

    NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T has reached a combined $177 million settlement over two data breaches. And impacted consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim for their chunk of the money.

    Several lawsuits emerged across the U.S. — and were later consolidated — after AT&T notified millions of customers that information ranging from Social Security numbers to call records were compromised in these breaches last year. Plaintiffs alleged that the telecommunications giant “repeatedly failed” to protect consumer data. While AT&T has continued to deny wrongdoing, it opted to settle earlier this year.

    “We have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” AT&T said in a Thursday statement, adding that the company remains “committed to protecting our customers’ data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

    Eligible consumers have until Dec. 18 to file for a settlement payment — which will still need a judge’s final stamp of approval early next year. Here’s what you should know.

    What data breaches does the AT&T settlement cover?

    The settlement covers two different breaches. Both were disclosed in 2024 — but involve data belonging to millions of current and former AT&T customers dating as far back as 2019 or earlier.

    AT&T disclosed the first of these breaches in March 2024, after the company said it found that customer information from 2019 or earlier had been released on the “dark web” weeks earlier. At the time, AT&T said the breach impacted roughly 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders — with leaked data including some sensitive info like Social Security numbers and passcodes.

    The other breach involved call and text records of nearly all AT&T customers from May through October of 2022, as well as a small subset from Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T said it learned that data was “illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform” in April of last year — and began notifying customers in July 2024, after launching an investigation. The company maintained that the leaked records included information like phone numbers, but not content of the calls or texts, or other personally identifiable information.

    Several lawsuits emerged over both of these data breaches — which were later consolidated. The settlement was reached earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Texas.

    How much money could impacted customers get?

    The settlement’s cash funds total $177 million to pay those impacted by both of these breaches — which divvies up to $149 million for the first “settlement class” and another $28 million for the second, per a preliminary approval order filed in June.

    According to the settlement administrator’s website, consumers impacted by the first breach may be eligible to up to $5,000. And those affected by the second breach may be eligible for up to $2,500. It’s also possible to be an “overlap settlement class member,” which would mean you may be eligible for payments from both of these funds.

    Final payment amounts will vary depending on losses documented from each person — as well as the total number of claims received and added costs like attorney fees. And the court still has to give the settlement its final stamp of approval, in a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.

    When is the deadline to file a claim?

    In the meantime, consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim online or by mail. The deadline is Dec. 18.

    To learn more, you can visit the website of the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration. Class members can also opt-out or make an objection before Nov. 17.

    Source link

  • AT&T reached a $177M data breach settlement. What consumers should know about claiming their money

    NEW YORK — AT&T has reached a combined $177 million settlement over two data breaches. And impacted consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim for their chunk of the money.

    Several lawsuits emerged across the U.S. — and were later consolidated — after AT&T notified millions of customers that information ranging from Social Security numbers to call records were compromised in these breaches last year. Plaintiffs alleged that the telecommunications giant “repeatedly failed” to protect consumer data. While AT&T has continued to deny wrongdoing, it opted to settle earlier this year.

    “We have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” AT&T said in a Thursday statement, adding that the company remains “committed to protecting our customers’ data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

    Eligible consumers have until Dec. 18 to file for a settlement payment — which will still need a judge’s final stamp of approval early next year. Here’s what you should know.

    The settlement covers two different breaches. Both were disclosed in 2024 — but involve data belonging to millions of current and former AT&T customers dating as far back as 2019 or earlier.

    AT&T disclosed the first of these breaches in March 2024, after the company said it found that customer information from 2019 or earlier had been released on the “dark web” weeks earlier. At the time, AT&T said the breach impacted roughly 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders — with leaked data including some sensitive info like Social Security numbers and passcodes.

    The other breach involved call and text records of nearly all AT&T customers from May through October of 2022, as well as a small subset from Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T said it learned that data was “illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform” in April of last year — and began notifying customers in July 2024, after launching an investigation. The company maintained that the leaked records included information like phone numbers, but not content of the calls or texts, or other personally identifiable information.

    Several lawsuits emerged over both of these data breaches — which were later consolidated. The settlement was reached earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Texas.

    The settlement’s cash funds total $177 million to pay those impacted by both of these breaches — which divvies up to $149 million for the first “settlement class” and another $28 million for the second, per a preliminary approval order filed in June.

    According to the settlement administrator’s website, consumers impacted by the first breach may be eligible to up to $5,000. And those affected by the second breach may be eligible for up to $2,500. It’s also possible to be an “overlap settlement class member,” which would mean you may be eligible for payments from both of these funds.

    Final payment amounts will vary depending on losses documented from each person — as well as the total number of claims received and added costs like attorney fees. And the court still has to give the settlement its final stamp of approval, in a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.

    In the meantime, consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim online or by mail. The deadline is Dec. 18.

    To learn more, you can visit the website of the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration. Class members can also opt-out or make an objection before Nov. 17.

    Source link

  • China accuses US of cyberattack on national time center

    BEIJING — BEIJING (AP) — China on Sunday accused the U.S. National Security Agency of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time center, saying any damage to related facilities could have disrupted network communications, financial systems and power supply.

    The Ministry of State Security alleged that the U.S. agency had exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information from devices of the National Time Service Center’s staff in 2022. It did not specify the brand.

    The U.S. agency also used 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to target the center’s multiple internal network systems and attempted to infiltrate a key timing system between 2023 and 2024, it said in a post on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform.

    The ministry said it had evidence but did not provide it in the post.

    It said the time center is responsible for generating and distributing China’s standard time, in addition to providing timing services to industries such as communications, finance, power, transport and defense. The ministry added that it had provided guidance to the center to eliminate the risks.

    “The U.S. is accusing others of what it does itself, repeatedly hyping up claims about Chinese cyber threats,” the post said.

    Western governments in recent years have alleged hackers linked to the Chinese government have targeted officials, journalists, corporations and others. The ministry’s statement could fuel tensions between Washington and Beijing, on top of trade, technology and Taiwan issues.

    The U.S. Embassy did not address the Chinese allegation in an emailed response.

    The response focused on China’s cyberattacks, calling them the most active and persistent threat to the U.S. government and companies.

    Source link

  • Russia, China increasingly using AI to escalate cyberattacks on US, Microsoft finds

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have sharply increased their use of artificial intelligence to deceive people online and mount cyberattacks against the United States, according to new research from Microsoft.

    This July, the company identified more than 200 instances of foreign adversaries using AI to create fake content online, more than double the number from July 2024 and more than ten times the number seen in 2023.

    The findings, published Thursday in Microsoft’s annual digital threats report, show how foreign adversaries are adopting new and innovative tactics in their efforts to weaponize the internet as a tool for espionage and deception.

    America’s adversaries, as well as criminal gangs and hacking companies, have exploited AI’s potential, using it to automate and improve cyberattacks, to spread inflammatory disinformation and to penetrate sensitive systems. AI can translate poorly worded phishing emails into fluent English, for example, as well as generate digital clones of senior government officials.

    Government cyber operations often aim to obtain classified information, undermine supply chains, disrupt critical public services or spread disinformation. Cyber criminals on the other hand work for profit by stealing corporate secrets or using ransomware to extort payments from their victims. These gangs are responsible for the wide majority of cyberattacks in the world and in some cases have built partnerships with countries like Russia.

    Increasingly, these attackers are using AI to target governments, businesses and critical systems like hospitals and transportation networks, according to Amy Hogan-Burney, Microsoft’s vice president for customer security and trust, who oversaw the report. Many U.S. companies and organizations, meanwhile, are getting by with outdated cyber defenses, even as Americans expand their networks with new digital connections.

    Companies, governments, organizations and individuals must take the threat seriously if they are to protect themselves amid escalating digital threats, she said.

    “We see this as a pivotal moment where innovation is going so fast,” Hogan-Burney said. “This is the year when you absolutely must invest in your cybersecurity basics,”

    The U.S. is the top target for cyberattacks, with criminals and foreign adversaries targeting companies, governments and organizations in the U.S. more than any other country. Israel and Ukraine were the second and third most popular targets, showing how military conflicts involving those two nations have spilled over into the digital realm.

    Russia, China and Iran have denied that they use cyber operations for espionage, disruption and disinformation. China, for instance, says the U.S. is trying to “ smear ” Beijing while conducting its own cyberattacks.

    North Korea has pioneered a scheme in which it uses AI personas to create American identities allowing them to apply for remote tech jobs. North Korea’s authoritarian government pockets the salaries, while the hackers use their access to steal secrets or install malware.

    It’s the kind of digital threat that will face more American organizations in the years to come as sophisticated AI programs make it easier for bad actors to deceive, according to Nicole Jiang, CEO of Fable, a San Francisco-based security company that uses AI to sniff out fake employees. AI is not only a tool for hackers, but also a critical defense against digital attackers, Jiang said.

    “Cyber is a cat-and-mouse game,” she said. “Access, data, information, money: That’s what they’re after.”

    Source link

  • British department store Harrods warns customers that some personal details taken in data breach

    LONDON — Harrods, the luxury British department store, has warned some customers that their personal data may have been taken in a breach of its online systems.

    The company said late Friday that some names and contact details of its online customers were taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised.

    “We have informed affected customers that the impacted personal data is limited to basic personal identifiers including name and contact details, but does not include account passwords or payment details,” it said in a statement.

    It added that incident was “isolated” and has been contained, without providing more details.

    Harrods said that the data breach wasn’t connected to an incident in May, when it restricted internet access across its sites as a precautionary measure following an attempt to gain unauthorized access to its systems.

    Four people were arrested in July on suspicion of their involvement in cyberattacks against Harrods and two other leading British retail chains, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op and Harrods. The suspects were bailed pending further inquiries.

    Several other cyberattacks have targeted high-profile British businesses in recent months.

    Last week, Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest automaker, said that its production lines will remain shut down until at least Oct. 1, after a cyberattack in August.

    On Friday, the BBC and other British media reported that hackers stole information about thousands of children from Kido, a London nursery chain, and posted some of the children’s photos and details on the darknet.

    The Metropolitan Police force said that inquiries about “a ransomware attack on a London-based organization” were ongoing and no arrests have been made.

    Source link

  • Trump reveals Murdochs and Dell could potentially take part in TikTok deal

    President Donald Trump said prominent billionaires – including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech founder Michael Dell – could be part of a deal in which the U.S. will take control of the social video platform TikTok.

    Trump namedropped the 94-year-old Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp, as part of a group of possible participants in a deal during an interview recorded Friday and aired Sunday on Fox News.

    “I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

    Trump’s disclosure of the potential involvement of the Murdochs and Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, is the latest twist in a fast-moving potential deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S.

    Trump also said Sunday that tech giant Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison was part of the same group. His involvement had been previously disclosed. On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security and that Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.

    Much is still unknown about the actual deal in the works. Trump discussed the TikTok deal with China’s Xi Jinping in a lengthy phone call on Friday. Chinese and U.S. officials have until Dec. 16 to hash out the details, following the latest deadline extension by the Trump administration.

    TikTok is a hugely popular app currently owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. American officials have warned the algorithm TikTok uses to shape what users see is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.

    Congress passed legislation calling for a TikTok ban to go into effect in January, but Trump has repeatedly signed orders that have allowed TikTok to keep operating in the United States as his administration tries to reach an agreement for the social media company’s parent company to sell its U.S. operations.

    On Sunday, Trump said that he was “a little prejudiced” about TikTok because he credited the app for helping him connect with young voters. Trump said slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk encouraged the president to use the app.

    Representatives for Ellison, Dell and the Murdochs could not immediately be reached for comment.

    Trump filed a lawsuit against Murdoch and one of his newspapers, The Wall Street Journal, in July after it published a story reporting on the president’s ties to wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Source link

  • What to know after US says it has reached framework deal with China to keep TikTok in operation

    TikTok users in the U.S. may get a reprieve from the threat of a shutdown after the Trump administration announced it has reached a framework deal with China for the ownership of the popular social video platform.

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press conference after the latest round of trade talks between the world’s top two economies concluded in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He said the objective of the deal would be to switch to American ownership.

    He did not disclose the terms of the deal, saying that it is between two private parties, but added that “the commercial terms have been agreed upon.”

    Little is known about the actual deal in the works, including what companies are involved and whether the United States would have a stake in TikTok. Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, said the two sides have reached “basic framework consensus” to properly solve TikTok-related issues in a cooperative way, reduce investment barriers and promote related economic and trade cooperation, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

    Oracle Corp. has been floated as a likely buyer for the platform. Representatives for the company did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Monday.

    In Madrid, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the team was “very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese,” but also “completely respects U.S. national security concerns.”

    Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, told reporters in Madrid there was consensus on authorization of “the use of intellectual property rights such as (TikTok’s) algorithm” — a main sticking point in the deal.

    The sides also agreed on entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security, he said.

    Though he has no clear legal basis to do so, Trump has continued to extend the deadline for TikTok to avoid a ban in the U.S. This gives his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. The next deadline is on Sept. 17, and Trump has already signaled he would extend it if needed.

    It is not clear how many times Trump can keep extending the ban as the government continues to try to negotiate a deal for TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance. While there is no clear legal basis for the extensions, so far, there have been no legal challenges against the administration. Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. He said in January that he has a “warm spot for TikTok.”

    For now, TikTok continues to function for its 170 million users in the U.S. Tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle were persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump’s Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them.

    Americans are even more closely divided on what to do about TikTok than they were two years ago.

    A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren’t sure.

    Among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about 8 in 10 cited concerns over users’ data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision, according to the report.

    During his first term as president, Trump led the effort to ban TikTok, saying it posed a threat to U.S. national security. But his tune changed when he returned to the White House a second time, signing an executive order on his first day in office to keep the app running.

    During Joe Biden’s Democratic presidency, Congress and the White House used national security grounds to approve a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company sold its controlling stake.

    U.S. officials were concerned about ByteDance’s roots and ownership, pointing to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government. Another concern became the proprietary algorithm that populates what users see on the app.

    ___

    This story corrects Chinese President Xi Jinping’s title.

    Source link

  • WhatsApp patches exploit allowing hackers to target Apple users

    NEW YORK — WhatsApp has patched a security vulnerability that allowed sophisticated attacks against the Apple devices of “specific targeted users.”

    The messaging app, owned by Meta Platforms, said in a blog post that its vulnerability, chained with a bug found in iOS and iPadOS, allowed hackers to exploit and steal information from Apple devices.

    In a post on X, Amnesty’s Security Lab researcher Donncha Ó Cearbhaill said the malicious campaign lasted about 90 days. He said other apps beyond WhatsApp may also have been affected.

    WhatsApp said in a statement that less than 200 users were targeted and that the company had notified those affected. All users have been encouraged to update their app to the latest version to fix the issue.

    It’s not immediately clear who, or which spyware vendor, is behind the attacks.

    Apple also acknowledged the vulnerability in its systems and issued patches to fix the flaws.

    Source link

  • Social Security whistleblower who claims DOGE mishandled sensitive data resigns

    WASHINGTON — A Social Security official who has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the Department of Government Efficiency officials mishandled Americans’ sensitive information says he’s resigning his post because of actions taken against him since making his complaint.

    Charles Borges, the agency’s chief data officer, alleged that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security data was put at risk by DOGE officials who uploaded sensitive information to a cloud account not subject to oversight. His whistleblower disclosure was submitted to the special counsel’s office on Tuesday.

    In a letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, Borges claimed that since filing his whistleblower complaint, the agency’s actions make his duties “impossible to perform legally and ethically” and have caused him “physical, mental and emotional distress.”

    “After reporting internally to management and externally to regulators, serious data and security and integrity concerns impacting our citizens’ most sensitive personal data, I have suffered exclusion, isolation, internal strife, and a culture of fear, creating a hostile work environment and making work conditions intolerable,” Borges added.

    The Project Government Accountability Office, which is representing him in his whistleblower case, posted Borges’ resignation letter on its website Friday evening. Borges declined to comment.

    “He no longer felt that he could continue to work for the Social Security Administration in good conscience, given what he had witnessed,” his attorney Andrea Meza said in a statement. She added that Borges would continue to work with the proper oversight bodies on the matter.

    In his whistleblower’s complaint, Borges said the potentially sensitive information put at risk by DOGE’s actions includes health diagnoses, income, banking information, familial relationships and personal biographic data.

    “Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for re-issuing every American a new Social Security Number at great cost,” said the complaint.

    Borges had served as the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer since January.

    The SSA declined to comment on Borges’ resignation or allegations against the agency in his letter to colleagues.

    President Donald Trump’s DOGE has faced scrutiny as it received unprecedented access from the Republican administration to troves of personal data across the government under the mandate of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.

    Labor and retiree groups sued SSA earlier this year for allowing DOGE to access Americans’ sensitive agency data, though a divided appeals panel decided this month that DOGE could access the information.

    ___

    Source link

  • Cyberattack shuts down Nevada state offices and websites, governor’s office says

    LAS VEGAS — A cyberattack caused Nevada’s state offices to close for two days this week and rendered some state websites and phone lines unavailable, the governor’s office said Tuesday.

    Agencies will announce when their counters will reopen for in-person services, according to the technology office of Gov. Joe Lombardo, whose website was among those disabled.

    The state identified the attack Sunday and said authorities are investigating. Officials were unable to release technical details to protect internal systems during the investigation, the memo said.

    There is no evidence that personal information was compromised, it added. Emergency services remained available.

    State employees were put on administrative leave Monday. Many returned to work Tuesday, and workers will continue to come back to the office as their computer systems are brought online.

    Previous cyberattacks have crippled public services elsewhere in the U.S.

    In 2020, for example, an attack on Oregon’s Tillamook County took down its computer systems and website.

    And in 2018 a ransomware attack shut down automated 911 dispatching in Baltimore for roughly 17 hours.

    Source link

  • Microsoft Authenticator is ending password autofill soon. How to set up a passkey before Aug. 1

    NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re a Microsoft Authenticator user, like me, you’ve probably received at least one notice that the app’s password management features are no longer usable and that your stored passwords will be inaccessible starting Aug. 1 unless you have the Edge browser.

    Why? Because Microsoft is moving its signature sign-in app to a digital authentication method touted by security experts as an easier and more secure way to log in: passkeys.

    “Last year (2024), we observed a staggering 7,000 password attacks per second (more than double the rate from 2023),” Microsoft wrote in a blog post. “Although passwords have been around for centuries, we hope their reign over our online world is ending.”

    Authenticator has been a staple in providing multi-factor authentication, one-time passwords and biometric logins for services and some websites. Although the app will continue to provide authentication for passkey-compatible services, it is pushing its password management and autofill functions out to the company’s Edge browser instead.

    Note that not all websites and applications have adopted passkeys yet, so many places still rely on passwords.

    If you haven’t yet moved to a different password manager system or set up your passkeys, we’re here to help.

    How to generate a passkey in Authenticator

    Passkeys do away with complex 14 character passwords because you never need to see them. Instead you are using existing biometrics like your face or fingerprints, digital patterns or PINs to access your accounts.

    Passkeys are made up of two parts of a code that only makes sense when they’re combined, kind of like a digital key and padlock. You keep half of the encrypted code, typically stored either in the cloud with a compatible verification app — including Authenticator — or on a physical security dongle. The other half is stored on the participating apps, services or accounts you want to access.

    The bad news? You do have to set up individual passkeys for each service or application that accepts them. Keeping track of where you can use them versus traditional passwords can be challenging.

    If you’ve opened Authenticator in the last few months, you likely were prompted to set up a passkey through a guided experience.

    If you didn’t receive such a prompt, you can set up a new passkey by opening the authenticator app on your device. Find and tap on your account, then select “set up a passkey” option. Follow the app’s instructions.

    Accessing old passwords in Edge

    The good news is that all of your old passwords are synced to your Microsoft account. But to access them after Aug. 1, you will need to first install the Edge browser on your device of choice (and log into it).

    For iOS users, navigate to Settings General Autofill & Passwords and turn on Edge.

    Android users click their way to Settings General management Passwords and autofill Autofill service and select Edge.

    Laptop and desktop users will need to open Edge and navigate to Settings Profiles Passwords. There you should find an autofill toggle and another option to save new passwords to your account.

    Downloading your passwords to use in a password manager

    Firstly, check out our advice on selecting and using password managers. There are many services — paid and free — out there and options to consider.

    Now to export your Authenticator passwords, open the app on your device then navigate to Settings Export Passwords. This will spit out an exported file containing your data.

    Most of the password managers out there — including those built into other browsers, or Apple and Android’s own key ring apps — will have an import option, which should accept this file. If you’re having difficulty with the import, it’s best to consult their customer service lines for help.

    Source link

  • A man accused of threatening to kill Dem election officials will likely plead guilty

    A man accused of threatening to kill Dem election officials will likely plead guilty

    DENVER — A man accused of repeatedly threatening to kill the top elections officials in Colorado and Arizona as well as judges and federal law enforcement agents is expected to plead guilty in federal court on Wednesday.

    Teak Ty Brockbank, 45, of Cortez, Colorado, has been jailed since his Aug. 23 arrest. Now he’s scheduled to appear in court for a change of plea hearing after previously pleading not guilty to one count of making interstate threats. His lawyer notified the court that Brockbank wanted to change his plea. In federal court, “guilty” is the only other option.

    According to a detention motion, Brockbank told investigators that he’s not a “vigilante” and that he hoped his posts would simply “wake people up.”

    Investigators say Brockbank began to express the view that violence against public officials was necessary in late 2021 and proceeded to make multiple threats against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, now the state’s governor, and the others.

    In one post in August 2022, referring to Griswold and Hobbs, Brockbank allegedly said: “Once those people start getting put to death then the rest will melt like snowflakes and turn on each other,” according to copies of the threats included in court documents. Griswold and Hobbs were not named as among those allegedly targeted by Brockbank when he was first arrested but were identified as victims in evidence unsealed in September.

    The investigation was launched in August 2022 after Griswold’s office notified federal authorities of posts made on Gab and Rumble, an alternative video-sharing platform that has been criticized for allowing and sometimes promoting far-right extremism, according to court documents.

    Brockbank also allegedly posted in October 2021 that he could use his rifle to “put a bullet” in the head of a state judge who had overseen Brockbank’s probation for his fourth conviction for driving under the influence, calling the judge a “Nazi,” prosecutors said in an Aug. 27 motion asking that Brockbank be kept behind bars while prosecuted.

    Prosecutors also say Brockbank posted in July 2022 that he would shoot any federal agent without warning who showed up at his house. Prosecutors said a half dozen firearms were found in his home after his August arrest, including a loaded one near his front door, even though he can’t legally possess firearms due to a felony conviction of attempted theft by receiving stolen property in Utah in 2002.

    And although Brockbank was charged for threats allegedly made between September 2021 and August 2022, prosecutors say he’s kept it up since then.

    In December 2023, after a divided Colorado Supreme Court removed Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot, Brockbank allegedly told his stepfather in a text that he was adding the four judges in the majority to “my list.”

    And this July, prosecutors say, Brockbank continued to threaten Griswold because her office triggered an investigation of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters by notifying authorities about a data breach of the county’s election equipment in 2021. Griswold also has been outspoken nationally on elections security and has received threats in the past over her insistence that the 2020 election was secure.

    Peters was sentenced to nearly nine years behind bars in October for allowing access to the county’s election system to a man affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell — a prominent promoter of false claims that voting machines were manipulated to steal the election. Authorities investigated separate threats made against her trial judge, Matthew Barrett, who admonished Peters during her sentencing. Most of the messages appear to have been strongly worded opinions but none appeared to rise to the level of a crime, Mesa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Wendy Likes said Tuesday.

    Brockbank was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland to protect workers who have been subject to increasing threats since the 2020 election.

    In 2022, a Nebraska man pleaded guilty to making death threats against Griswold in what officials said was the first such plea obtained by the task force.

    Source link

  • Hong Kong bars services like WhatsApp and Google Drive from government computers

    Hong Kong bars services like WhatsApp and Google Drive from government computers

    HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government is barring most civil servants from using popular apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Google Drive on their work computers due to potential security risks.

    The latest IT security guidelines from the Digitial Policy Office have many civil servants complaining about added inconvenience. Government workers will still be allowed to use the services from personal devices at work, and can get exceptions to the ban with approval from a manager.

    Information technology experts said companies have adopted similar policies due to increasing risks of data leaks and cybersecurity challenges.

    Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said on a radio program Tuesday that the ban is needed as hacking is becoming a more serious problem. He said the governments of the United States and China have also adopted stringent measures for their internal computer systems.

    A civil servant surnamed Lee, who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to media, said her office often uses cloud storage services to exchange large files with vendors outside the government.

    Francis Fong, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said officials told him that the policy aims to prevent malware from bypassing its firewall through encrypted messages. He added that it could also address issues with data breaches.

    Anthony Lai, director of VX Research Limited, a cybersecurity firm based in Hong Kong and Britain, said the government’s approach is appropriate due to low cybersecurity awareness among some staff and a lack of comprehensive internal monitoring systems.

    Earlier this year, data breaches at various Hong Kong government departments compromised the personal information of at least tens of thousands of people and sparked concerns.

    Source link

  • Cyprus thwarted a digital attack against the government’s main online portal

    Cyprus thwarted a digital attack against the government’s main online portal

    NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus said Sunday that it has successfully thwarted a digital attack aimed at blocking access to the government’s central online portal, the latest in a string of similar attacks over a three-day period against state-run utilities and the Cypriot subsidiary of a Greek energy company.

    Cyprus’ Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy said in a statement that “a quick and coordinated response” by authorities foiled the attack, whose purpose was exclusively to prevent access to specific government websites.

    The distributed denial-of-service attack, or DDoS, only affected the main government portal gov.cy “for a few minutes” and that no other online government ministry or service website was affected.

    The deputy ministry didn’t say who was behind the attacks or what the possible motive may have been.

    Sunday’s attack came after Cyprus’ electricity and telecommunications authorities, as well as the operator of the island nation’s two airports, Hermes and fuel company EKO Cyprus Ltd., were targeted on Friday and Saturday.

    Officials told the Cyprus News Agency that all those attacks had also failed and that no client information had been leaked or compromised.

    Source link

  • October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Here’s how to stay safe from scams

    October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Here’s how to stay safe from scams

    NEW YORK — October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which means it’s the perfect time to learn how to protect yourself from scams.

    “Scams have become so sophisticated now. Phishing emails, texts, spoofing caller ID, all of this technology gives scammers that edge,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

    As scammers find new ways to steal money and personal information, consumers should be more vigilant about who they trust, especially online. A quick way to remember what to do when you think you’re getting scammed is to think about the three S’s, said Alissa Abdullah, also known as Dr. Jay, Mastercard’s deputy chief security officer

    “Stay suspicious, stop for a second (and think about it) and stay protected,” she said.

    Whether it’s romance scams or job scams, impersonators are looking for ways to trick you into giving them money or sharing your personal information. Here’s what to know:

    Three common tactics used by scammers are based on fear, urgency and money, said security expert Petros Efstathopoulos. Here’s how they work:

    — Fear

    When a scammer contacts you via phone or email, they use language that makes it seem like there is a problem that you need to solve. For example, a scammer contacts you over email telling you that your tax return has an error and if you don’t fix it you’ll get in trouble.

    — Urgency

    Because scammers are good at creating a sense of urgency, people tend to rush, which makes them vulnerable. Scammers often tell people they need to act right away, which can lead to them sharing private information such as their Social Security numbers.

    — Money

    Scammers use money as bait, Efstathopoulos said. They might impersonate tax professionals or the IRS saying you will get a bigger tax refund than you expect if you pay them for their services or share your personal information.

    Simply being aware of typical scams can help, experts say. Robocalls in particular frequently target vulnerable individuals like seniors, people with disabilities, and people with debt.

    “If you get a robocall out of the blue paying a recorded message trying to get you to buy something, just hang up,” said James Lee, chief operating officer at the Identity Theft Resource Center. “Same goes for texts — anytime you get them from a number you don’t know asking you to pay, wire, or click on something suspicious.”

    Lee urges consumers to hang up and call the company or institution in question at an official number.

    Scammers will also often imitate someone in authority, such as a tax or debt collector. They might pretend to be a loved one calling to request immediate financial assistance for bail, legal help, or a hospital bill.

    So-called “romance scams” often target lonely and isolated individuals, according to Will Maxson, assistant director of the Division of Marketing Practices at the FTC. These scams can take place over longer periods of time — even years.

    Kate Kleinart, 70, who lost tens of thousands to a romance scam over several months, said to be vigilant if a new Facebook friend is exceptionally good-looking, asks you to download WhatsApp to communicate, attempts to isolate you from friends and family, and/or gets romantic very quickly.

    “If you’re seeing that picture of a very handsome person, ask someone younger in your life — a child, a grandchild, a niece or a nephew — to help you reverse-image search or identify the photo,” she said.

    She said the man in pictures she received was a plastic surgeon from Spain whose photos have been stolen and used by scammers.

    Kleinart had also been living under lockdown during the early pandemic when she got the initial friend request, and the companionship and communication meant a lot to her while she was cut off from family. When the scam fell apart, she missed the relationship even more than the savings.

    “Losing the love was worse than losing the money,” she said.

    Job scams involve a person pretending to be a recruiter or a company in order to steal money or information from a job seeker.

    Scammers tend to use the name of an employee from a large company and craft a job posting that matches similar positions. An initial red flag is that scammers usually try to make the job very appealing, Velasquez said.

    “They’re going to have very high salaries for somewhat low-skilled work,” she said. “And they’re often saying it’s a 100% remote position because that’s so appealing to people.”

    Some scammers post fake jobs, but others reach out directly to job seekers through direct messages or texts. If the scammers are looking to steal your personal information, they may ask you to fill out several forms that include information like your Social Security number and driver’s license details.

    The only information a legitimate employer should ask for at the beginning of the process is your skills, your work experience, and your contact information, Velasquez said.

    Other details don’t generally need to be shared with an employer until after you’ve gotten an offer.

    According to Lois Greisman, an associate director of marketing practices at the Federal Trade Commission, an investment scam constitutes any get-rich-quick scheme that lures targets via social media accounts or online ads.

    Investment scammers typically add different forms of “testimony,” such as from other social media accounts, to support that the “investment” works. Many of these also involve cryptocurrency. To avoid falling for these frauds, the FTC recommends independently researching the company — especially by searching the company’s name along with terms like “review” or “scam.”

    When you’re using Facebook or scrolling Google results, be aware of quiz scams, which typically appear innocuous and ask about topics you might be interested in, such as your car or favorite TV show. They may also ask you to take a personality test.

    Despite these benign-seeming questions, scammers can then use the personal information you share to respond to security questions from your accounts or hack your social media to send malware links to your contacts.

    To protect your personal information, the FTC simply recommends steering clear of online quizzes. The commission also advises consumers to use random answers for security questions.

    “Asked to enter your mother’s maiden name? Say it’s something else: Parmesan or another word you’ll remember,” advises Terri Miller, consumer education specialist at the FTC. “This way, scammers won’t be able to use information they find to steal your identity.”

    When buying or selling products on Instagram or Facebook Marketplace, keep in mind that not everyone that reaches out to you has the best intentions.

    To avoid being scammed when selling via an online platform, the FTC recommends checking buyers’ profiles, not sharing any codes sent to your phone or email, and avoiding accepting online payments from unknown persons.

    Likewise, when buying something from an online marketplace, make sure to diligently research the seller. Take a look at whether the profile is verified, what kind of reviews they have, and the terms and conditions of the purchase.

    Scammers often reach out by phone, Ben Hoffman, Head of Strategy and Consumer Products at Fifth Third Bank recommends that you don’t pick up unknown incoming calls.

    “Banks don’t ask your for your password,” said Hoffman. If you believe your bank is trying to reach out, give them a call at a number listed on their website.

    This makes it easier to know for sure that you’re not talking to a scammer. As a general rule, banks don’t often call unless there is suspicious activity on your account or if you previously contacted them about a problem.

    If you receive many unknown calls that end up being scammers or robocalls, you can use tools available on your phone to block spam. Check here for how to do this on your iPhone and here for Android.

    There are many tools are your disposal that can be used to protect yourself from scammers online.

    — Use a password manager to ensure you’re utilizing a complex password that scammers can’t guess.

    — Regularly checking your credit report and bank statements is a good practice since it can help you identify if someone has been using your bank account without your knowledge.

    — Turn on multi-factor verification to make sure impersonators aren’t able to access your social media or bank accounts.

    As scams get more sophisticated, it’s difficult to know who to trust or if a person is actually real, or an impersonator. If you aren’t sure if a job recruiter is real or if your bank is actually asking your for information, find organizations that can help you, recommended Velasquez.

    Organizations like the Identity Theft Protection Center and the AARP Fraud Watch Network offer free services for customers who need help identifying scams or knowing what to do if you’ve been a victim of a scam.

    If you’ve taken all the necessary steps to protect yourself, you might want to help those around you. Whether you’re helping your grandparents to block unknown callers on their phones or sharing tips with your neighbors, talking with others about how to protect themselves from scams can be very effective.

    If you or a family member is a victim of a scam, it’s good practice to report it on the FTC’s website.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

    Source link

  • Former porn shop worker wants defamation lawsuit by North Carolina lieutenant governor dismissed

    Former porn shop worker wants defamation lawsuit by North Carolina lieutenant governor dismissed

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A former porn shop worker who was accused by North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of defamation has asked a court to throw out the lawsuit against him, calling the politician’s allegations “bizarre” and his demand for at least $50 million in damages a violation of civil court rules.

    Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, filed a lawsuit in Wake County court Tuesday against CNN and Louis Love Money, of Greensboro, saying they published “disgusting lies” about him.

    The lawsuit identified a CNN report last month that Robinson made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago. Weeks before CNN’s report, Money alleged in a music video and in a media interview that for several years starting in the 1990s, Robinson frequented a porn shop Money was working at, and that Robinson purchased porn videos from him.

    Attorneys for Money, in filing a dismissal motion Wednesday, said that Robinson’s lawsuit violated a procedural rule that requires that a person seeking punitive damages state initially a demand for monetary damages “in excess of $25,000.”

    The motion said the rule is designed to “prevent excess demands from leaking publicly in the media and tainting the judicial process.” Violating the rule, attorneys Andrew Fitzgerald and Peter Zellmer wrote, may “have been for the very purpose of creating media attention for Mr. Robinson’s campaign.”

    Otherwise, the attorneys also are seeking a dismissal on the grounds that the allegations in the lawsuit, even if they were true, fail to establish a cause of action against Money.

    “The complaint contains many impertinent and bizarre allegations,” they wrote.

    Asked for a response to the motion, Robinson’s campaign referred to Tuesday’s news release announcing the lawsuit. In it, Robinson said claims from “grifters like Louis Love Money are salacious tabloid trash.”

    Money on Tuesday said he stood by what he had said as truthful. CNN declined to comment on the lawsuit when it was filed and had not responded to it in court as of midday Thursday.

    Robinson is running against Democratic nominee Josh Stein in the campaign to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

    The CNN report led many fellow GOP elected officials and candidates, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, to distance themselves from Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign. Most of the top staff running Robinson’s campaign and his lieutenant governor’s office quit following the CNN report, and the Republican Governors Association stopped supporting Robinson’s bid.

    The network report said it matched details of the account on the message board to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN also reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information.

    The lawsuit alleges that CNN published its report despite knowing, or recklessly disregarding, that Robinson’s personal data was previously compromised by data breaches.

    Source link