The Week in Internet News: Tech Giants Face Hostile Lawmakers Thumbnail
Technology 2 November 2020

The Week in Internet News: Tech Giants Face Hostile Lawmakers

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

Getting hit from both sides: Executives from Google, Twitter, and Facebook faced criticism from all sides when testifying in the U.S. Senate recently, the Washington Post reports. Democratic senators told the companies they should do a better job with moderating their sites for fake news and conspiracy theories, while Republicans called on the companies to take a more hands-off role with political speech.

Your money, or else: A wave of ransomware attacks have hit nearly two dozen hospitals and healthcare organizations in recent weeks, Wired.com reports. Even after those attacks, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Health and Human Services warned that more may be coming, with an “increased and imminent cybercrime threat” to hospitals and healthcare providers.

Safer Zooming: Videoconferencing provider Zoom has added encryption to free accounts, although the new protections come with a catch, TechCrunch says. With end-to-end encryption enabled for every user joining the call, some other features won’t be available. Users on encrypted calls won’t be able to use features like cloud recording and live transcription, and they won’t be able to chat one on one. Also, the encryption feature will only work with the Zoom app, not the browser version.

Hacks incoming: U.S. Cyber Command has shared information about alleged Russian hacking efforts that have targeted multiple ministries of foreign affairs, national parliaments, and embassies worldwide, BleepingComputer reports. The U.S. agency blamed multiple cyberattacks on the Turla Group, also known as Venomous Bear and Waterbug, a Russian hacking group that’s been active since 1996. The group has focused on spying, stealing data, and installing malware on foreign government targets, Cyber Command says.

Take these steps to be more secure while working remotely.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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