Hack where the money is...

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/identity-theft-doubled-during-the-pandemic-as-fraudsters-targeted-covid-19-relief-payments/

Identity Theft Doubled During the Pandemic as Fraudsters Targeted COVID-19 Relief Payments

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that cases of identity theft skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with incidents reported doubling compared to 2019.

Most of the incidents targeted government relief funds reserved for individuals and small businesses hardest hit by the pandemic.

The FTC announced that it recorded about 1.4 million reports of identity theft incidents in 2020, twice the number of cases reported in 2019. About 394,280 incidents were associated with unemployment insurance benefits, compared to 12,900 incidents reported in 2019.

(Related) Here is why hacking is so attractive.

https://www.elliptic.co/blog/jokers-stash-retiring

One of the World's Most Prolific Cybercriminals Has Retired - And May Well Be a Bitcoin Billionaire

Useful backgrounder.

https://www.muo.com/how-the-top-instant-messaging-services-use-end-to-end-encryption/

How the Top Instant Messaging Services Use End-to-End Encryption

For my “History of Security’ lecture.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/02/medieval-security-techniques.html

Medieval Security Techniques

Sonja Drummer describes (with photographs) two medieval security techniques. The first is a for authentication: a document has been cut in half with an irregular pattern, so that the two halves can be brought together to prove authenticity. The second is for integrity: hashed lines written above and below a block of text ensure that no one can add additional text at a later date.

Is a complete ban the proper option?

https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/12/minneapolis-facial-recognition-ban/

Minneapolis bans its police department from using facial recognition software

Minneapolis voted Friday to ban the use of facial recognition software for its police department, growing the list of major cities that have implemented local restrictions on the controversial technology. After an ordinance on the ban was approved earlier this week, 13 members of the city council voted in favor of the ban, with no opposition.

The new ban will block the Minneapolis Police Department from using any facial recognition technology, including software by Clearview AI. That company sells access to a large database of facial images, many scraped from major social networks, to federal law enforcement agencies, private companies and a number of U.S. police departments. The Minneapolis Police Department is known to have a relationship with Clearview AI, as is the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which will not be restricted by the new ban.

How does this work? Google pays off some publishers to avoid paying all publishers? Would Napoleon approve?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-france-copyright-exclusive-idUSKBN2AC27N

Exclusive: Google's $76 million deal with French publishers leaves many outlets infuriated

Alphabet Inc’s Google has agreed to pay $76 million over three years to a group of 121 French news publishers to end a more than year-long copyright spat, documents seen by Reuters show.

The agreement between Google and the Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG), a lobby group representing most major French publishers, was announced previously, but financial terms had not been disclosed.

The move infuriated many other French outlets, which deemed it unfair and opaque. Publishers in other countries will scrutinize the French agreement, the highest-profile in the world under Google’s new program to provide compensation for news snippets used in search results.

… The accord follows France’s implementation of the first copyright rule enacted under a recent European Union law that creates “neighbouring rights,” requiring large tech platforms to open talks with publishers seeking remuneration for use of news content.

In Australia, lawmakers have drafted legalisation that would require Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content. Google has threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the country adopts that approach, which the company called “unworkable.”

Will they still want to shut down big tech if it is paying their bills?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/technology/maryland-digital-ads-tax.html

Maryland Approves Country’s First Tax on Big Tech’s Ad Revenue

… The State Senate voted on Friday to override the governor’s veto of the measure, following in the footsteps of the state’s House of Delegates, which gave its approval on Thursday. The tax will generate as much as an estimated $250 million in the first year after enactment, with the money going to schools.

The approval signals the arrival in the United States of a policy pioneered by European countries, and it is likely to set off a fierce legal fight over how far communities can go to tax the tech companies.

… Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat who is president of the State Senate, was a main driver behind the bill. He said he was inspired by an Op-Ed essay from the economist Paul Romer proposing taxing targeted ads to encourage the companies to change their business models.