Human rights are center stage in a Congressional request to the U.S. Treasury Department for sanctions against Israeli spyware firm NSO Group and three additional foreign surveillance companies that allegedly aided authoritarian governments in committing criminal moral abuses. In a letter signed by Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-California) and 16 other Democratic lawmakers, Treasury was also asked to slap down UAE cybersecurity firm DarkMatter, European bulk surveillance mills Nexa Technologies and Trovicor, and top executives at those firms. Continue reading Lawmakers Urge Treasury Sanctions Against Spyware Firms

According to researchers at security firm Positive Technologies, Intel chips that were released during the past five years contain a flaw that may allow hackers to overcome built-in security measures. The flaw is in the Converged Security and Management Engine (CSME), described as a subsystem inside CPUs and chipsets similar to AMD’s Platform Security Processor. Intel has issued a patch, but Positive Technologies said it may not be enough to protect systems containing the flawed products. Intel’s 10th generation processors are reportedly not among those affected. Continue reading Intel Issues a Patch to Address Concerns About Chip Security