All news with #news tag

🔎 Microsoft reported that some users experienced search failures across Microsoft 365 services including Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive. An internal incident (MO1456424) traced the problem to a recent deployment that caused resource utilization inefficiencies on affected infrastructure. Microsoft said it developed and deployed a fix to reduce resource pressure and restore service for impacted users. The company has not disclosed which regions were affected but categorized the event as an incident.

🔒 SafePal disclosed an authorization flaw in an order-tracking plug-in that exposed names, emails, shipping addresses, phone numbers, and purchase details for about 39,798 customers. The company said no wallet credentials or payment card data were included and that affected customers were notified on August 16. SafePal fixed the flaw, reduced retention, purged affected records from active servers, and engaged an independent firm to validate fixes and review systems.

⚠️ GitHub confirmed a widespread outage on August 17, 2026, reporting elevated error rates across the website, API, Actions, Pull Requests, and related services. The company observed ~20% error rates for web and API traffic, and roughly 50% errors for archive and raw repository downloads. Authentication services such as SAML and OIDC, plus SCIM and Team Sync, are affected, and GitHub Actions and Copilot reported degraded availability. The incident is under investigation and the root cause has not been disclosed.

🌑 Cloudflare Radar analyzed HTTP request volumes during the August 12 total solar eclipse that crossed Iceland, northern Spain and Portugal, comparing five-minute slices to a same-weekday baseline. The data show pronounced traffic declines aligned with maximum obscuration, with regions along the path of totality dropping roughly 15–30% and rebounds occurring within minutes. Variations reflect local factors like time of day, cloud cover, and population distribution, while calculations used precise geometric obscuration of the sun and moon.

📘 A New York Times journalist discovered an AI-written biography of herself on Amazon, sparking an investigation into prolific AI authors on Kindle Direct Publishing. The story uncovered retired cybersecurity consultant Bill Johns, who used ChatGPT to produce hundreds of books across diverse topics and sold modest numbers via Amazon’s print-on-demand model. The piece highlights economic incentives behind mass-produced AI books and urges readers to prefer trusted, human-vetted sources for critical information.

📝 The White House issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum directing the National Coordination Center to establish a program allowing vetted private security firms to apply for authorization to conduct cyber operations against foreign transnational criminal organizations. The program, overseen by executive directors from the Justice and Homeland Security departments, requires companies to post a $1 million bond, adhere to strict legal and constitutional safeguards, and immediately halt activities that exceed approved limits, such as accidentally targeting U.S. systems or citizens. It targets disruption of ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, sextortion, and impersonation schemes and aims to leverage private sector capabilities under government control.

🔒 The White House has approved a memorandum allowing federal law enforcement to collaborate with private companies on limited offensive cyber operations against foreign actors targeting the US. The National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) signed on August 12 builds on earlier executive actions and tasks the Homeland Security Task Force’s National Coordination Center to oversee the program. Rigorous procedures and legal safeguards are promised, while experts warn about attribution difficulties and escalation risks.

🛡️ A presidential memorandum directs the National Coordination Center to establish a program allowing vetted US companies to conduct government-supervised cyber surveillance and cyber effects operations against foreign groups targeting US interests. Participating firms must contract with the DOJ or DHS, undergo vetting, and obtain written approval for each operation, with officials given 60 days to set procedures. The plan raises concerns about collateral damage, attribution errors, corporate liability, and privacy implications for threat intelligence sharing.

🔒 July 2026 saw a marked uptick in cyber incidents, with weekly attacks averaging 2,336 per organization and ransomware victims rising sharply. Education, Latin America, and Business Services were among the most affected, while GenAI use exposed sensitive data through risky prompts. Email remained a primary entry point as organizations confront multi-vector threats and growing operational exposure.

🔔 Valve is informing Steam hardware customers in Europe that a breach at shipping partner CEVA Logistics exposed delivery-related data. The company says attackers accessed CEVA systems between July 29 and August 1, 2026, and likely obtained names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and order details. Valve clarified that payment, passwords, and Steam Guard codes were not exposed and warned customers to watch for phishing attempts using the stolen information.

🛠️ Anthropic confirmed elevated errors across multiple AI models after users encountered a “529 Overloaded” message causing requests to fail. The company began investigating at 7:49 p.m. UTC on July 29 and by 8:33 p.m. UTC had identified the issue but did not disclose the cause or recovery timeline. The error indicates servers are struggling with request volume, and Anthropic is working on a fix while the outage affects Claude and reliant tools.

📷 Municipalities are replacing some Flock license-plate reader arrays with Axon cameras, but the swap may offer little privacy benefit. Vendors claim differences, yet Axon systems still collect extensive personal data beyond plate numbers. Switching brands can be superficial if surveillance capabilities and data use remain similar. The article argues that changing suppliers doesn't necessarily reduce citizen privacy loss.

🚨Made by Israeli surveillance company Cognyte, the device simulates a mobile phone tower, forcing nearby phones to connect and allowing law enforcement to monitor all devices in the area. The system, called FalcoNet, can be hidden inside vehicles, carried in a backpack for foot operations, or mounted on helicopters. Cognyte’s contract with Texas reveals its deployment options and links the technology to earlier cell-site simulators like the Stingray made by L3Harris.

🔴 OpenAI has confirmed a widespread ChatGPT outage that began around 5 AM ET, preventing users worldwide from loading chats or accessing previous conversations. Affected users report the interface getting stuck on loading animations and an inability to interact with the AI. OpenAI acknowledged the issue on its status page and stated it is investigating. The situation is ongoing and being monitored.

🔎 Europol coordinated multi-week Referral Action Days in June–July 2026, identifying 4,340 URLs tied to "The Com," a diffuse network of nihilistic violent extremist groups. Investigators from nine EU countries participated to disrupt online propaganda and generate investigative leads, focusing on content that includes violent imagery, self-harm encouragement, and child sexual abuse material. The operation, run by the EU IRU and Spain's CITCO, supports the European Commission's ProtectEU agenda and builds on earlier Project Compass efforts.

🔒 The U.S. Justice Department seized more than 1,000 websites and blocked 1,970 domains used to stream FIFA World Cup 2026 matches without authorization. Law enforcement worked with partners including FIFA, the Motion Picture Association's ACE, beIN, NBCUniversal, UFC, and Warner Bros. These actions, led by the IPR Center and HSI Washington, are part of Operation Offsides and related efforts such as Operation Red Card.

🔒 At Black Hat USA 2026, Microsoft Security highlights how threat actors exploit trusted systems—software, developer workflows, identities, and AI—to scale attacks. Sessions and briefings across August 4–6 focus on supply chain compromises, AI security, and practical defense strategies. Visit booth #2144 for demonstrations, expert-led services, and community events including a reception on August 5.

📰 Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2022 will reach the end of mainstream support on October 13, 2026, and will transition to extended support with security updates through October 14, 2031. Customers are advised to plan upgrades to Windows Server 2025, the latest LTSC release available since November 2024. Microsoft also extended hotpatching for Datacenter: Azure Edition until October 2027 and highlighted lifecycle resources for planning migrations.

🗓️ This page lists Bruce Schneier's scheduled speaking engagements for mid to late 2026, including virtual and in-person appearances. Events include the Policy-Relevant Privacy Research Workshop (Calgary) on July 20, the Boston Leadership Exchange on July 22, and several conferences in Las Vegas, Anaheim, and Vancouver with dates in August through October. Specific talk times for several events are noted as TBD and the list is maintained on this page.

🛡️ Lidl has alerted customers in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after personal data was stolen from a third‑party IT provider. The retailer said the online shop itself was not affected but a separately stored file containing names, phone numbers, emails, birth dates and customer numbers was accessed. Lidl stated passwords, payment details and delivery addresses are not impacted and urged vigilance against phishing. Forensics experts and authorities have been engaged and customers are advised to verify senders and avoid clicking unknown links.