Top News: Microsoft support tools breached, Maine bans public use of facial recognition, and more

SolarWinds hackers breached Microsoft’s support tools

Microsoft has shared details about a series of attacks by threat actor Nobelium against several of its customers. The attacker gained access to a customer service agent's device and used information-stealing malware on that computer to launch hacking attempts against customers. The incident was discovered during Microsoft’s response to hacks by a group it identifies as behind the breach at SolarWinds. Read the full story here.

700m LinkedIn Users’ data for sale

Data of 700 million LinkedIn users appeared on a popular hacker forum, with the records including full names, gender, email addresses, phone numbers, and industry information. The company has denied reports of a data breach and said the data was scraped from LinkedIn and other various websites. Read the complete report here.

Fake Covid-19 vaccination apps target users

McAfee’s research shows hackers are targeting people with fake Covid-19 vaccination apps, fraudulent text messages, and bogus social media invitations. The attackers are hiding malware and malicious links inside fake covid-19 vaccination appointments and registration ads, which download malware onto user devices.

Maine bans public use of facial recognition tech

The state of Maine enacted the LD 1585 that bans the public use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and other government officials. The law strictly regulates how law enforcement agencies can employ the technology for their investigations in the state, and prohibits the tech in public schools and in many areas of government, including for surveillance purposes.

South Africa’s POPIA goes into effect

The one-year grace period granted to organizations in South Africa to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) ended on 1 July 2021. Smaller private bodies (i.e., with less than 50 employees or having an annual turnover less than the applicable threshold amount) remain exempt from the need to develop manuals in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) until 31 December 2021.