Tag Archives: Phones

Thousands of phones and routers swept into proxy service, unbeknownst to users

Getty Images reader comments 22 Crooks are working overtime to anonymize their illicit online activities using thousands of devices of unsuspecting users, as evidenced by two unrelated reports published Tuesday. The first, from security firm Lumen Labs, reports that roughly 40,000 home and office routers have been drafted into a criminal enterprise that anonymizes illicit… Read More »

Ambient light sensors can reveal your device activity. How big a threat is it?

Getty Images reader comments 11 An overwhelming majority of handheld devices these days have ambient light sensors built into them. A large percentage of TVs and monitors do, too, and that proportion is growing. The sensors allow devices to automatically adjust the screen brightness based on how light or dark the surroundings are. That, in… Read More »

Fix for critical Qualcomm chip flaw is making its way to Android devices

Getty Images reader comments 13 with 12 posters participating Share this story Makers of high-end Android devices are responding to the discovery of a Qualcomm chip flaw that researchers say could be exploited to partially backdoor about a third of the world’s smartphones. The vulnerability, discovered by researchers from security firm Check Point Research, resides… Read More »

Facebook shuts down hackers who infected iOS and Android devices

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Facebook said it has disrupted a hacking operation that used the social media platform to spread iOS and Android malware that spied on Uyghur people from the Xinjiang region of China. Malware for both mobile OSes had advanced capabilities that could steal just about anything stored on an infected device. The… Read More »