Apple and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, provided customer data to hackers who pretended to be law-enforcement officials, sources said.
Apple and Meta provided basic subscriber details, such as a customer’s address, phone number and IP address, in mid-2021 in response to the forged “emergency data requests".
Normally, such requests are only provided with a search warrant or subpoena signed by a judge, the sources said. But emergency requests do not require a court order.
Snap received a forged legal request from the same hackers, but it is not known whether the company provided data in response.
It is also not clear how many times the companies provided data after receiving forged legal requests.
Cyber-security researchers suspect that some of the hackers sending the forgeries are minors in the UK and the US.
One minor is also believed to be the leader of the cyber-crime group Lapsus$, which hacked Microsoft, Samsung and Nvidia, among others, the sources said.
City of London Police recently arrested seven people in connection with an investigation into the Lapsus$ hacking group. The inquiry is continuing.
An Apple representative referred Bloomberg News to a section of its law-enforcement guidelines.
The guidelines say a supervisor for the government or law-enforcement agent who submitted the request “may be contacted and asked to confirm to Apple that the emergency request was legitimate".
“We review every data request for legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law-enforcement requests and detect abuse,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said.
“We block known compromised accounts from making requests and work with law enforcement to respond to incidents involving suspected fraudulent requests, as we have done in this case.”
Snap had no immediate comment on the case, but a representative said the company had protection in place to detect fraudulent requests.
Law enforcement around the world routinely asks social media platforms for information about users as part of criminal investigations. In the US, such requests usually include a signed order from a judge.
The emergency requests are intended to be used in cases of imminent danger.
Hackers affiliated with a cyber-crime group known as “Recursion Team” are believed to be behind some of the forged legal requests.
The requests were sent to companies throughout 2021, the sources said.
Recursion Team is no longer active, but many of its members continue to carry out hacks under different names, including as part of Lapsus$, they said.
The information obtained by the hackers using the forged legal requests has been used to enable harassment campaigns, one source said.
The sources said it might be primarily used in financial fraud schemes. The hackers could use the victim’s information to try to bypass account security.
The fraudulent legal requests are part of a months-long campaign against many technology companies and began as early as January 2021, the sources said.
The requests are believed to be sent through hacked email domains belonging to law-enforcement agencies in several countries.
The forged requests were made to appear legitimate. In some instances, the documents included the forged signatures of real or fictional law enforcement officers.
By compromising law-enforcement email systems, the hackers may have found legitimate legal requests and used them as a template.
“In every instance where these companies messed up, at the core of it there was a person trying to do the right thing,” said Allison Nixon, chief research officer at the cyber firm Unit 221B.
“I can’t tell you how many times trust and safety teams have quietly saved lives because employees had the legal flexibility to rapidly respond to a tragic situation unfolding for a user.”
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
THE%20SPECS
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
HWJN
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