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Meta Accused of Trying To Discredit Ad Researchers

Thomas Claburn reports via The Register: Meta allegedly tried to discredit university researchers in Brazil who had flagged fraudulent adverts on the social network's ad platform. Nucleo, a Brazil-based news organization, said it has obtained government documents showing that attorneys representing Meta questioned the credibility of researchers from NetLab, which is part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). NetLab's research into Meta's ads contributed to Brazil's National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) decision in 2023 to fine Meta $1.7 million (9.3 million BRL), which is still being appealed. Meta (then Facebook) was separately fined of $1.2 million (6.6 million BRL) related to Cambridge Analytica. As noted by Nucleo, NetLab's report showed that Facebook, despite being notified about the issues, had failed to remove more than 1,800 scam ads that fraudulently used the name of a government program that was supposed to assist those in debt. In response to the fine, attorneys representing Meta from law firm TozziniFreire allegedly accused the NetLab team of bias and of failing to involve Meta in the research process. Nucleo says that it obtained the administrative filing through freedom of information requests to Senacon. The documents are said to date from December 26 last year and to be part of the ongoing case against Meta. A spokesperson for NetLab, who asked not to be identified by name due to online harassment directed at the organization's members, told The Register that the research group was aware of the Nucleo report. "We were kind of surprised to see the account of our work in this law firm document," the spokesperson said. "We expected to be treated with more fairness for our work. Honestly, it comes at a very bad moment because NetLab particularly, but also Brazilian science in general, is being attacked by far-right groups." On Thursday, more than 70 civil society groups including NetLab published an open letter decrying Meta's legal tactics. "This is an attack on scientific research work, and attempts at intimidation of researchers and researchers who are performing excellent work in the production of knowledge from empirical analysis that have been fundamental to qualify the public debate on the accountability of social media platforms operating in the country, especially with regard to paid content that causes harm to consumers of these platforms and that threaten the future of our democracy," the letter says. "This kind of attack and intimidation is made even more dangerous by aligning with arguments that, without any evidence, have been used by the far right to discredit the most diverse scientific productions, including NetLab itself." The claim, allegedly made by Meta's attorneys, is that the ad biz was "not given the opportunity to appoint a technical assistant and present questions" in the preparation of the NetLabs report. This is particularly striking given Meta's efforts to limit research into its ad platform. A Meta spokesperson told The Register: "We value input from civil society organizations and academic institutions for the context they provide as we constantly work toward improving our services. Meta's defense filed with the Brazilian Consumer Regulator questioned the use of the NetLab report as legal evidence, since it was produced without giving us prior opportunity to contribute meaningfully, in violation of local legal requirements."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Surgeon general’s proposed social media warning label for kids could hurt kids

Surgeon general’s proposed social media warning label for kids could hurt kids

Enlarge (credit: MirageC | Moment)

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wants to put a warning label on social media platforms, alerting young users of potential mental health harms.

"It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents," Murthy wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Monday.

Murthy argued that a warning label is urgently needed because the "mental health crisis among young people is an emergency," and adolescents overusing social media can increase risks of anxiety and depression and negatively impact body image.

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Meta halts plans to train AI on Facebook, Instagram posts in EU

Meta halts plans to train AI on Facebook, Instagram posts in EU

Enlarge (credit: GreyParrot | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Meta has apparently paused plans to process mounds of user data to bring new AI experiences to Europe.

The decision comes after data regulators rebuffed the tech giant's claims that it had "legitimate interests" in processing European Union- and European Economic Area (EEA)-based Facebook and Instagram users' data—including personal posts and pictures—to train future AI tools.

There's not much information available yet on Meta's decision. But Meta's EU regulator, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), posted a statement confirming that Meta made the move after ongoing discussions with the DPC about compliance with the EU's strict data privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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Meta Pauses Plans To Train AI Using European Users' Data, Bowing To Regulatory Pressure

Meta has confirmed that it will pause plans to start training its AI systems using data from its users in the European Union and U.K. From a report: The move follows pushback from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta's lead regulator in the EU, which is acting on behalf of several data protection authorities across the bloc. The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) also requested that Meta pause its plans until it could satisfy concerns it had raised. "The DPC welcomes the decision by Meta to pause its plans to train its large language model using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram across the EU/EEA," the DPC said in a statement Friday. "This decision followed intensive engagement between the DPC and Meta. The DPC, in cooperation with its fellow EU data protection authorities, will continue to engage with Meta on this issue." While Meta is already tapping user-generated content to train its AI in markets such as the U.S., Europe's stringent GDPR regulations has created obstacles for Meta -- and other companies -- looking to improve their AI systems, including large language models with user-generated training material. However, Meta last month began notifying users of an upcoming change to its privacy policy, one that it said will give it the right to use public content on Facebook and Instagram to train its AI, including content from comments, interactions with companies, status updates, photos and their associated captions. The company argued that it needed to do this to reflect "the diverse languages, geography and cultural references of the people in Europe."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A New Tactic in the Rapid Evolution of QR Code Scams

QR code phishing

QR codes have been around for three decades, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 that they got wide use, with restaurants, health care facilities, and other businesses turning to them to customers contactless ways to read menus, buy items, or track the health of people in their buildings. Around the same..

The post A New Tactic in the Rapid Evolution of QR Code Scams appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Netcraft Uses Its AI Platform to Trick and Track Online Scammers

romance scams generative AI pig butchering

At the RSA Conference last month, Netcraft introduced a generative AI-powered platform designed to interact with cybercriminals to gain insights into the operations of the conversational scams they’re running and disrupt their attacks. At the time, Ryan Woodley, CEO of the London-based company that offers a range of services from phishing detection to brand, domain,..

The post Netcraft Uses Its AI Platform to Trick and Track Online Scammers appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Connecticut Has Highest Rate of Health Care Data Breaches: Study

health care data breaches cybersecurity

It’s no secret that hospitals and other health care organizations are among the top targets for cybercriminals. The ransomware attacks this year on UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare subsidiary, nonprofit organization Ascension, and most recently the National Health Service in England illustrate not only the damage to these organizations’ infrastructure and the personal health data that’s..

The post Connecticut Has Highest Rate of Health Care Data Breaches: Study appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Ransomware Group Jumps on PHP Vulnerability

PHP ransomware vulnerability

A long-running ransomware campaign that has been targeting Windows and Linux systems since 2019 is the latest example of how closely threat groups track public disclosures of vulnerabilities and proofs-of-concept (PoCs) and how quickly they move in to exploit them. The PHP Group last week disclosed a high-severity flaw – tracked as CVE-2024-4577 and with..

The post Ransomware Group Jumps on PHP Vulnerability appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Network Equipment, IoT Devices are Big Security Risks: Forescout

Forescout networking equipment IoT security risks

IT systems – and this year networking equipment in particular – continue to pose the most security risk for organizations, but it is the vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are quickly moving up the ladder, according to researchers with Forescout’s Verdere Labs researchers. In this year’s Riskiest Connected Devices report released this week,..

The post Network Equipment, IoT Devices are Big Security Risks: Forescout appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Microsoft, Google Come to the Aid of Rural Hospitals

CSPM, ASPM, CISA cybersecurity healthcare

Microsoft and Google will provide free or low-cost cybersecurity tools and services to rural hospitals in the United States at a time when health care facilities are coming under increasing attack by ransomware gangs and other threat groups. For independent rural and critical access hospitals, Microsoft will provide grants and as much as 75% discounts..

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Fortinet to Expand AI, Cloud Security with Lacework Acquisition

Fortinet Lacework AI cloud security

Fortinet, known for network security capabilities within its Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity platform, is bolstering its AI and cloud security capabilities with the planned acquisition of Lacework and its AI-based offerings. The companies announced the proposed deal on Monday, with expectations that it will close in the second half of the year. The plan is..

The post Fortinet to Expand AI, Cloud Security with Lacework Acquisition appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Senator: HHS Needs to Require Security Measures for Health Sector

health care cybersecurity ransomware

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who late last month asked federal agencies to investigate flaws in UnitedHealth Group’s cybersecurity measures that led to the massive ransomware attack that disrupted hundreds of hospital and pharmacy operations, now is pushing the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department to require such large health care organizations to immediately implement protections...

The post Senator: HHS Needs to Require Security Measures for Health Sector appeared first on Security Boulevard.

FCC Pushes Ahead with Internet Routing Security Requirements

internet cybersecurity BGP

The Federal Communications Commission is considering requiring broadband providers to improve the cybersecurity of the networks that route traffic around the internet, an issue the FCC and other government agencies have been working on for more than a year. The proposal would require ISPs to generate confidential reports that would outline what they have done..

The post FCC Pushes Ahead with Internet Routing Security Requirements appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Meta uses “dark patterns” to thwart AI opt-outs in EU, complaint says

Meta uses “dark patterns” to thwart AI opt-outs in EU, complaint says

Enlarge (credit: Boris Zhitkov | Moment)

The European Center for Digital Rights, known as Noyb, has filed complaints in 11 European countries to halt Meta's plan to start training vague new AI technologies on European Union-based Facebook and Instagram users' personal posts and pictures.

Meta's AI training data will also be collected from third parties and from using Meta's generative AI features and interacting with pages, the company has said. Additionally, Meta plans to collect information about people who aren't on Facebook or Instagram but are featured in users' posts or photos. The only exception from AI training is made for private messages sent between "friends and family," which will not be processed, Meta's blog said, but private messages sent to businesses and Meta are fair game. And any data collected for AI training could be shared with third parties.

"Unlike the already problematic situation of companies using certain (public) data to train a specific AI system (e.g. a chatbot), Meta's new privacy policy basically says that the company wants to take all public and non-public user data that it has collected since 2007 and use it for any undefined type of current and future 'artificial intelligence technology,'" Noyb alleged in a press release.

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Meta Withheld Information on Instagram, WhatsApp Deals, FTC Says

Meta Platforms withheld information from federal regulators during their original reviews of the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing as part of a lawsuit seeking to break up the social networking giant. From a report: In its filing Tuesday, however, the FTC said the case involves "information Meta had in its files and did not provide" during the original reviews. "At Meta's request the FTC undertook only a limited review" of the deals, the agency said. "The FTC now has available vastly more evidence, including pre-acquisition documents Meta did not provide in 2012 and 2014." Meta said that it met all of its legal obligations during the Instagram and WhatsApp merger reviews. The FTC has failed to provide evidence to support its claims, a spokesperson said. "The evidence instead shows that Meta faces fierce competition and that Meta's significant investment of time and resources in Instagram and WhatsApp has benefited consumers by making the apps into the services millions of users enjoy today for free," spokesperson Chris Sgro said in a statement. "The FTC has done nothing to build its case over the past four years, while Meta has invested billions to build quality products."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

SecOps Teams Shift Strategy as AI-Powered Threats, Deepfakes Evolve 

blurry hand

An escalation in AI-based attacks requires security operations leaders to change cybersecurity strategies to defend against them.

The study found 61% of respondents had experienced a deepfake incident in the past year, with 75% of those attacks impersonating CEOs or other C-suite members.

The post SecOps Teams Shift Strategy as AI-Powered Threats, Deepfakes Evolve  appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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