Backdoor Account Discovered in More Than 100,000 Zyxel Firewalls, VPN Gateways

More than 100,000 Zyxel firewalls, VPN gateways, and access point controllers contain a hardcoded admin-level backdoor account that can grant attackers root access to devices via either the SSH interface or the web administration panel. From a report: The backdoor account, discovered by a team of Dutch security researchers from Eye Control, is considered as bad as it gets in terms…

Google Sued by States for Abuse of Search-Market Dominance

A bipartisan coalition of states sued Alphabet’s Google Thursday alleging broad antitrust violations in the online search market, marking the third U.S. case against the search giant in two months. From a report: The lawsuit, led by Colorado, Iowa and other states, marks the latest escalation of the antitrust battle against Google. It comes a day after 10 Republican state attorneys…

Big Tech Firms To Face 6% Fines If Breach New EU Content Rules

Big tech firms such as Google and Facebook will face fines of up to 6% of turnover if they do not do more to tackle illegal content and reveal more about advertising on their platforms under draft European Union rules. Reuters reports: The EU’s tough line, which is due to be announced next week, comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny worldwide of…

Facebook Hit With Antitrust Probe For Tying Oculus Use To Facebook Accounts

Facebook is being investigated in Germany for linking usage of its Oculus VR headset to having a Facebook account. TechCrunch reports: Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (aka, the Bundeskartellamt) said today that it’s instigated abuse proceedings against Facebook to examine the linkage between Oculus VR products and its eponymous social network. In a statement, its president, Andreas Mundt, said: “In the future,…

MasterCard, VISA To Stop Processing Payments On Pornhub

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Mastercard Inc said on Thursday it was ending the use of its cards on Pornhub after its investigation confirmed the presence of unlawful content on the sex videos site. Pornhub said on Tuesday it had banned video downloads and was allowing only certain partner accounts to upload content after a New York Times…

Pornhub Might Lose Visa and Mastercard After NYT Exposé

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Last week, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof detailed the easily-searchable horrors uploaded in plain view onto Pornhub, arguing that the site goes unpunished for profiting from child sex abuse material (CSAM), sexual assault, and nonconsensual pornography (sometimes called “revenge porn.”) Now, Visa and Mastercard claim that they’re reassessing their relationship with the…

The Supreme Court Will Hear Its First Big CFAA Case

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in a case that could lead to sweeping changes to America’s controversial computer hacking laws — and affecting how millions use their computers and access online services. From a report: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was signed into federal law in 1986 and predates the modern internet as we know it, but…

The Few, the Tired, the Open Source Coders

Reader shanen shares a report (and offers this commentary): When the open source concept emerged in the ’90s, it was conceived as a bold new form of communal labor: digital barn raisings. If you made your code open source, dozens or even hundreds of programmers would chip in to improve it. Many hands would make light work. Everyone would feel ownership….

Facebook Moderators Say Company Is Asking Them To ‘Risk Our Lives’

In an open letter published Wednesday, a group of Facebook moderators say the company is putting them and their families at risk by asking them to go back to work in the midst of the pandemic. Engadget reports: The content reviewers say that while workers with a doctor’s note can be excused from going to the office, those with high risk…

Twitter Launches Disappearing ‘Fleets’ Worldwide

Twitter said on Tuesday it was globally launching tweets that disappear after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature that is popular on Snapchat and Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram. Reuters reports: Twitter has previously announced its plan for these ephemeral tweets, dubbed “fleets,” and tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea. “Some of you tell us that Tweeting…