How do you know the internet has a deepfake porn problem? Just look at copyright takedown requests. WIRED found this week that Google is receiving thousands of Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaints for deepfake nudes, most of which are published by just a handful of websites. Experts say the deluge of DMCA takedown requests is evidence that Google should delist the offending sites from search. In Texas, meanwhile, a federal court upheld the state’s age-verification requirements for porn sites, which could lead to even more lawsuits.
In a win for privacy advocates, Airbnb announced on Monday that it will ban the use of indoor security cameras at short-term rental properties around the world. The ban extends to outdoor areas where there is a “greater expectation of privacy,” such as saunas or outdoor showers. The company has long banned the use of hidden cameras and required hosts to tell guests where it has security cameras installed. Hosts who violate the security cam ban could have their properties removed from Airbnb.
Cryptocurrency firm Binance’s troubles have gone from bad to downright scary. Two of the company’s executives—Tigran Gambaryan, a former financial crimes investigator for the IRS, and UK-based government affairs specialist Nadeem Anjarwalla, have been held for weeks by Nigeria’s government amid its broader crackdown on cryptocurrency. Neither man has been charged with any crime, and their families are asking the US and UK governments for help securing their release.
The US government isn’t hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life according to a new report by the Pentagon. However, the report implies that there’s something secretive happening, leading to increased curiosity about what might exist if not UFOs. In relation, the chair of the US House Intelligence Committee recently conducted a confidential meeting where he prompted members of the congress to reject privacy improvements to a key US surveillance program by stating its potential use in tracking US-based protests, which escalates concerns on civil liberties. The continuation of Section 702, as it’s known, is currently a work in progress in the Congress.
In presidential affairs, Donald Trump has gathered enough delegates in the 2024 Republican primary to secure the party’s official nomination. There’s a widespread concern among specialists that, in case he wins another White House term, Trump could utilize a set of “emergency powers” to implement an authoritarian rule which might be unstoppable by other government branches.
Reporters from Der Spiegel, Recorder, The Washington Post, and WIRED pooled resources to investigate a worldwide network of severe predators who misuse major platforms like Discord, Telegram, and Roblox to target children, pressuring them into committing terrible acts of abuse or worse.
There’s more to it. Each week, we summarize the security news that didn’t get covered deeply by us. Click on the headlines to read the complete stories, and ensure to stay safe.
Insurance companies have long offered discounts to drivers who’ll carry GPS devices or download smartphone apps that track their driving habits. But when wary drivers refuse, insurers find other ways of monitoring their driving. Data brokers like LexisNexus are buying people’s car data directly from manufacturers, such as General Motors, which are making a killing by selling it off. This data is then used to create “risk” scores for individual drivers, which insurance providers use to set premiums. The businesses claim the data-sharing is consensual, but most drivers have no idea what’s happening. Drivers whose risk scores are shared with insurance providers often see their monthly insurance payments skyrocket.
The operator of a darknet cryptocurrency “mixing” service called Bitcoin Fog faces a maximum of 20 years in prison after his conviction this week by a federal jury in Washington, DC. Roman Sterlingov, 35, ran Bitcoin Fog between 2011 and 2021, moving roughly $400 million worth of currency, much of which, prosecutors say, was tied to narcotics, identity theft, and cybercrime. Sterlingov had denied founding Bitcoin Fog in interviews with WIRED; however, the US Justice Department countered that claim in court with blockchain analysis and a trial of financial paperwork.
Two commercial safe makers have been called out for installing backdoors in their safes, according to a letter by Ron Wyden, a US senator from Oregon. The reset codes are one reason the Department of Defense has banned the safes from being used inside the US government. Knowledge of the codes, which Wyden says leaves consumers vulnerable to criminals and spies, was made public through a letter he wrote to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. In it, he asks the agency to issue an alert, warning Americans about the risks posed by the safes.
Reece Rogers
David Gilbert
Matt Reynolds
Megan Farokhmanesh
