FBI

It would appear that there's a new best way to break into a locked iPhone as of this February. Back in February of this year, the startup known as Grayshift sent out an announcement of a new sort of device they'd whipped up. They had a device that apparently unlocked an iPhone - any iPhone - so that said iPhone could be rummaged through and utilized by law enforcement. Or, say, less-than-reputable persons. Of course, they'd never say they were all about such things at Grayshift.

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The Department of Justice wants a mandate that would force tech companies to provide phone unlocking tools. The FBI is involved in discussions of potential legislation forcing the matter, according to a new report. Research currently underway by both entities allegedly indicates that a backdoor could be provided without leaving the devices more vulnerable to hackers. This is the latest development in the US government's long-running effort to get easy access to encrypted smartphones.

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Details about a relationship between some Best Buy Geek Squad employees and the FBI were revealed today by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The organization filed a Freedom of Information Act suit in 2017 in order to get more details about an apparent association between the FBI and at least a few Geek Squad employees. The documents allegedly reveal that some of those workers were being paid by the government to work as informants.

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Fingerprint analysis software used by the FBI and many law enforcement agencies may contain code created by a Kremlin-linked Russian entity, according to whistleblowers and related documents. The revelation, assuming it is correct, raises questions about whether US officials have been using software compromised by Russian code, the latest in a growing number of cyber issues related to the nation. This follows Facebook's own disclosure revealing extensive Russian propaganda on the social network aimed at manipulating the 2016 election.

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Two huge Dark Web marketplaces, peddling illegal drugs, fake documents, firearms, and more, have been shut down in a clandestine sting. US and European investigators collaborated for months on the takedown, which saw AlphaBay and Hansa - together responsible for more than 350,000 "illicit commodities" - first infiltrated and then taken offline. Indeed, police in the Netherlands were able to secretly take control of Hansa and then track what its users were doing.

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In the wake of Russian hackers interfering with the US's presidential election this year, along with the subsequent sanctions issued by President Obama, a Vermont power company has discovered evidence of Russian malware on one of its laptops. The code is said to be linked to the hacking group identified by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security as "Grizzly Steppe." The find was made as the US government continues to asses Russian cyber attacks on different agencies and organizations.

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Russia isn't the only source of cyber attacks the US is facing recently. The FBI has opened an investigation into the breaches of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) computer systems by Chinese hackers for several years starting in 2010. According to Reuters, it's believed that these attacks were sponsored by China's military, and resulted in the compromise of dozens of computers.

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Last week the CIA released a report saying that it concluded Russia had carried out cyber attacks in an effort to disrupt the US's presidential election and tip the scales to benefit Donald Trump. Following an earlier request from President Obama for an investigation into the matter, the FBI now agrees with the CIA's assessment, as does the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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It's difficult not to feel a little embarrassed for the FBI in light of its recently published anti-hacking advertisement. Made in collaboration with Europol, the ad shows two teenagers, one dolled up like an Ivy Leaguer and the other replete with emo affectations in a dark hoodie, both of them labelled with things like health status, 'cash total,' and, of course, their hacker/non-hacker designations.

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The White House has ordered an investigation into hacking done to disrupt the 2016 Presidential Elections here in the United States. This order from President Obama came not long after Trump's most recent Time Magazine interview in which he said he does not believe the U.S. intelligence community in their assessment that Russia attempted to affect the outcome of this year's Presidential Election. Word of an investigation directed by President Obama came through Lisa Monaco, the Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, earlier today.

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Before getting my first tattoo, I joked that I was about to make any potential future as a fugitive from the law a lot harder. Tattoos, even trendy ones picked from the same book used by hundreds of other people, can be highly personal -- not just in what it means to a person, but in how much it helps identify that individual. Even small elements can say quite a bit about the person who got it, and the FBI is reportedly developing a technology that can exploit these unspoken cues.

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For a period of 10 months, the FBI planted hidden microphones in several public locations outside a courthouse in Oakland, California, it has recently been discovered. A warrant wasn't needed, but the microphones allowed the government to secretly record and monitor private conversations during the period between March 2010 and January 2011.

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