Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Users Download Malware in Bid to Placate MetaA newly surfaced FileFix social engineering campaign puts a new spin on ClickFix attacks by goading users into loading malware under the guise of reporting a wrongful account suspension to social media giant Facebook. Victims likely get sucked into the scam by following a link from a phishing email.

German Court Rebuffs Consumer Group Bid for InjunctionMeta can use the public posts of European Instagram and Facebook users to train its artificial intelligence models starting Tuesday after a German court rejected an injunction against the company. The court said Meta has a "legitimate interest" in processing the data.

All Risk, No Reward: Meta's Ongoing Legal Issues in EuropeSocial media giant Meta is likely to face more legal hurdles over its plans to use the personal data of European Facebook and Instagram users to train artificial intelligence models. Meta paused efforts to train AI with European data in June 2024.

European Commission Also Fines Apple 500 Million EurosEuropean regulators said Facebook conducted an end run around privacy regulations by requiring users to pay a monthly subscription fee or else accept that their personal data would be fed to advertisers. The European Commission fined the social media giant 200 million euros.

Meta Vows to AppealThe Irish data regulator fined social media platform Meta 251 million euros over a 2018 hack that exposed sensitive data of millions of European Facebook users, including that of children. The bug was in Facebook's "View As" feature permitting a user to see their own profile as it appears to others.

Competition Regulator Says WhatsApp Users Could Not Opt Out of Data SharingIndia's Competition Commission has fined social media conglomerate Meta over $25 million for forcing WhatsApp users to agree to a sweeping data sharing policy with other Meta platforms. The agency ordered the company to stop using users' data for online advertising on other Meta platforms.

Firm Won't Deploy Feature in the EU, UK Due to Data Collection NormsMeta is rolling out facial recognition technology on its social media platforms to spot scam ads featuring celebrity deepfakes. Meta took down 8,000 of the "celeb bait" scam ads. The feature also aims to verify the identities of users locked out of their Facebook or Instagram accounts.

Fine Is For 2019 Disclosure That Meta Stored User Passwords In PlaintextThe Irish data regulator fined social media giant Meta 91 million euros after an investigation found the company insecurely stored passwords of millions of European Facebook and Instagram users. A Meta spokesperson said the company identified the problem in 2019 and took "immediate action."

It's Time for Big Tech to Be Held Accountable for Rampant Online FraudFrom account takeover threats to fake investment schemes, it doesn't take much time on social media to stumble upon a scam. But if you try to report these bad actors to social platforms such as Facebook, you may have a hard time doing so. On Facebook, "scam" or "fraud" aren't reporting options.

Company Says It Will Still Attempt to Use Public Posts Dating to 2007 to Train AISocial media giant Meta will delay plans to train artificial intelligence with data harvested from European Instagram and Facebook users weeks after a rights group lodged a complaint against the company with 11 European data regulators. A Meta spokesperson said the delay is temporary.

Austrian Privacy Group Lodges Complaints With 11 European Regulators Against MetaMeta's plan to train artificial intelligence with data generated by Facebook and Instagram users faces friction in Europe after a rights group alleged it violates continental privacy law. Austrian privacy organization NOYB said it lodged complaints against Meta with 11 European data regulators.

EU Lawmakers Say Privacy Shouldn't Be for SaleFacebook's attempt to navigate European privacy regulations by giving users a fee-based opt-out from behavioral advertising triggered backlash from more than a dozen European politicians who accused the social media giant of treating human rights as a commodity.

Banking Fraud Heads Say Facebook Marketplace Is Teeming With ScammersMeta-owned online marketplaces are swarming with scammers who use deceptive ads to defraud banking customers, fraud prevention heads at leading British banks testified before a U.K. Parliament committee. They called on the social media giant to roll out stronger fraud prevention measures.

Hackers Use Messaging Apps WhatsApp, Telegram to Bait VictimsMobile banking Trojans spread through deceptive social media messages remain a problem for Indian smartphone users, warns Microsoft. India accounts for 4 in 10 global transactions made with digital payments, according to the National Payments Corporation of India.