Laws and regulations

Pierluigi Paganini September 12, 2017
Spain – Facebook slapped with €1.2M fine for violating data protection regulations

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has issued a €1.2 Million fine against Facebook for violating data protection regulations. Other privacy problems for the tech giant Facebook, the company has been fined for a series of privacy violations in Spain. The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has issued a €1.2 Million fine against Facebook for violating data protection regulations. According […]

Pierluigi Paganini September 04, 2017
Chinese cyber security law will allow China to use zero-day knowledge for its intelligence

According to the Chinese Cyber Security law, the information obtained by the CNNVD could be used in intelligence operations. The new Chinese cyber security law will allow the Government to analyze the source code and any intellectual property of foreign tech companies working in the country. The Chinese cyber security law was focused on the protection of Chinese users’ […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 30, 2017
Apple removed iOS VPN apps from Chinese App Store in compliance to censorship law

In compliance with Chinese Internet monitoring law, Apple has started removing all IOS VPN apps from it App Store in China. The company complies with a request from the Chinese Government that wants to strict censorship making it harder for netizens to bypass the Great Firewall system (aka Golden Shield project). The Golden Shield project […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 24, 2017
The UK continues to grant the export of surveillance equipment to countries like Turkey

According to the UK’s Department for International Trade, the country granted a license to export surveillance equipment to Turkey earlier this year. The UK continues to be one of the most active countries involved in the trade of surveillance technology. British firms continue to export surveillance systems ranging from internet mass surveillance equipment to-catchers. According to the […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 22, 2017
Russia’s Duma has approved the bill to prohibit tools used to surf outlawed websites

Russia is going to tighten controls on web services, on Friday, the parliament voted to prohibit web tools that could be used to surf outlawed websites. Recently Russian authorities threatened to ban to ban Telegram because it refused to comply data protection laws. On Friday, the Russia’s parliament voted to ban web tools that could be used by […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 03, 2017
Telegram agrees to register in Russia, but it will not share private data

Telegram agrees to register with Russia authorities to avoid the local ban, but the battle is still ongoing because it won’t share user data. The Russian Government threatened to ban Telegram because it refused to comply data protection laws. “There is one demand, and it is simple: to fill in a form with information on […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 02, 2017
FBI hacked a US Darknet shopper who tried to purchase Mail Bomb

The FBI hacked the system of a dark web user who tried to purchase a mail bomb from an undercover investigator in the US. According to a plea agreement, filed on April 28, 2017, Clinton Scott Bass of Georgia (US) tried in a first time to purchase a car bomb. The man, who was using […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 27, 2017
Anthem agreed to pay $115m to settle a class-action suit brought on by the 2015 data breach

Anthem, the largest US healthcare insurance company, has agreed to pay $115m to settle a class-action suit brought on by the 2015 data breach. Anthem, the largest US healthcare insurance company, has agreed to pay $115m to settle a class-action suit brought on by the 2015 data breach. The attack on Anthem exposed 78.8 million records and according […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 17, 2017
Hacker pleaded guilty to stealing satellite data from US DoD

The British hacker Sean Caffrey, 25, from Sutton Coldfield pleaded guilty to stealing satellite data from US Department of Defense (DoD). The British hacker Sean Caffrey, 25, from Sutton Coldfield pleaded guilty to stealing user accounts from a U.S. military communications system. According to the NCA, the man admitted in the Birmingham Crown Court to stealing […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 06, 2017
The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act Makes Hacking Back Anything But “Certain”

Is the hack back legal? There is a heated debate about the concept of active defense. What about the Active Cyber Defense Certainty (ACDC) Act? In a time where attribution of cyber crimes is all but impossible, the idea of allowing companies to ‘hack back‘ at their attackers seems far-fetched. However, Tom Graves (R-GA) has […]