The “pocket dial” or “butt dial” happens to a lot of us. By constantly checking our phones dozens of times a day, it’s bound to happen. But it’s not just embarrassing or awkward. Butt dialing can have some serious consequences, too. We’ve heard at least a few stories of crooks accidentally butt dialing 911 and incriminating themselves...

How do you put a price on the value of photos lost when a thief nicks your phone? You don’t, at least not in terms of pounds sterling or dollars. But new sentencing guidelines published by the UK’s sentencing council will ensure that when it comes the time to determine how to sentence thieves, more...

The European Union’s highest court has today ruled against the transatlantic Safe Harbor agreement which had allowed companies to transfer European citizens’ personal data to the US. The decision, made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), will affect thousands of companies which had been transfering a wide range of information under an agreement that allowed them to circumvent...

A former Virginia Tech student who used Yik Yak to threaten a massacre at the school has pleaded guilty. In April, Ki Ung “Eddie” Moon had posted this message to the more-or-less anonymous social network: Another 4.16 moment is going to happen tomorrow. Just a warning. To students at the US school, those numbers could...

If you’re a member of LinkedIn then you’ll already know that the professional networking site likes to send out a large number of emails on a regular basis. And, if you’re anything like me, you probably delete the vast majority without ever opening them. But you may have received one on Friday, 2 October, that is...

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday that it’s broken up an alleged $32 million Ponzi scheme that promised to mine amber and pay out profits in so-called “Gemcoin” cryptocurrency. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Gemcoin’s parent company, Alliance Finance Group (AFG), and its subsidiary, United States Fine Investment Arts (USFIA), made...

If you’re in the USA, it’s officially National Cyber Security Awareness Month, starting today, October 1, 2015. Here on Naked Security, we’ll refer to it more loosely just as CSAM, in the hope that Naked Security readers all over the world will join in. Of course, CSAM isn’t an invitation to take cybersecurity more seriously...

A 22-year-old Russian man received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence this week for conspiracy to commit computer fraud, ending a long legal battle spanning two years and three countries. The Russian national, Dimitry Belorossov, infected 7000 computers with the notorious Citadel banking malware, which he used to steal sensitive information including online bank account credentials and passwords from...

There’s a revolution happening right now in biometrics. But the technology for identifying people based on biology is outpacing our ability to understand the consequences for privacy. Passwords – which have proven time and again to be inadequate for security purposes – are steadily being replaced by fingerprints, irises, voices and faces. The patterns of our veins, heartbeats, and...

We’ve written an eclectic range of stories about selfies lately. There’s Siri’s willingness to open the pod bay door and let other people sneak a look at your iPhone photos without the passcode. There’s Snapchat’s new “Do you want to buy a replay” feature, where you can send someone a disappearing selfie, but at a...