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Geico Data Breach Exposed Driver’s Licenses in Early 2021

Andrew Orr ·

Geico revealed a data breach that occurred on its systems and hackers accessed driver’s licenses.

The insurance giant did not say how many customers were affected by the breach but said the fraudsters accessed customer driver’s license numbers between January 21 and March 1. Companies are required to alert the state’s attorney general’s office when more than 500 state residents are affected by a security incident.

Geico said it had “reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name.”

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Spotify, Match, Tile Exec to Appear as Witnesses at Apple, Google Antitrust Hearing

Charlotte Henry ·

Executives from Spotify, Match, and Tile will appear as witnesses at Wednesday’s Senate antitrust hearing into Apple and Google, Bloomberg News reported. All the firms have clashed with Apple in the past.

Google Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson White will be the search giant’s representative, joining Apple Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer in the spotlight. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights, which is holding the hearing, also plans to call Horacio Gutierrez, Kirsten Daru, and Jared Sine, top legal executives from Spotify, Tile and Match Group, respectively. Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, will also be called. Spotify, Tile and Match have all been embroiled in antitrust fights with Apple recently, with Spotify and Match filing complaints about Apple’s App Store rules and fees. Tile believes Apple’s Find My app will give the company’s rumored AirTags accessory for finding physical objects a leg up over third-party rivals.

TMO Deals

Magnetic Phone Holder: $24.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal for you today on a magnetic iPhone holder. This device is ergonomically-designed with a bracket that easily extends after being attached to a laptop, computer monitor, or vertical flat surface. It also has a reserved charging port so that you can power up your phone. It’s $24.99 through our deal.

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Malvertising Campaign ‘Tag Barnakle’ Infected 120 Ad Servers

Andrew Orr ·

First discovered a year ago, malvertising campaign Tag Barnakle has infected over 120 ad servers to insert malicious code into ads.

Stein says that while last year Tag Barnakle had targeted users of desktop browsers with redirects to malware download sites, over the past year, the gang has switched to going after mobile users and redirecting them to online scams peddling various scammy products.

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Memo Reveals How Lawmakers Want to Reform Section 230

Andrew Orr ·

A new proposal from lawmakers reveals how Congress wants to take steps to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

A new proposal by Republican lawmakers to overhaul a critical law that protects online platforms already looks dead in the water, according to one legal expert, though another prominent legal scholar believes it could fuel bipartisan reform for tech regulation.

The Republican members’ proposal submitted Thursday calls for, among other things, modifying 230 to strip liability protection for Big Tech if their content moderation practices discriminate against political affiliations or viewpoints, a frequent conservative talking point.

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'Greyhound' and 'Servant' Win at Motion Picture Sound Editors Award Winners

Charlotte Henry ·

Greyhound and Servant were both victorious at Friday night’s Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards. As The Hollywood Reporter’s break down highlights, in some cases, they actually beat other Apple TV+ content. No doubt the company will be pleased to be competing in technical, as well as creative, categories.

Greyhound and Soul, along with Mank, News of the World, and Sound of Metal are nominated for the Oscar for sound–a new category combining what was previously two separate categories for sound editing and sound mixing. All five movies are also nominated for Cinema Audio Society Awards for sound mixing, which will be handed out during a virtual ceremony on Saturday.

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PlayStation Store to Remain on PS3 and PS Vita

Charlotte Henry ·

The PlayStation Store will remain available for PS3 and PS Vita users. President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced the change of course on Monday.

Today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned. When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on. We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.