March 28, 2024

Tor updates, fake WhatsApp and other cybersecurity developments

Tor updates, fake WhatsApp and other cybersecurity developments

We have collected the most important news from the world of cybersecurity for the week.

  • Tor introduced updates forbrowsers focused on bypassing blocking and improving security.
  • Twitter experienced a global outage due to «problems with internal systems».
  • The head of WhatsApp warned about applications masquerading as a messenger and stealing user data.

Tor Browser Updates Help Bypass Blocks

The Tor Project team has released Tor Browser 11.5 with updates to help bypass censorship.

Among the innovations — Connection functionAssist, which allows you to automatically bypass access restrictions to the Tor network, taking into account the peculiarities of blocking in various jurisdictions. The developers have also simplified and expanded the network connection settings section if the user wants to do this manually.

In addition, HTTPS-Only mode is now enabled by default. The HTTPS-Everywhere add-on was left only in the Android version.

Read about what the Tor browser is, why it is needed and how to use it, in the ForkLog cards.

UK delays controversial internet safety bill

In the UK, a vote on a bill on Internet security, which causes much controversy among human rights activists, has been postponed.

The document obliges large technologicalplatforms to tighten content regulation to combat illegal, potentially harmful and offensive material. In case of non-compliance with the requirements, they face a fine of up to 10% of the annual turnover.

Many companies, including Google, Meta and Twitter, as well as human rights activists, have expressed concerns that the bill threatens freedom of speech and end-to-end encryption.

Is end-to-end encryption at risk? How and why governments demand access to our communications


New malware spread on Google Play

Cybersecurity experts at Evina have discovered a new Android malware in the Google Play Store that secretly signs users up for paid services.

The malware called Autolycos was identified asin at least eight Android apps, two of which were made available on Google Play through analyst publications. Infected applications have been installed more than three million times.

Twitter has had a massive outage

On July 14, users around the world began to complain about the inability to access Twitter.

Later, the company explained the failure as “problems with internal systems.”

WhatsApp warned about fake versions of the messenger stealing user data

The head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, said that the team of the messenger discovered hidden malware in the Hey WhatsApp application and others that allegedly offer advanced functionality.

In fact, these applications are aimed at stealing data from victims' phones. Cathcart said that the company is working with Google Play to identify such fake messengers.

Also on ForkLog:

  • The hacker withdrew about $1.5 million from the Omni protocol.
  • The attackers attacked Uniswap liquidity providers through a fake airdrop.
  • Yam Finance repelled the attack for $3.1 million. 
  • In the second quarter, crypto projects lost more than $670 million from hacks, Immunefi calculated.

What to read on the weekend?

We tell you why Telegram is not the best service in terms of protecting privacy, and what alternatives there are.

How to protect the privacy of correspondence: TOP 5 private messengers


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