Smart TVs are internet-connected computers with microphones, app stores, advertising systems, and access to the same home networks used by your family’s phones, laptops, printers, and smart-home devices. In the past, we reported on Samsung settling a lawsuit with the Texas Attorney General over how its smart TVs collect and monetize viewing data using Automated Content Recognition (ACR).  ACR […]

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Crooks are taking a holiday. They’re counting on you to fund it. For decades, cybercriminals have stolen roughly the same types of data. Biographical and personal details—like Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, and phone numbers—can be stolen to commit identity fraud. Credit card numbers, expiration dates, and […]

X says attackers may be targeting accounts because its X Money payments service is now more widely available. The company is investigating a wave of unsolicited password-reset emails sent to users. While their arrival alongside the wider X Money rollout has fueled account-takeover concerns, X says it has found no evidence of a breach or […]

Most of the work that keeps a security product trustworthy is invisible. Users see a scan complete, a threat blocked, an update applied overnight. They don’t see the platform underneath. Runtimes, managed libraries, native drivers, and Windows requirements must all stay current and work together across millions of endpoints. Our migration to .NET 10 is […]

“Free” movies and TV could cost you your privacy, bandwidth, and control of your home network. We’ve warned about illegal streaming and modded Amazon Fire TV Sticks in the past. Now, researchers have found that certain SuperBox devices and apps could quietly enroll a household connection into a proxy network, allowing third parties to route […]

Introduction We continue tracking the activity of Toy Ghouls (also known as Bearlyfy, Laboo.boo, and Feral Wolf), a financially motivated group that has been targeting Russian organizations since 2025. The attackers initially relied exclusively on tools pulled from public GitHub repositories along with leaked Babuk and LockBit ransomware builders, later shifting to their own custom […]

First, the good news: If you use a Linux-based operating system, you may not be asked your age in a few months. The bad news is that Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android users in California will be. California has passed a law that requires a range of operating systems to start collecting your age when […]

A malicious advertising campaign promoting a fake free TV-streaming service reached roughly 570,000 Meta users. The researchers who discovered the campaign found that its streaming-themed ads were aimed at Spanish-speaking users, with most observed victims located in Spain. One Meta campaign ran from June 11 through July 3, 2026, and the same banners were also […]

You might tell an AI chatbot secrets that you wouldn’t divulge to your closest friends. If you do, though, beware: They could end up as evidence in court. An article in the Washington Post this week highlighted several cases in which people had discussed sensitive information with AI systems like Claude and ChatGPT, only to […]

A new dark web platform called Nexus claimed to be selling 153 million driver’s license scans and millions of other identity and medical cards. The collection included more than 153 million driver’s licenses, 10 million ID cards, 3 million travel documents, and 579,000 medical cards, including marijuana dispensary cards, according to reports. The trove of […]