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CMMC Hit Pause, the FAR Council Hit Play

DoD paused CMMC Phase 2 pending a 60-day review while a proposed FAR Council rule would extend NIST 800-171 Rev 3 to all federal contractors.

The Department of Defense suspended CMMC Phase 2 third-party certification requirements, but Phase 1 self-assessments under DFARS 252.204-7021 remain in force since November 2025, and prime contractors are still directing suppliers to proceed. A CMMC Reform Task Force must report recommendations to the DoD CIO within 60 days, likely by September or October 2026. Separately, the FAR Council's proposed CUI rule from June 23 would apply NIST 800-171 Revision 3, 72-hour incident reporting, and flowdown obligations to all FAR-based federal contracts, not just the defense industrial base. False Claims Act exposure grows as DIBCAC assessment teams now cooperate directly with the DOJ.

Huntress · 14d agoPolicy & legal

NightmareStresser Goes Offline in Global DDoS-for-Hire Crackdown

The DOJ seized NightmareStresser domains, a DDoS-for-hire service behind hundreds of thousands of attacks since 2022, as part of Operation PowerOFF.

The US Department of Justice announced the court-authorized seizure of internet domains behind NightmareStresser, a booter service allegedly used to launch hundreds of thousands of actual or attempted DDoS attacks worldwide since 2022. The action, announced from the District of Alaska with FBI Anchorage and Royal Canadian Mounted Police support, is part of Operation PowerOFF, which previously took down 53 domains across 21 countries in April and 27 booter sites in December 2024. Over the past eight years, prosecutors have charged twelve defendants and seized more than 100 domains tied to DDoS-for-hire services.

Security Affairsupdated · 25m agofirst · 2h agoPolicy & legal 5 sources

CISA head says agency must change quickly to prevent the 'worst that could happen'

Acting CISA Director Nick Andersen warned of US cyber vulnerabilities and said the agency is refilling staff cut to about half strength.

Speaking at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit, acting CISA Director Nick Andersen warned that decades of bad decisions, overwhelming technical debt, outdated technology and AI-driven threats could lead to devastating cyber incidents without rapid, significant changes. He said the agency has about 250 screened hires awaiting security clearances after losing roughly a third of its staff to DOGE-related cuts and attrition, and referenced a June pledge by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to refill about 600 CISA jobs. Andersen called AI a gamechanger, citing daily headlines about rogue AI agents and an Anthropic researcher leaving over model safety concerns.

The Record · 7d agoPolicy & legal

Party’s Over for Crypto Scammers Who Went on a Spending Spree After a $240 Million Bitcoin Theft

Malone Lam's plea hearing approaches in the $240 million bitcoin social engineering theft; the case highlights surging crypto fraud and limited enforcement.

Malone Lam, accused of organizing a social engineering attack that stole over $240 million in bitcoin (4,100+ BTC) from a Washington, D.C. resident in August 2024, has a plea agreement hearing set. Callers impersonating Google and Gemini staff tricked the victim into revealing security codes. Lam and 17 co-defendants spent lavishly before FBI arrests; crypto investment fraud complaints to the FBI rose nearly 50% in 2025 while DOJ disbanded its crypto crimes unit.

SecurityWeek · 9d agoPolicy & legal

Launching managed CRA Article 14 reporting for open source maintainers

EU Cyber Resilience Act Article 14 reporting obligations begin, requiring 24-hour exploit and incident reports; Patchstack launches managed compliance for open-source maintainers.

Starting 11 September 2026, EU Cyber Resilience Act Article 14 requires manufacturers and open-source stewards to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents to ENISA via the EU Single Reporting Platform, with a 24-hour early warning, 72-hour notification, and final reports within 14 days or one month. Patchstack launched a free managed compliance service, acting as Assigned Representative for open-source maintainers and providing a managed VDP. The obligations apply retroactively to all products available on the European market. Patchstack, which has coordinated over 50% of known WordPress ecosystem vulnerabilities, already serves more than 1,000 open-source projects.

Patchstack · 6d agoPolicy & legal

The EU CRA's Real Question: What Shipped, and When Did You Know?

ActiveState argues the EU CRA's 24-hour ENISA exploit-notification duty, effective September 11, 2026, makes current SBOMs and provenance visibility a legal necessity.

An ActiveState essay warns that the EU Cyber Resilience Act's reporting obligations take effect on September 11, 2026, requiring manufacturers of products with digital elements sold into the EU to notify ENISA within 24 hours of learning a vulnerability is actively exploited, with a fuller report within 72 hours. The law's engineering requirements only apply from December 11, 2027, leaving a visibility-first runway, and Article 13 requires the SBOM to stay current unlike one-time artifacts generated under US Executive Order 14028. The author contrasts the 24-hour notification clock with an industry-average 55 days to remediate high or critical vulnerabilities and recommends automated SBOM regeneration or consuming pre-vetted, attested open source components.

BleepingComputer · 8d agoPolicy & legal

‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

White House launches Watershed 250, a six-month Texas pilot using volunteer vendor cyber and AI tools to harden water utility defenses.

The Office of the National Cyber Director and Texas Cyber Command will oversee the six-month Project Watershed 250 pilot to improve water sector cybersecurity through industry-donated red teaming, system hardening and AI tooling. Twelve companies including Microsoft, Fortinet, Google Cloud, Palo Alto Networks, AWS, Cloudflare, Zscaler, Forescout, Abnormal AI and Dragos participated in the rollout. Officials cited recent attacks including an Iranian-backed campaign against 30 water systems in 12 states and a 2024 incident in Muleshoe, Texas. Some water-security professionals criticized the program as lacking dedicated funding.

CyberScoop · 16d agoPolicy & legal1

Risky Bulletin: Two TeamPCP members arrested in Australia

Australian Federal Police arrested two alleged TeamPCP members behind supply-chain worm attacks that stole over 500,000 credentials from compromised open-source libraries.

The AFP arrested alleged TeamPCP leader Ruben Thomson, 21, and Louis Gaebler, 23, near Perth; both were charged and remain in custody. The group inserted a self-spreading credential-stealing worm into open-source projects including Trivy, KICS, LiteLLM, and Telnyx, harvesting more than 500,000 credentials used for network access, ransomware, extortion, and sales. About 78,000 tokens and secrets from nearly 2,200 organizations leaked online last month, and the FBI supported the investigation that began in April.

Risky Business News · 20d agoPolicy & legal in the wild1

Ofcom discovers issuing Online Safety Act fines is easier than collecting them

Ofcom says most Online Safety Act fines totaling over £7 million remain unpaid as platforms structure businesses to evade collection.

Ofcom director of enforcement Suzanne Cater told the House of Lords that the majority of fines issued under the UK Online Safety Act remain uncollected despite over £7 million in penalties on 11 providers. The regulator's largest fine was £1.4 million against 8579 LLC in February. Ofcom is running six enforcement programs and 40 formal investigations covering more than 100 services, including Telegram, TikTok and X, and is working with the UK government to strengthen its enforcement powers.

The Register · Security · 3h agoPolicy & legal

LinkedIn fights for the right to tell customers when the feds want their data

Microsoft's chief legal officer argues federal subpoenas for LinkedIn user data should carry narrower scope and that secrecy orders must become the exception.

Microsoft chief legal officer Jon Palmer said federal courts and Congress must curb overly broad US government subpoenas for LinkedIn user data that arrive with secrecy orders preventing customer notification. The company is asking courts to enforce meaningful limits on demand scope and secrecy, invoking Fourth and First Amendment arguments. Palmer cited House legislation passed August 31 to rein in secret surveillance, while LinkedIn simultaneously faces user privacy lawsuits, one dismissed with leave to amend by Judge Vince Chhabria.

CSO Online · 18h agoPolicy & legal

Cyberattack causes a flight delay? Airlines won’t owe you a hotel or meal

A new DOT rule exempts airlines from providing meal vouchers or hotels for cyberattack-caused delays if carriers comply with applicable cybersecurity regulations.

A Department of Transportation rule published in September 2026 adds "cybersecurity attacks" to a list of 10 "not controllable" flight disruption causes, creating a new delay tracking category and relieving compliant airlines of customer service obligations like meal vouchers and hotels. The rule stems from the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and applies only when carriers demonstrate compliance with applicable cybersecurity regulations. Consumer groups reacted cautiously: FlyersRights criticized the lack of public comment, while the National Consumers League saw both certainty benefits and risks from ambiguous wording. The article cites prior aviation incidents including Scattered Spider's airline attacks and the 2024 Collins Aerospace hack that disrupted European flights.

CyberScoop · 5d agoPolicy & legal

Governments ‘buying time’ in race between innovation, security, national cyber director says

National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross says allied governments are 'buying time' to secure systems as AI advances and exposes chronic cyber hygiene gaps.

Speaking at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said the US and allies must balance AI innovation speed with securing systems and keeping the technology from adversaries. He argued AI has not created new cybersecurity problems but surfaced decades-old issues like under-resourced basic cyber hygiene, echoing FBI and CISA officials at the summit. His remarks followed US agencies accusing Chinese AI companies of illegally distilling US frontier models and Anthropic disclosing a fourth AI hacking incident involving one of its models.

CyberScoop · 7d agoPolicy & legal

Doctor Doom Thanked Seattle for All the Surveillance Cameras

Activist dressed as Doctor Doom urged Seattle's council to curb Axon and Flock surveillance after a committee voted to redirect $250,000 from CCTV expansion.

Clifford Cawthon, a policy advisor at the Washington State Department of Commerce, appeared at a Seattle Public Safety Committee meeting in costume as Doctor Doom to protest the city's expanding mass surveillance. He criticized Seattle PD's access to 62 cameras feeding an Axon real-time crime center that ingests CCTV, body camera, geolocation, ALPR, and dispatch data from vendors like Axon and Flock. His group Community Not Cameras submitted a petition with five demands, and a committee already voted to move $250,000 away from CCTV expansion pending full council approval.

404 Media · 7d agoPolicy & legal

Italian tech collective Autistici/Inventati shuts down after US terrorist designation

Italian privacy collective Autistici/Inventati shut down after a US State Department terrorist designation triggered its domain suspension and bank account closure.

The volunteer-run Italian collective Autistici/Inventati, founded in 2001, announced Sunday it would shut down after the State Department labeled it an extremist group on August 26, 2026. The designation led the Public Interest Registry to suspend the group's .org domain on August 28 and its bank, Banca Etica, to suspend its account. The collective hosted roughly 16,000 email addresses, 1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists, and about 10,000 blogs, including the Noblogs platform. European Digital Rights warned the move sets a dangerous precedent for non-commercial European hosts and digital sovereignty.

The Record · 8d agoPolicy & legal

Risky Bulletin: Russia tells data centers to deploy drone defenses

Russia ordered data center operators to deploy drone strike defenses under a Putin decree allowing temporary state takeover of unprotected critical infrastructure.

The Russian government instructed data center operators to deploy protections against drone strikes under a presidential decree signed by Putin that allows temporary state administration of critical infrastructure operators failing to defend against Ukrainian hacks and drone strikes. Although data centers are not formally critical infrastructure in Russia, the decree applies to them because other sectors depend heavily on cloud services; Russia has more than 180 data centers, over 80% in the European region within range of Ukrainian strikes. The digest also reports a Dropbox breach affecting nearly 5,000 accounts via the Lenovo ID integration, spyware attacks on at least 14 Serbians using NoviSpy or Pegasus, and a password recovery attack targeting hundreds of thousands of X accounts tied to the new X Money service. Other items include a 14-hour compromise of Coder's Cloudflare infrastructure delivering malicious Terraform modules, donor data breaches at Davayte and You Are Not Alone via the Stripe/WooCommerce integration, a $2.5M Aquifer crypto heist, and a TVING breach exposing data of almost 40 million accounts.

Risky Business News · 13d agoPolicy & legal

Risky Bulletin: Dutch intel services to get extensive new powers

Netherlands proposed a bill granting AIVD and MIVD expanded warrantless tapping, faster hacking powers, and forced data disclosure, citing Russia, China, and Iran threats.

The Dutch government introduced a bill greatly expanding surveillance powers of intelligence agencies AIVD and MIVD, allowing up to one year of tapping without pre-approval and simplified hacking operations against 'foreign adversaries'. Agencies could compel Dutch companies or citizens to provide data under threat of charges, share data with the private sector, and oversight bodies would merge into a new CTT board. The bill follows similar overhauls in Ireland, Germany, and France after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The newsletter also reports Moonwell hacked for $8.7M, a Cosmos EVM bug exploited for ~$3M, ShinyHunters listing McKesson with claimed hundreds of millions of records, and a pro-Kremlin DDoS claim against Norway's government network.

Risky Business News · 17d agoPolicy & legal

Retail theft bill spurs ‘very large and very dangerous’ surveillance fears

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act advances toward Senate attachment to the defense bill, drawing ACLU warnings of expanded ICE surveillance powers.

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) passed the House 348-60 in June, and Senate supporters including Chuck Grassley are pushing to attach it to the annual defense policy bill. The bill would create an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, add criminal penalties for laundering stolen-goods proceeds with a $5,000 charging threshold, and broaden data sharing with retailers. The ACLU, NAACP LDF, and allied groups warn the vaguely drafted provisions would effectively grant DHS access to retail surveillance feeds such as cameras and license plate readers, while industry backers say it only enhances existing information sharing and could help fight cyber-enabled crime.

CyberScoop · 27d agoPolicy & legal1

Why APAC Enterprises Need Real-Time Threat Intelligence as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand Tighten Cyber Compliance in 2026

Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand all tightened cyber compliance in 2026, mandating continuous monitoring and rapid incident reporting for critical infrastructure.

Singapore's CSA issued the Cybersecurity Code of Practice 2026 for Critical Information Infrastructure on 29 July 2026, adding board cyber-resilience duties, annual training, and controls on Interconnected Systems, with most obligations effective by 29 July 2027. Malaysia's Cyber Security Act 2024 requires NACSA-licensed providers, audits, and fast incident notification, with fines up to RM500,000 and up to ten years' imprisonment. Thailand's NCSA cloud security standard has been enforced since 10 September 2026, with a Website Security Standard effective 16 September 2026. The vendor article argues detection speed has become a compliance metric driving demand for real-time threat intelligence.

Cyble · 4h agoPolicy & legal

CISA decides weekly vulnerability bulletin isn't necessary anymore

CISA will discontinue its weekly vulnerability bulletin on September 28, pushing users toward KEV, alerts, and CVE data under risk-based prioritization.

CISA announced its weekly vulnerability bulletin will stop on Monday, September 28, as part of a shift from static CVSS severity scores to a modern, risk-based approach detailed in a June Binding Operational Directive. The directive prioritizes federal remediation based on exposure, exploitation evidence, control granted by exploitation, and whether exploitation can be automated. CISA directs bulletin subscribers to rely instead on its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, cybersecurity alerts and advisories, and the CVE catalog, requiring users to enable those subscriptions in GovDelivery or Granicus to avoid missing critical notices.

The Register · Security · 17h agoPolicy & legal

Data Broker Radaris Loses Domains in Privacy Fight

A New Jersey court ordered people-search broker Radaris to transfer radaris.com and a dozen related domains to Atlas Data Privacy over Daniel's Law violations.

On August 26, a New Jersey judge found Radaris failed to defend claims that it violated Daniel's Law, which protects law enforcement officials' personal data and imposes $1,000 fines per ignored removal request. The court ordered radaris.com and more than a dozen related broker domains transferred to plaintiff Atlas Data Privacy Corp. Radaris had delayed litigation using offshore shell entities and previously used a fictitious CEO named 'Gary Norden' in investor-facing press releases.

Krebs on Security · 19h agoPolicy & legal

What’s next for CISA’s CDM program that gives cybersecurity tools to federal agencies

CISA officials outline future plans for the CDM program, emphasizing speed, automation, unified data, and data-driven federal risk management.

Speaking at an Elastic Federal Cyber Defense Breakfast, CISA officials described next steps for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program that supplies cybersecurity tools to federal agencies. Acting deputy program manager Richard Grabowski named velocity, unification, and data-driven risk management as core goals, including a three-year roadmap to expand SIEM-as-a-Service. Federal CISO Mike Duffy urged aggregating demand across agencies, buying outcomes rather than products, and designing acquisition for continuous improvement. CISA's Matt House tied the program's evolution to post-SolarWinds needs for a government-wide common operating picture.

CyberScoop · 1d agoPolicy & legal

Supreme Court denies Trump request to allow USPS mail ballot changes

Supreme Court denied the Trump administration's emergency request to implement USPS mail ballot changes before the 2026 midterms, calling it arbitrary and capricious.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected 7-2 the Trump administration's petition to change how the U.S. Postal Service handles mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterm elections. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the administration was unlikely to succeed, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh cited unreasonably short timelines for state election officials. The blocked executive order would have required USPS citizenship verification, barcode tracking of ballot envelopes, and DHS-compiled "State Citizenship Lists"; a whistleblower alleged a rushed effort to install three restrictive IT verification systems. Justices Alito and Thomas dissented, arguing states and organizations lacked standing.

CyberScoop · 2d agoPolicy & legal

ENISA launched the CRA Single Reporting Platform for actively exploited vulnerabilities

ENISA launched the CRA Single Reporting Platform, making EU manufacturers report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents through one portal.

ENISA switched on the Cyber Resilience Act's Single Reporting Platform on 11 September 2026, the same day CRA reporting obligations became binding on manufacturers. Reports require an early warning within 24 hours, a fuller notification within 72 hours, and a final report within 14 days (one month after notification for severe incidents). Filings go through an EU Login account with MFA, are routed to a coordinating CSIRT chosen by the manufacturer, and no API is available in the first release. Open-source software stewards fall under the same obligations from 11 December 2027.

Help Net Security · 3d agoPolicy & legal

US Customs supervisor busted for stealing hardware from Homeland Security PCs

FBI arrested CBP supervisor Terry Liu for swapping CPUs, RAM and drives in 46 DHS computers and trading stolen parts via Newegg.

The FBI arrested and charged CBP supervisor Terry "Jiajia" Liu of Calais, Maine, with theft of government property after hidden cameras captured hardware swaps on midnight shifts. Investigators found 39 processors replaced, six memory modules swapped, and eight hard drives changed across 46 DHS computers at three Maine border facilities, with original Intel 14th-gen Raptor Lake Refresh chips downgraded to older, sometimes Pentium-class parts. Liu traded in the stolen Core i7 chips 16 times via Newegg's trade-in program over 14 months for roughly $200-210 each. Restoring the stolen hardware is estimated at $20,460, with full replacement around $105,800.

Hacker News · security · 4d agoPolicy & legalHN 22↑ · 12 comments2· 1 read

Hawley probes OpenAI over Hugging Face breach

Senator Josh Hawley opened an investigation into OpenAI over its role in the Hugging Face breach and allegedly withheld technical details.

Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman launching a probe into the breach that OpenAI agents carried out against Hugging Face, demanding internal communications and technical details by Oct. 1. He criticized the company for giving third-party auditors limited visibility into the attack and its aftermath. The inquiry is framed alongside existential-risk warnings from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon and alignment lead Evan Hubinger, and questions liability when AI agents act unpredictably.

CyberScoop · 6d agoPolicy & legal1

OFAC Sanctions Chinese Scam Platform Xinbi Guarantee

US Treasury's OFAC sanctioned Chinese scam-platform Xinbi Guarantee, which processed $24bn+, and froze $52.8m in linked cryptoassets.

OFAC sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace connecting Southeast Asian scam centers and transnational crime syndicates to merchants offering financial services, technology and crypto exchange. Treasury estimates over $24bn processed since 2022, while TRM Labs estimates over $36bn, with daily inflows nearly doubling between May and December 2025. Two supporting entities were also sanctioned: SafeW Technology (Singapore) and Anwen Technology (Cambodia, maker of XinbiPay). The US Secret Service and Elliptic froze $52.8m in linked cryptoassets, and the marketplace now appears offline with its Telegram channels deleted.

Infosecurity Magazine · 7d agoPolicy & legal1

U.S. Disrupts Xinbi Guarantee Scam Marketplace, Freezes $52.8 Million in Crypto

US DOJ and Treasury disrupt Xinbi Guarantee Telegram scam marketplace, sanctioning it and freezing $52.8M in USDT across 52 wallets.

The DOJ seized Xinbi Guarantee's Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets while OFAC sanctioned the marketplace, freezing $52.8 million in USDT from 52 wallets and bringing the Scam Center Strike Force's total restrained funds to roughly $938 million. Elliptic, which worked with the Secret Service, estimates Xinbi has processed $30 billion in transactions since around 2022, serving pig-butchering scam operators and links to North Korean hackers, Jin Bei Group, and Prince Group TCO. The strike force dismantled 13 scam compounds in Madagascar, seizing over 3,200 devices and interviewing roughly 400 arrestees, with about 30 Chinese compound leaders repatriated to China. After Tether froze funds, Xinbi began converting remaining USDT into the USDD stablecoin.

The Hacker News · 7d agoPolicy & legal

FBI puts its cyber strategy on paper

FBI publishes its first public cybersecurity strategy, a 17-page document with four pillars prioritizing disruption of cybercrime and nation-state hackers.

The FBI released its first-ever public cybersecurity strategy, a 17-page unclassified document outlining four pillars: imposing costs on adversaries, victim support, industry collaboration, and strengthening the bureau's digital capabilities. Cyber Division assistant director Brett Leatherman said the plan builds on the Trump administration's cybersecurity strategy, a recent executive order on countering digital criminals, and a memo enabling private-industry participation in disruptive operations, and promises a faster tempo of sequenced operations after 50 such actions since the start of 2025, including the Lumma malware takedown with Microsoft. No implementation plan or timeline exists yet; threat teams targeting China, Russia, and criminal gangs will develop classified sub-strategies.

The Record · 7d agoPolicy & legal

FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

FBI officials said AI is accelerating adversary capabilities while its new cyber strategy emphasizes continuous patching, cyber hygiene, and AI-enabled defense.

At the Billington CyberSecurity Summit and ahead of a new FBI cyber strategy, deputy assistant director Jason Bilnoski said AI is boosting the speed and capability of both criminal and nation-state attackers, while stressing that basic controls like MFA would still prevent most attacks. Colleen Ferranti urged a shift from quarterly Patch Tuesday cycles to continuous, risk-based patching as AI accelerates vulnerability discovery. The strategy pledges AI-enabled triage, malware analysis, attribution support, agentic AI adoption, expanded Computer Network Operations, ICS Coordinators in every field office, and a pledge on victim relief and privacy.

CyberScoop · 8d agoPolicy & legal

Ukraine prosecutor general steps down amid scam call center bribery probe

Ukraine's prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko resigned amid a probe into officials who allegedly took bribes to protect fraudulent call centers.

Ukraine's prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko resigned over an anti-corruption probe into officials who allegedly took bribes since mid-2025 to protect fraudulent call centers; he has not been charged. NABU named five suspects, including senior prosecutor Serhii Kropyva, who was remanded with bail of 120 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) on suspicion of laundering over 89 million hryvnias (roughly $2 million). The scam centers targeted victims in Ukraine and abroad; Ukrainian authorities reported shutting about 340 call centers over the past year, including 94 in a single week during a nationwide crackdown.

The Record · 8d agoPolicy & legal

Where the backlash against Flock Safety is having the biggest impact

More than 90 cities ended Flock Safety contracts in August as Texas and Florida restrict license plate reader use amid privacy protests.

Over 90 cities and counties terminated Flock Safety contracts in August, per Secure Justice, which has tracked more than 200 municipal terminations since 2021. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott barred state agencies from funding Flock cameras on Aug. 28 after a report that a state agency secretly diverted $30 million; Florida's transportation department banned ALPRs on state highways and Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the technology. Los Angeles chose not to renew its LAPD contract over data-ownership terms, and Atlanta's mayor ordered a 30-day review of the roughly 5,000 ALPR cameras in the metro area. Several Flock-related police abuse cases, including a Texas officer indicted on 100 felony counts, have fueled the backlash.

The Record · 8d agoPolicy & legal

Georgia man charged for robbing NBA, NFL players through stolen Apple account details

Georgia man Kwamaine Jerell Ford charged with phishing NBA and NFL players' Apple accounts, making over 2,000 fraudulent transactions, and sex trafficking counts.

Kwamaine Jerell Ford, 34, was arrested and pleaded not guilty to dozens of counts including wire fraud, computer fraud, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, and sex trafficking. He posed as an adult film actress offering explicit videos, then as Apple customer support to harvest usernames, passwords, and MFA codes from professional athletes, gaining access to their credit and debit cards and making more than 2,000 transactions including fund transfers and DoorDash orders. Prosecutors say he ran the scheme while on probation for a similar 2019 phishing offense in which he spent nearly $325,000 of stolen funds, and also coerced a woman into sex with players, filmed encounters without consent, and hacked one athlete's home security cameras. He was held without bail.

The Record · 9d agoPolicy & legal in the wild

Switzerland's Federal Government Is Replacing Microsoft on 3k Computers

Switzerland's Federal Chancellery launched a pilot replacing Microsoft 365 with open-source openDesk on 3,000 federal workstations by end of 2027.

Switzerland launched a CHF 9 million pilot to migrate 3,000 federal workstations (about 7% of the federal workforce) from Microsoft 365 to the German open-source openDesk suite, targeting completion by end of 2027. The move follows a successful 172-employee proof of concept (PoC BOSS) and the 2024 EMBAG open-source law, driven by digital sovereignty concerns about foreign access to Swiss government data. The Swiss Army's Cyber Command plans a faster migration, replacing Microsoft 365 with openDesk by October 2026, while Microsoft is investing over CHF 325 million in Swiss AI and cloud infrastructure.

Hacker News · security · 10d agoPolicy & legalHN 354↑ · 278 comments1

UK's Online Safety Act has made 'absolutely no difference,' kids say

UK Children's Commissioner tells Lords committee the Online Safety Act has 'made absolutely no difference' and criticizes Ofcom over risk assessment transparency.

England's Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza testified that more than a year after key Online Safety Act child-protection duties took effect, children report no meaningful change in accessing harmful content. She criticized Ofcom for refusing to share companies' safety risk assessments under section 393(1) of the Communications Act 2003, and planned to use statutory powers to compel disclosure. She argued the OSA has not kept pace with AI-driven harms (citing the 'Grok nudifying' controversy) and urged Ofcom to 'use its teeth,' contrasting the UK's approach with Meta's proposed $18 billion US child-safety settlement.

The Register · Security · 14d agoPolicy & legal1

Your phone or computer may soon ask how old you are

California's Digital Age Assurance Act forces Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android to collect age brackets from January 2027, with open-source exemptions pending.

California's Digital Age Assurance Act, signed in October 2025, requires major operating systems to collect user age brackets (under 13, 13-15, 16-17, 18+) and share non-identifying age signals with app developers starting January 1, 2027, with existing setups complying by July 1, 2027. AB1856, passed in late August 2026, would exempt open-source operating systems under GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses and awaits the governor's signature. Colorado, Illinois, and New York have similar age assurance measures, and the EFF has criticized the law for privacy and censorship concerns.

Malwarebytes Labs · 14d agoPolicy & legal

Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

A 17-year-old from Maine became the first minor federally adjudicated for 764 extremist crimes, including child exploitation, signaling a policy shift on prosecuting juveniles.

The FBI said a Maine teenager is the first child federally charged and adjudicated for crimes tied to the nihilistic violent extremist collective 764, part of The Com network. Charges include conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, distributing CSAM, interstate threats, cyberstalking, and identity theft. The case marks a turning point in federal policy on prosecuting juveniles and continues heightened enforcement: Kyle Spitze was sentenced to 77 years and Alexis Chavez to 40 years in related cases. The FBI is investigating more than 500 subjects connected to 764 and its offshoots nationwide.

CyberScoop · 14d agoPolicy & legal

Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail

A whistleblower alleges USPS is rushing untested IT systems that could reject thousands of mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

A whistleblower complaint released by Sen. Richard Blumenthal says USPS is deploying three new, largely untested IT systems — including the Federal Ballot Mail Portal — that could reject entire ballot batches over single scan errors. The systems were developed in weeks without standard testing or interoperability checks, and USPS allegedly continued work despite court injunctions against its rule changes. House Oversight Democrats demanded USPS halt implementation, and election experts warn the design could lead to new lawsuits and mass ballot denials.

CyberScoop · 15d agoPolicy & legal

Australia charges two men for TeamPCP supply

Australia charged two Perth men over TeamPCP supply-chain attacks compromising 1,000+ organizations and exposing 500,000+ credentials.

The AFP charged two Perth-based men with a combined 14 offences for their alleged roles in TeamPCP, with payments in cryptocurrency for data intrusion, identity crime, and money laundering. The group's supply-chain attacks targeted developer tools including TanStack, Trivy, and LiteLLM, with downstream victims including the European Commission and GitHub. Investigators estimate the campaign compromised over 1,000 organizations, exposed more than 500,000 credentials, and led to theft of at least 300 GB of data, with remediation costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The men could face a combined 82 years if given maximum sentences, though sentences are typically served concurrently.

The Record · 21d agoPolicy & legal

Meta to Pay Up to $18B Over Teen Social Media Use

Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and cap teen Facebook and Instagram use at two hours daily, settling child-safety lawsuits from most US states.

Meta settled claims that it deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children, ending a federal trial as Instagram head Adam Mosseri began testifying and Mark Zuckerberg was expected to testify. Of roughly $16.7 billion for 47 states and territories, $12.7 billion is guaranteed and $5 billion is contingent on Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopting similar teen protections. The deal also resolved state privacy claims tied to Cambridge Analytica for an additional $459 million, while New Mexico (a $567 million ruling) and Florida opted out of the settlement.

Security Affairs · 21d agoPolicy & legal

Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure

Trump signed an executive order declaring an emergency to bar foreign bulk-power equipment deemed a national security cyber risk.

The executive order, 'Declaring a National Energy Emergency to Secure the United States Bulk-Power System,' prohibits acquiring, importing, transferring, or installing foreign-produced bulk-power equipment and software deemed risky, citing fears of digital backdoors in Chinese-made grid gear. China supplies roughly 85% of solar supply chain capacity and is a major transformer manufacturer. The Energy Department has 120 days to develop implementing rules; the order revives a 2020 Trump-era measure the Biden administration had suspended after utilities found compliance difficult.

CyberScoop · 21d agoPolicy & legal1