Zack Whittaker
TechCrunch
New York, NY, United States
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Recent articles by Zack:
Documents reveal how Russia taps phone companies for surveillance
In cities across Russia, large boxes in locked rooms are directly connected to the networks of some of the country’s largest phone and internet companies. These unsuspecting boxes, some the size of a washing machine, house equipment that gives the Russian security services access to the calls and messages of millions of citizens. This government […] → Read More
What startup CSOs can learn from three enterprise security experts –
How do you keep your startup secure? That’s the big question we explored at TC Sessions: Enterprise earlier this month. No matter the size, every startup is an enterprise. Every startup will grow in size as it builds out. But as a company expands, that rapid growth can lead to a distraction from the foundational […] → Read More
Shape Security hits $1B valuation with $51M Series F –
Anti-fraud startup Shape Security has tipped over the $1 billion valuation mark following its latest Series F round of $51 million. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced the fundraise Thursday, bringing the total amount of outside investment to $173 million since the company debuted in 2011. C5 Capital led the round along with several other […] → Read More
Telegram fixes bug that failed to delete ‘unsent’ photos and videos –
Mobile messaging app Telegram has fixed a bug allowing users to recover photos and videos ‘unsent’ by other people. Telegram, which has more than 100 million users, has an ephemeral messaging feature that allows users to “unsend” sent messages from other people’s inboxes, such as when a message is sent by mistake. But one security […] → Read More
Monster.com says a third-party exposed user data, but didn’t tell anyone –
An exposed web server storing résumés of job seekers — including from recruitment site Monster — has been found online. The server contained résumés and CVs for job applicants spanning between 2014 and 2017, many of which included private information like phone numbers and home addresses, but also email addresses and a person’s prior work […] → Read More
A huge database of Facebook users’ phone numbers found online –
Hundreds of millions of phone numbers linked to Facebook accounts have been found online. The exposed server contained over 419 million records over several databases on users across geographies, including 133 million records on U.S.-based Facebook users, 18 million records of users in the U.K., and another with more than 50 million records on users […] → Read More
Another U.S. visa holder denied entry over someone else’s messages –
A graphic image sent by another person was grounds to deny a visa holder entry to the United States. → Read More
What you missed in cybersecurity this week –
There’s not a week that goes by where cybersecurity doesn’t dominates the headlines. This week was no different. Struggling to keep up? We’ve collected some of the biggest cybersecurity stories from the week to keep you in the know and up to speed. Malicious websites were used to secretly hack into iPhones for years, says […] → Read More
Police hijack a botnet and remotely kill 850,000 malware infections –
In a rare feat, French police have hijacked and neutralized a massive cryptocurrency mining botnet controlling close to a million infected computers. The notorious Retadup malware infects computers and starts mining cryptocurrency by sapping power from a computer’s processor. Although the malware was used to generate money, the malware operators easily could have run other […] → Read More
Sources say China used iPhone hacks to target Uyghur Muslims –
A number of malicious websites used to hack into iPhones over a two-year period were targeting Uyghur Muslims, TechCrunch has learned. Sources familiar with the matter said the websites were part of a state-backed attack — likely China — designed to target the Uyghur community in the country’s Xinjiang state. It’s part of the latest […] → Read More
A hacker has compromised Jack Dorsey’s Twitter account –
A hacker has compromised Jack Dorsey’s Twitter account. A stream of rogue tweets — including racial slurs — were posted to the Twitter chief executive’s own Twitter account just after 3:30pm ET. One of the tweets posted a Twitter handle for someone who purported to take credit for the account takeover. That account was quickly suspended. […] → Read More
Malicious websites were used to secretly hack into iPhones for years, says Google
Security researchers at Google say they’ve found a number of malicious websites which, when visited, could quietly hack into a victim’s iPhone by exploiting a set of previously undisclosed software flaws. Google’s Project Zero said in a deep-dive blog post published late on Thursday that the websites were visited thousands of times per week by […] → Read More
Google to pay security researchers who find Android apps and Chrome extensions misusing user data –
Google said it will pay security researchers who find “verifiably and unambiguous evidence” of data abuse using its platforms. It’s part of the company’s efforts to catch those who misuse user data collected through Android apps or Chrome extensions — and to avoid its own version of a scandal like Cambridge Analytica, which saw millions […] → Read More
Hackers to stress-test Facebook Portal at hacking contest
Hackers will soon be able to stress-test the Facebook Portal at the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest, following the introduction of the social media giant’s debut hardware device last year. Pwn2Own is one of the largest hacking contests in the world, where security researchers descend to find and demonstrate their exploits for vulnerabilities in a range […] → Read More
US border officials are increasingly denying entry to travelers over others’ social media
Travelers are increasingly being denied entry to the United States as border officials hold them accountable for messages, images and video on their devices sent by other people. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances that has seen countless number of foreign nationals rejected from the U.S. after friends, family or even strangers send messages, images […] → Read More
Axonius, a cybersecurity asset management startup, raises $20M in Series B –
Cybersecurity asset management startup Axonius has raised $20 million in its second round of funding this year. Venture capital firm OpenView led the Series B, joining existing investors in bringing $37 million to date following the startup’s $13 million Series A in February. The security startup, founded in 2017, helps companies keep track of their […] → Read More
Parallels’ KeyGenie lets you play for a free product key — but you can’t ever win
When is a game not a game? When you never win. For years, virtualization software maker Parallels offered the chance to win a free product key if you “stump the KeyGenie,” a virtual robot which users can play against. Normally, users must buy a product key to run the software beyond its two-week free trial. […] → Read More
Apple patches previously-fixed security bug that allowed iPhone jailbreak
Apple has fixed a security flaw for a second time after it accidentally reintroduced an old bug in a recent software update. iOS 12.4.1, released Monday, contains a security fix that was first patched months earlier in iOS 12.3. Apple rolled out a fix in May, but accidentally undid the security patch in its latest […] → Read More
Microsoft will let some Windows 7 customers get free security updates for an extra year
In four months time, Windows 7 will reach end-of-life and will no longer receive security updates. That’s going to be a problem for some enterprises which still run the decade-old operating system. Starting January 14, 2020, Windows 7 computers will stop receiving security patches, leaving enterprises vulnerable to malware. According to latest data, some 37% […] → Read More
Web host Hostinger says breach may affect 14 million customers
Hostinger said it has reset customer passwords as a “precautionary measure” after it detected unauthorized access to a database containing data on millions of its customers. The breach is said to have happened on Thursday. The company said it received an alert that one of its servers was improperly accessed. Using an access token found […] → Read More