law enforcement | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Apple revealed on monday that it received between 4,000 and 5,000 data requests in six months from  U.S. law enforcement for user information and affected accounts. Apple said the most common forms of requests involved investigating robberies and other crimes.  Period between December 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013, federal, state and local law enforcement had requested customer information up to 5,000 times, related to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices. But the iPhone maker said it works vigorously to protect the privacy of its users and only provides information by court order.  " We will continue to work hard to strike the right balance between fulfilling our legal responsibilities and protecting our customers' privacy as they expect and deserve, " statement from Apple. Apple doesn't provide some types of information either because the company doesn't retain it or because it is encrypted , the company said.  Apple also specified certain ...

If you have followed the startling revelations about the scope of the US government's surveillance efforts, you may have thought you were reading about the end of privacy, and about the Enemies of the Internet. " My computer was arrested before I was ." a perceptive comment by an internet activist who had been arrested by means of online surveillance.  Online surveillance is a growing danger for journalists, bloggers, citizen-journalists and human rights defenders. Over the last few years, law enforcement agencies have been pushing for unprecedented powers of surveillance and access to your private online communications. This week the PRISM surveillance scandal has consumed the Internet as the implications of massive scale U.S. Government spying begin to sink in. The US National Security Organization (NSA) is almost certainly one of (if not the) most technologically sophisticated, well-funded and secretive organizations in the world. The Prism initiative was launched ...

The security features built into Apple 's iOS software are so good that the police are unable to gain access to defendant's iPhones when they need to.  Companies like Apple and Google are being asked by law enforcement officials to bypass these protections to aid in investigations. Apple receives so many police demands to decrypt seized iPhones that it has created a waiting list to handle the deluge of requests. In one of the recent cases, according to court documents, the federal agents were baffled by the encrypted iPhone 4S of a man in Kentucky who was charged for supplying crack cocaine. CNET reports that ATF agent Rob Maynard spent three months trying to "locate a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency with the forensic capabilities to unlock" an iPhone 4S. After everyone said that they did not have the capabilities, Maynard turned to Apple. Apple can reportedly bypass the security lock to get access to data on a phone, download it to an ...

The US government is claiming that authorities do not need court warrants to affix GPS devices to vehicles to monitor their every move. t's been more than a year since a Supreme Court decision established that affixing a GPS tracking device to a vehicle constitutes a search under the constitution. The decision, United States vs. Jones , throws out the drug-related conviction of nightclub owner Antoine Jones. The GPS locator was installed the day after the warrant expired and while the vehicle was outside of the department's jurisdiction, and DC police tracked Jones for nearly a month after installation before arresting him. " Requiring a warrant and probable cause before officers may attach a GPS device to a vehicle, which is inherently mobile and may no longer be at the location observed when the warrant is obtained, would seriously impede the government's ability to investigate drug trafficking, terrorism, and other crimes. Law enforcement officers co...

Facebook operator of the largest social network with more than 1 billion members, said on Friday it had been the target of an unidentified hacker group, but that no user information was compromised during the attack. The attack occurred when a handful of the company's employees visited a developer's compromised website, which led to malware being installed on their laptops. ' Last month, Facebook Security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack ,' read the statement , despite the laptops being ' fully-patched and running up-to-date anti-virus software. ' Reports say Facebook knew about the attacks, which likely exploited a zero-day Java software flaw, well before the announcement. " We are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the...

Some 300 internet cafes in Nepal are now under police surveillance following a new government regulation aimed at curbing cyber crimes. According to SSP Rana Bahadur Chand, chief of the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD), cyber cafe users must now present ID cards and register their names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Chand mentioned, "There are around 1,200 cyber cafes in the Kathmandu Valley, and we will gradually bring all of them under this new law." With the growing internet use in urban areas, cyber crimes have surged significantly, Chand noted. In response, the MPCD has begun implementing measures to monitor cyber cafes operating in the Kathmandu Valley. These cafes are now required to provide information to the police upon request. Every month, approximately 8-10 cyber-related cases are reported to the police. Complaints range from email threats, theft of email IDs and passwords, email hacking, and misuse of images posted on social networking sites lik...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently identified minor security gaps in the Internet security procedures of the Belfast Police Department during a fall audit. Local officials acknowledged the need to address these issues over the next few years. The department was chosen randomly for the review, which concentrated on the use of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This database is crucial for local departments to access national records on past violations, bail conditions, protection orders, or outstanding warrants from other states. According to Police Chief Jeffrey Trafton, the database has significantly improved law enforcement processes, providing officers with instant access to mug shots and criminal records. "I don't understand the connectivity, but it works," Trafton said. "I can go in here, run a license, and it's immediate. Within a few minutes of seeing a stranger from Minnesota, I can be on the phone with the police dep...

Nearly 100 law enforcement officers recently witnessed how easily an identity thief can steal electronic information. During a UNLV conference, a cybercrime expert used a $30 device to intercept data from their smartphones. Welcome to the dark side of the 21st century. As technology advances, so do the methods of thieves. They now target computers, phones, ATMs, credit card machines, and any device holding personal information. Identity theft is a severe crime. Criminals can quickly wreak havoc by draining bank accounts, taking out loans, and racking up credit card debts. A victim's credit score can be ruined in no time. As reported by Steve Kanigher in the Las Vegas Sun, Nevada has been a hotspot for identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Nevada ranked fifth in the nation for identity theft last year. This is an improvement from 2005 when it was second. Metro Police reported 2,063 cases from January to November 13 this year, down from 2,440 during the same...

A controversial anti-Islamist group has advised its members to stay vigilant following a leak of their details online. Hundreds of names and addresses linked to the English Defence League (EDL) were exposed after hackers breached one of the organization's websites. The group warned its members about potential reprisals and advised them to "remain extra vigilant regarding their home and personal safety." The security breach occurred last weekend when hackers accessed a clothing website connected to the EDL. The attackers, identifying themselves as the "Mujahideen Hacking Unit," obtained lists of individuals who had recently purchased items from the site or donated money to the group. The EDL has gained attention over the past year by organizing protests against what it terms the "Islamification" of Britain. Although the group claims it is neither racist nor anti-Muslim, opponents like United Against Fascism argue that the EDL's agenda is clearly I...

Thousands of Social Security numbers have been stolen from the computers of a New York state agency. The Social Security Administration in New York City reports that a subcontractor, who was working for the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance on computer infrastructure upgrades, illegally downloaded approximately 15,000 Social Security numbers. These numbers were taken from computers belonging to private contractors working for the agency, which is responsible for deciding Social Security disability claims. The commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue, confirmed that the accused worker has been arrested and is now in the custody of the New York State Police. According to Astrue, the unauthorized download of information occurred in a limited number of cases. However, investigations are ongoing, and the full extent of the damage is still unknown. Individuals whose information was compromised will be notified. They will also be offered free credit monitoring and a special ...

The police have changed their approach to a phone hacking incident that could affect Andy Coulson. Coulson, the media adviser for the Prime Minister, was previously an editor for the News of the World. The police have taken steps to halt the flow of information that could implicate high-ranking journalists at the News of the World. Changes in policy might have significant implications for Andy Coulson. The police have announced they will no longer provide public figures with information about phone hacking. This decision relates to data, computer records, and tapes seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private detective. It is suspected that the data implicates senior journalists in a phone hacking incident. Allegedly, these journalists instructed Mulcaire to investigate well-known individuals, including politicians and sports stars. Police recently admitted they did not fully investigate the data during their initial inquiry. The police have stated they will not continue investigating ...

The emergence of cyber-crime, which transcends man-made boundaries, has underscored the urgent need for global cooperation among law enforcement agencies to prevent and solve these crimes, according to a senior Dubai Police official. At the Third International Conference on Interpol for the Middle East and North Africa, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Deputy Commander-in-Chief, highlighted the importance of international cooperation. He cited an example where such cooperation enabled Dubai to arrest a child molester accused of crimes in a European country while the perpetrator was in the UAE. Dubai Police have made significant progress in combating cyber-crime, particularly after establishing a dedicated department to address high-tech crimes emerging alongside rapid technological growth. Speaking at the conference held at the Dubai Police Academy, Al Mazeina emphasized Interpol's interest in leveraging global police resources, given the far-reaching impact o...

McDonald's is collaborating with law enforcement after malicious hackers infiltrated another company's database and stole information about an unknown number of the fast-food chain's customers. McDonald's has alerted potentially affected customers via email and through a message on its website . "We have been informed by one of our long-time business partners, Arc Worldwide, that limited customer information collected in connection with certain McDonald's websites and promotions was obtained by an unauthorized third party," a McDonald's spokeswoman said via email on Saturday. McDonald's hired Arc to develop and coordinate the distribution of promotional email messages. Arc, in turn, relied on an unidentified email company to manage the customer information database. This email company's systems were hacked. The data, provided voluntarily by customers, does not include Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or any sensitive financial info...

Gathering evidence on Facebook has become a standard legal practice, so a social sting operation was inevitable. This method led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apprehend a would-be terrorist in Baltimore. An FBI informant initially contacted 21-year-old Antonio Martinez after he publicly posted about his desire for jihad on Facebook earlier this fall, according to AFP. The U.S. Justice Department released a prepared statement that AFP cited: "An affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that on September 29, 2010, Martinez publicly posted on his Facebook account a statement calling for violence to stop the oppression of Muslims, and that on October 1, 2010, he publicly posted a message stating that he hates any person who opposes Allah and his prophet." The FBI set Martinez up with a fake car bomb, then apprehended him when he attempted to detonate it remotely. The faux explosive was rigged in a vehicle parked outside a U.S. military recrui...

Police in India report that 97 percent of cyber crimes remain unreported in Gurgaon, a city less than 20 miles from New Delhi. Industry representatives are now collaborating with law enforcement to tackle this issue, according to Times of India. Last week, the IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Gurgaon met with Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal and Inderjit Singh, chairman of the parliamentary committee on IT, to discuss cyber crime. When asked if the city police and its cyber cell could handle cyber crime, Singh emphasized that the entire system requires an overhaul. This overhaul should start with a new cadre dedicated to solving Internet-related cases. He also stressed the importance of protecting the complainants' identities in such cases. Industry representatives proposed working directly with the police. "We will provide the police with technical expertise or any other assistance," stated Deepak Kapoor, a BPO industry representative, accord...