Google Turns 25: The Search Engine Revolutionised How We Access Information, But Will It Survive AI?
This week marks an important milestone in the history of the internet: Google’s 25th birthday. With billions of search queries submitted each day, it’s difficult to remember how we ever lived without the search engine.
What was it about Google that led it to revolutionise information access? And will artificial intelligence (AI) make it obsolete, or enhance it?
#CyberSecurity
International Botnet Qakbot Taken Down By FBI
The FBI has scored a major victory against cyber criminals after it seized the servers of a notorious botnet and mass-uninstalled malware from infected systems.
On Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced a multinational operation to disrupt and dismantle the malware-distributing Qakbot botnet – a global malware network which has been proliferating cyber crime for more than 15 years.
Link: https://ia.acs.org.au/content/ia/article/2023/international-botnet-qakbot-taken-down-by-fbi.html
#Threads
Threads Tests Keyword Search In Australia & New Zealand
Instagram, the popular photo-sharing platform, has taken another step in augmenting its services ecosystem by adding keyword search to the Threads app.
Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram, announced that the company is testing the new functionality in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand to more countries soon.
Link: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/threads-tests-keyword-search-in-australia-new-zealand/495364/
#CyberSecurity #DataBreach #Hacked
Freecycle Admits To Data Breach Affecting More Than 7m Users
“Grassroots” second-hand trading platform Freecycle has suffered a data breach that has seen the details of over 7 million of its users posted on a popular hacking forum.
Freecycle said it became aware of the incident on 30 August, while the data itself was first posted for sale on 30 June.
The listed data includes usernames and IDs, as well as email addresses – two for each user. Passwords are also part of the dataset, but these are MD5-hashed, making it technically difficult but not impossible for a malicious actor to reverse-engineer.
#CyberCrime
Hacker Lists Australian Passports for Sale
A user on a popular hacking and data breach forum has created a post offering 100 Australian passports for sale.
Late last week, a post appeared on hacking forum BreachForums claiming to have access to 100 Australian passports leaked on 25 August.
The user behind the post – going by “HMKadmin123” – said they were selling a “large number” of Australian national passports at “good prices” for bulk buyers.
Link: https://ia.acs.org.au/content/ia/article/2023/hacker-lists-australian-passports-for-sale.html
#SocialMedia #Facebook #Instagram #TikTok #AI
Ads For AI Sex Workers Are Flooding Instagram and TikTok
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have tried to keep a tight lid on sexualised content in recent years, banning nudity outright in almost all cases, kicking off sex workers and even cracking down on some artists and educators who speak frankly about sexual health and safety.
But a new kind of sexualised content has lately been getting through their moderation systems: ads for scantily clad and dirty-talking chatbots, powered by what their creators say is artificial intelligence.
Link: https://ia.acs.org.au/content/ia/article/2023/airbnb-owner-drops-bid-to-unmask-online-reviewer.html
#PrivacyMatters
Airbnb Owner Drops Bid To Unmask Online Reviewer
An Australian man has dropped his legal attempt to unmask anonymous users who left negative reviews of his Airbnb property.
David Penman who owns the ‘Clifftop at Hepburn’ property in Victoria and who was previously fined for harassing guests, had launched a Federal Court case aiming to force Google and TripAdvisor to reveal the identities of people who had left potentially defamatory reviews of his Airbnb accommodation.
Link: https://ia.acs.org.au/content/ia/article/2023/airbnb-owner-drops-bid-to-unmask-online-reviewer.html
