Smart search ranks by meaning as well as keywords (one row per story, last 45 days).
Former AT&T store worker Kenneth Carter sentenced to 16 months for SIM-swapping customers for cybercriminals.
Kenneth Carter, 44, a former AT&T retail employee in Portland, Oregon, used his internal system access to perform SIM swaps on customers' phone numbers for cybercriminals. The swaps allowed criminals to intercept authentication codes and raid victims' bank accounts. Carter was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.
Researchers present CrossLink, a passive tracing algorithm linking temporary device identifiers across LTE, WiFi, and BLE, reconstructing full traces for 83% of simulated users.
Smartphones emit temporary identifiers simultaneously over LTE, WiFi, and BLE, and per-protocol randomization defenses implicitly assume their protections compose across protocols. CrossLink is an uncertainty-aware tracing algorithm that stitches device identifiers across time, space, and protocols even when the adversary is fully passive and rotations are unsynchronized. In large-scale mobility simulation it reconstructs full traces for 83% of users versus 22% for the best single-protocol baseline. It remains effective under partial sniffer coverage, including strategically placed sniffers near LTE handover regions, mobile sniffers, and limited high-coverage subregions.
Researchers demonstrated a zero-click WeChat worm that hijacked accounts via incoming calls; Tencent blocked the exploit server-side after July disclosure, no real attacks reported.
Security firm Calif built a worm that seized WeChat accounts via incoming calls without any target interaction, demonstrating it spreading across three test phones (Android to iPhone to Android). Once exploited, the attacker gains full control of the WeChat account, including messages, calls, payments, and mini programs, though not the phone itself. Tencent mitigated the flaw server-side, confirmed blocked on 28 August, shipping WeChat 8.0.77 for Android and 8.0.76 for iOS on 21 August. No CVE has been assigned, Tencent published no advisory, and no attacks in the wild have been reported; WeChat/Weixin counts 1.439 billion monthly active users.
US DoD disabled ad tracking on troops' devices after foreign adversaries targeted service members using commercially bought location data.
Per letters shared with Senator Ron Wyden, the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command disabled advertising IDs on iPhones, Android devices, and Windows computers across the federal military enterprise. The protections rolled out earlier in 2026, with the Air Force implementing changes in July, to prevent adversaries from exploiting app-derived location data sold through data brokers. Wyden warned that personal devices brought onto military bases could still expose troops and facilities, and noted the intelligence community and FBI buy such data without warrants.
Ars Technica probes diffuse accountability behind TeraWulf's $3.2B Lake Mariner AI data center after a June fire exposed safety and job gaps.
A June fire at the Lake Mariner data center in Somerset, New York exposed missing alarms, a nonfunctioning suppression system, and dry hydrants, highlighting how responsibility is split across TeraWulf (owner-operator), Fluidstack (operator), Google (lease guarantees and equity warrants), and Anthropic (compute customer). The article details local concerns over the gap between promised 165 permanent jobs and a projected 35-40, socialized grid costs, and Governor Hochul's moratorium on hyperscaler development. Anthropic's February 2026 pledge to cover electricity price increases applies to the site but leaves other commitments unverified.
Researchers show attackers can remotely block strangers' phones and alarm gateways on US cellular networks by abusing lost/stolen IMEI reporting for $2.50-$4 per device.
Researchers from Michigan State University and three partner schools found six weaknesses in the lost/stolen device reporting ecosystem spanning devices, carrier systems, and cross-carrier block-list sharing. They demonstrated blocking unopened Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 phones and home alarm gateways on three major US carriers, with each block costing $2.50-$4 and taking roughly 20-80 seconds. The attacks exploit thin identity and ownership checks in prepaid accounts, IMEI leakage from vulnerable cellular chipsets used by two vendors with over 40% global market share, and pre-release IMEI databases purchasable for $600. Victims receive no notification, and restoring service requires proving device ownership to the carrier.
TVO opinion analysis argues the 'Lake America' dynamic shows foreign organizations can no longer trust US tech companies.
An opinion analysis argues that US tech companies can no longer be trusted by foreign customers, coining the framing 'Lake America'. The piece reflects growing concerns around data sovereignty and dependence on US cloud and software providers. No specific incident, breach, or vulnerability is described.
CISA, FBI, and international partners issued guidance on crisis communications for service providers during IT and OT outages, emphasizing clarity, transparency, and backup channels.
CISA, the FBI, and international partners published guidance on planning and executing clear, timely, audience-appropriate communications during IT and OT service outages, whether caused by cyber threat actors, human error, or natural hazards. The guidance stresses clarity, accountability, and transparency, and warns that outages at one organization can cascade across interconnected systems. It recommends critical infrastructure owners assume telecommunications may be unreliable and integrate backup communication methods into crisis plans, and points to CISA's CI Fortify initiative for OT isolation and recovery resources.
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.
Manufacturer-built backdoor implants were found in ZBT white-label routers sold worldwide, exposing affected devices to potential unauthorized access.
An untold number of ZBT routers distributed globally as white-label products contain multiple backdoor implants built into the devices by the manufacturer. The implants are pre-installed through the hardware and firmware supply chain rather than injected by attackers after deployment. The scale of affected deployments and whether the implants have been actively abused have not been disclosed.
Unit 42 analyzes multilayer IoT supply chain risks across hardware, firmware, and software, citing counterfeit Cisco switches and OpenWrt attacks.
Unit 42 examines weaknesses in the IoT supply chain ecosystem across hardware, firmware, operation, and vulnerability layers, noting that 89% of IT decision-makers reported IoT device growth and IDC forecast 41.6 billion connected IoT devices by 2025. Examples include counterfeit Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switches with possible backdoor access (F-Secure, July 2020), a March 2020 OpenWrt flaw enabling malicious update impersonation, and threat actor interest in TeamViewer remote support software. The report stresses that untracked third-party components and missing device inventories make it hard to assess vulnerability impact across vendors.