There are numerous free messaging apps around, but one of the most popular is Telegram. Telegram earned that reputation mainly because of two features: group chat facilities and security.  Its huge possibilities for groups and channels are unchallenged, but concerning security, there are some issues we have to explore. Telegram is an open source app created by two Russian brothers, Nikolai and Pavel Durov. The app was banned from Russia, however, and the company now has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Dubai. Concerning data storage, Telegram has a hybrid system where you can d ..read more

John McAfee is a tech pioneer and successful entrepreneur. He started his career as a software developer and went on to create the first commercial anti-virus program. McAfee founded McAfee Inc. in 1987 and resigned in 1994, selling his remaining shares in the company over time. His net worth is estimated at four million dollars, but that is likely to be (a lot) higher, given that he owns significant amounts of cryptocurrency. After his resignation, he sporadically popped up in the news and on social media, giving occasional tech-related interviews. At one point, he was accused of a murder tha ..read more

The German Public Prosecution Service confirmed that a bunker functioning as an illegal cyber center had ties to a right-wing dissident movement and possibly to WikiLeaks. These revelations came to light when the main suspect – Herman Johan Verwoert-Derksen (60), also known as ‘Johan X.’ – reacted to his criminal case for the first time. According to German media, the employees of the cyber center saw the hosting of servers for dissident groups as a lucrative endeavor. One group is specifically mentioned: Generation Identity. That right-wing movement has chapters in several European countries ..read more

A 41-year-old man from the Californian city of Martinez was charged with possession of equipment for producing counterfeit drugs. At the time of his arrest, Jeremy Donagal – an old school dark web vendor previously known as ‘Xanax King’ – was on supervised release from a 2015 conviction for manufacturing and selling counterfeit drugs. According to a federal complaint, Donagal leased a warehouse in the city of Concord as soon as his supervised release began. Inside the building, law enforcement encountered professional medical equipment such as pill presses, plastic trays with punches and dies ..read more

In the world of surveillance, there are rarely any absolutes — and that applies to guarantees, too. If NSA, GCHQ and associated agencies really want to get at your communications, and are prepared to invest their resources in doing so, they will usually succeed to some extent. But there is no need to be fatalistic about it: some common-sense steps will go a long way toward frustrating most kinds of electronic surveillance. Above all, it is important to bear in mind that even in these days of highly automated surveillance, the final step at least has to be undertaken by humans. They remain a sc ..read more

Video games are a massive industry. With more people playing competitive online games than ever before, we see an increased demand for cheats, mainly cheats that provide players with a distinct advantage, and that does not get them banned. A lucrative grey market Hackers have become more sophisticated in the past decade, charging significant sums of money for their cheating software. They often use a subscription model, promising regular updates to keep up with anti-cheat methods. It is not uncommon for these subscriptions to cost more than the actual game that is played. Generally, (semi) an ..read more

Three companies control the operating system market: Microsoft, Apple, and Google. These companies have a combined market share of 97%, and about 60% of all personal computing devices run on a mobile operating system. The desktop market is dominated by Windows – with a 75% market share – Apple (20%) and Chrome OS (Google’s desktop operating system) with 1 percent. Linux-based operating systems make up roughly 1.5 percent, but it is safe to assume that most  ‘unknown’ operating systems are running some form of Linux. With smartphones becoming increasingly popular for day-to-day activities ..read more

Scientists from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel have developed malware that can eavesdrop on computers by using an air-gapped network. By manipulating the power supply, a specific audio signal is transmitted, which in turn is intercepted. That means even data stored on an offline computer is no longer safe. The scientists named their malware Power-Supplay, referring to data leaks from an air-gapped computer. These are devices that are not connected to outgoing networks, such as the internet. The driving force behind Power-Supplay is a phenomenon called ´singing capacitator,´ w ..read more

In an anonymous statement, a Tor administrator explains how the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD attempted to recruit him. His story gives a detailed insight into the expanding power of the security state, whose influence now reaches into the business world, prestigious universities, and (international) hacker communities. Marco*, the provider of the statement, is a 30-year-old Dutchman with a Master of Science degree from the Delft University of Technology. He is an expert concerning the Tor network who – for research purposes – runs some Tor exit nodes. Marco states: “Suddenly, I was approache ..read more

With the rise of digital transactions and increasing e-commerce, consumers lost a great deal of privacy. Every transaction is logged by your bank, payment processor, and to whomever they sell your data. Different companies will have specific guidelines and policies when it comes to your data. Some promise a great deal of privacy, but the fact remains that your transactions are directly tied to your name, and you do not have full autonomy over your wealth.  The rise of Bitcoin  Cryptocurrency started with Bitcoin, which promised a decentralized digital currency. A transparent ‘ledger ..read more