Zack Whittaker
Security Editor
The Latest from Zack Whittaker
After merger, T-Mobile lays off hundreds of Sprint employees
In a conference call on Monday lasting under six minutes, T-Mobile vice president James Kirby told hundreds of Sprint employees that their services were no longer needed. He declined to answer his emp
T-Mobile hit by phone calling, text message outage
T-Mobile appears to be having problems. Customers are reporting that they can’t make or receive phone calls, although data appears to be unaffected. Some customers say that text messaging is als
US intelligence bill takes aim at commercial spyware makers
A newly released draft intelligence bill, passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, would require the government to detail the threats posed by commercial spyware and surveillance technol
Amazon’s facial recognition moratorium has major loopholes
In a surprise blog post, Amazon said it will put the brakes on providing its facial recognition technology to police for one year, but refuses to say if the move applies to federal law enforcement age
Decrypted: DEA spying on protesters, DDoS attacks, Signal downloads spike
This week saw protests spread across the world sparked by the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis last month. The U.S. hasn’t seen prote
Nintendo now says 300,000 accounts breached by hackers
Nintendo has almost doubled the number of user accounts compromised by hackers in the past few months. The Japanese gaming giant originally said that 160,000 Nintendo accounts were compromised, exposi
Honda global operations halted by ransomware attack
Honda has confirmed a cyberattack that brought parts of its global operations to a standstill. The company said in a brief statement Tuesday that the attack caused production issues outside of its hea
Database security startup jSonar raises $50M from Goldman Sachs
Database security startup jSonar has secured $50 million in new funding from Goldman Sachs . The company, with offices in Waltham, Mass. and Vancouver, B.C., will use the new funding to grow its datab
Homeland Security warns over ‘wormable’ Windows 10 bug
Homeland Security’s cybersecurity advisory unit is warning Windows 10 users to make sure that their systems are fully patched, after exploit code for a “wormable” bug was published o
These free tools blur protesters’ faces and remove photo metadata
Millions have taken to the streets across the world to protest the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis last month. Protesters have faced both u
VMware acquires network security firm Lastline, said to lay off 40% of staff
VMware is acquiring network security firm Lastline, TechCrunch has learned. Since its launch in 2012, Lastline raised about $52.2 million, according to Crunchbase. Investors include Thomvest Ventures,
Google says Iranian, Chinese hackers targeted Trump, Biden campaigns
Google security researchers say they’ve identified efforts by at least two nation state-backed hackers against the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns. Shane Huntley, director for Google̵
A new Java-based ransomware targets Windows and Linux
Security researchers have discovered a new kind of ransomware that uses a little-known Java file format to make it more difficult to detect before it detonates its file-encrypting payload. Consulting
Top cybersecurity VCs share how COVID-19 has changed investing
The coronavirus pandemic is, without doubt, the greatest challenge the world has faced in a generation. But the wheels of the world keep turning, albeit slower than during normal times. But where the
Anti-phishing startup Inky raises $20M to ramp up enterprise adoption
Anti-phishing startup Inky has raised $20 million in its Series B round of funding, led by Insight Partners . The funding will help the company push for greater enterprise adoption and expand to inter
12 top cybersecurity VCs discuss investing, valuations and no-go zones
Cybersecurity is by far the most important area in any industry. Without it, we would be in hacker open season. But cybersecurity is difficult to get right. One wrong move and you can leave the door o
Decrypted: iOS 13.5 jailbreak, FBI slams Apple, VCs talk cybersecurity
It was a busy week in security. Newly released documents shown exclusively to TechCrunch show that U.S. immigration authorities used a controversial cell phone snooping technology known as a “st
Apple has just patched the recent iOS 13.5 jailbreak
Well that didn’t last long. Apple has patched a security vulnerability that allowed hackers to build a jailbreak tool allowing deep access to the iPhone software. In a security advisory, Apple a
After a spate of device hacks, Google beefs up Nest security protections
Google has added its line of Nest smart home devices to its Advanced Protection Program, a security offering that adds stronger account protections for high-risk users like politicians and journalists
Twitter, Reddit challenge US rules forcing visa applicants to disclose their social media handles
Twitter and Reddit have filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging a U.S. government rule change compelling visa applicants to disclose their social media handles. The lawsuit, brought