Articles about Internet

Lookalike domains used to boost effectiveness of email scams

Lookalike domains, crafted to closely resemble authentic domains, enable a wide range of deceptive activities. By sending emails that appear to originate from trusted sources, attackers can effectively conduct a variety of scams from phishing and social engineering attacks to invoice fraud.

A new report from BlueVoyant looks at how cybercriminals encourage their victims to click on lookalike domains, whilst highlighting the critical need for vigilance and proactive measures to counteract these threats.

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New Firefox terms of use could push users to Google Chrome

Mozilla has long positioned itself as a champion of privacy and open-source software, but its latest move really makes me worry that the organization could be drifting away from those values. You see, Mozilla has introduced Terms of Use for Firefox for the first time ever. Additionally, there is an updated Privacy Notice. And while Mozilla frames this as a move toward transparency, the actual terms are raising some major red flags for me.

Mozilla claims these new terms are necessary due to a changing “technology landscape,” yet the fine print tells a far different story. One of the most troubling aspects is that users must grant Mozilla all rights necessary to operate Firefox, including a “nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license” to use information entered through the browser. Mozilla insists this is meant to help users navigate the web, but the vague wording leaves a dangerous amount of room for interpretation. Could this include personal data, saved passwords, or browsing history? Mozilla simply fails to say.

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A third of people would like to delete themselves from the internet

Around a third of web users say they would like to delete themselves from the internet, with people in the US and Canada being at the top of the list.

Research from cybersecurity company NordVPN and personal data removal service Incogni, finds that worldwide 45 percent of people are worried about being hacked, one of the key reasons for wanting to take themselves off the web.

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The race against AI web scrapers: effective strategies to protect your data [Q&A]

A surge in artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), and machine learning (ML) technologies is creating a massive online appetite for data. These tools are hungry for training data, this has boosted AI web scraping, which sits in a legal gray zone. Sometimes it's legal, sometimes it's not, but what's clear is that it's having ripple effects across online businesses.

We talked to Nick Rieniets, field CTO of Kasada, to learn more about the impact of web scraping and what companies can do to protect their content.

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Australia passes social media ban for under 16s

Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Messanger and WhatsApp logos

After a period of intense public and political debate, Australia has approved laws that will ban anyone under the age of 16 from using social media.

While the laws were passed yesterday, it may well be a year until they come into effect -- and they will be the strictest in the world. Once in force, tech companies such as Meta could be hit with fines of up to AUS$50 million (US $32.5 million) for failing to comply.

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Free online tool shines a light on the global threat landscape

Cyber threats are becoming more complex and it can be difficult for defenders to see the big picture and make decisions accordingly.

Now though help is at hand as ImmuniWeb is launching a free online tool making historical data on the security of internet-accessible resources available to the global cybersecurity community, educational institutions, government agencies, and even individual researchers.

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Three-quarters of most visited websites not compliant with privacy regs

A new report finds that 75 percent of the 100 most visited websites in the US and Europe are not compliant with current privacy regulations.

The study from privacy solution provider Privado.ai shows despite stricter privacy enforcement in Europe a surprising 74 percent of top websites do not honor opt-in consent as required by Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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Enterprises vulnerable to look-alike domains

According to a new report, 80 percent of registered web domains that resemble a Global 2000 brand do not actually belong to that brand.

The report from enterprise-class domain registrar CSC shows that of the homoglyph (look-alike fake) domains owned by third parties other than the Global 2000 brand owners, 42 percent have MX records (email exchange records) compared with 40 percent in 2023. These MX records can be used to send phishing emails or to intercept email.

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Are we starting to give up on cyber hygiene?

A new survey of over 7,000 individuals suggests a growing wave of pessimism among workers regarding cybersecurity practices.

The study from CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance shows 53 percent believe staying safe online is possible, down by five percent from last year, while only 60 percent think online safety is worth the effort, marking a nine percent drop.

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Hanging on the telephone set to be replaced by messaging services

It was 175 years ago that Italian inventor Antonio Meucci came up with the technology that would later be improved and popularized by Alexander Graham Bell to become the telephone.

New research from cloud communications company Sinch finds that newer technologies are starting to change how we communicate -- particularly with businesses -- offering richer, more interactive, and personalized experiences.

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Social media could be good for your mental health

It's a pretty fair bet that if you asked most people they would skeptical about the effects of social media on well-being. However, new research from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford suggests there are positive benefits of social media usage on adults' mental health.

Academics conducted a six-month study of 1029 adults, with participants' daily time using social platforms on their Android mobile device unobtrusively tracked and their well-being measured every two weeks.

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Organizations vulnerable to software supply chain attacks

According to Gartner, 60 percent of organizations work with over 1,000 third parties, and a new report shows many of these supply misconfigured or vulnerable hardware and software, putting customers at risk.

The study from CyCognito finds web server environments, including platforms like Apache, NGINX, Microsoft IIS, and Google Web Server, were the host of 34 percent of all severe issues across surveyed assets. They accounted for more severe issues than 54 other environments combined (out of 60 environments surveyed),

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95 percent of website bot attacks go undetected

More than 65 percent of websites are unprotected against simple bot attacks and 95 percent of advanced bot attacks go undetected on websites.

A new report from DataDome reveals that eCommerce and luxury goods sites are at greatest risk. Just five percent of luxury brand websites and 10 percent of eCommerce websites are fully protected against bad bots.

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Stealth mode browser helps spot sneaky phishing attempts

A new zero-trust stealth mode browser is being launched by SlashNext, designed to see through obfuscation techniques commonly used by threat actors, and deliver enhanced protection against phishing and malware.

In recent years, well-intentioned companies offering free services such as CAPTCHA solutions and content delivery networks have inadvertently aided threat actors. For example, Cloudflare's Turnstile Services and similar CAPTCHA solutions are commonly exploited as obfuscation techniques. CAPTCHAs are used to block the crawlers employed by security services from accessing and analyzing phishing sites.

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Switching broadband in the UK is about to get easier

Changing your broadband service provider has always been a hassle. Usually it takes around 10 days, not to mention that you have to put up with phone calls and emails from your old supplier offering you better deals and pleading with you not to go.

For people in the UK, however, things are about to get a whole lot simpler. The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) is a non-profit organization that has set up a messaging platform called the TOTSCo Hub.

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