Lewis Maddison reports: A remarkably small number of cybercriminals are reportedly responsible for all the world’s email extortion attempts, new research has claimed. Security firm Barracuda Networks, in partnership with Columbia University, looked at over 300,000 emails in a one-year period that the company’s AI detectors had flagged as extortion attacks, and found that the…
Category: Breaches
Houston man stole nudes for blackmail from 1,000-plus victims: FBI
Michael Murney reports: A Houston man is facing federal charges for allegedly stealing nude photos and videos from victims, then using to the images to extort them into sending more. Authorities Thursday arrested 23-year-old Andrew Venegas of Magnolia for sexual exploitation of children, according to court documents. The documents detail an alleged scheme in which Venegas…
FTC investigates OpenAI over data leak and ChatGPT’s inaccuracy
Cat Zakrzewski reports: The Federal Trade Commission has opened an expansive investigation into OpenAI, probing whether the maker of the popular ChatGPT bot has run afoul of consumer protection laws by putting personal reputations and data at risk. The agency this week sent the San Francisco company a 20-page demand for records about how it…
Recent Decision Dismissing VPPA Class Action Claim Shows Limits of VPPA’s Reach
Eric Bosset and Lindsey Tonsager of Covington and Burling write: In the past year, plaintiffs have filed a wave of lawsuits asserting claims under the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) in connection with the alleged use of third-party pixels on websites that offer video content. A recent decision establishes the limits of the VPPA’s reach…