Clearview AI was fined €30.5 million ($33.7 million) by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) for breaking the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) by creating an “illegal database with billions of photos of faces,” including those of Dutch citizens.

In a press release, Dutch DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen stated, “Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world.”

“If there is a photo of you on the Internet – and doesn’t that apply to all of us? – then you can end up in the database of Clearview and be tracked. This is not a doom scenario from a scary film. Nor is it something that could only be done in China.”

Clearview simulated intelligence has been in administrative serious trouble across a few nations, like the U.K., Australia, France, and Italy, over its act of scratching openly accessible data on the web to construct an immense data set containing in excess of 50 billion photographs of individuals’ countenances.

The individuals identified from these images are assigned a unique biometric code, which is then packaged as part of intelligence and investigative services offered to its law enforcement clients to “rapidly identify suspects, persons of interest, and victims to help solve and prevent crimes.” The Dutch DPA, as well as blaming Clearview for gathering clients’ facial information without their assent or information, said the organization “deficiently” illuminates individuals who are in its data set about how their information is utilized and that it doesn’t offer a component to get to their information upon demand.

As of now, Clearview just offers residents of six U.S. states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia – the ability to access, delete, and opt out of profiling.

It also claimed that the company with its headquarters in New York did not end the violations even after the investigation, despite being told to do so immediately or face an additional €5.1 million ($5.6 million) fine. Additionally, Dutch businesses are prohibited from utilizing Clearview’s services by the ruling.

“We are now going to investigate if we can hold the management of the company personally liable and fine them for directing those violations,” Wolfsen said.

“That liability already exists if directors know that the GDPR is being violated, have the authority to stop that, but omit to do so, and in this way consciously accept those violations.”

In a statement shared with the Associated Press, Clearview said it doesn’t fall under EU data protection regulations as it does not have a place of business in the Netherlands or the E.U. It also described the decision as “unlawful.”

Palo Alto warns that threat actors are spoofing GlobalProtect VPN software and delivering malicious payloads to individuals who trust Google Search’s first results. This is a shift from traditional phishing assaults.

In June 2024, security researchers from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 discovered a new malicious campaign.

Threat actors used the GlobalProtect VPN brand to place ads on Google Search that led to a malicious website and appeared at the top of other search results.

For GlobalProtect, the landing pages posed as legitimate Palo Alto websites and deceived users into downloading WikiLoader, a disguised malware loader.

WikiLoader can download extra payloads, take data, and furnish assailants with remote access. This loader-for-lease has been dynamic since late 2022, and it’s been refreshed with “some unique tricks.” Researchers believe that initial access brokers – threat actors specializing in gaining access to computer systems – are shifting from phishing to delivery through SEO (search engine optimization) poisoning.

SEO poisoning means that attacker-controlled sites appear on the front page of search results instead of legitimate products. By purchasing advertisements or increasing page rank, hackers attempt this.

Some organizations in the US’s higher education and transportation sectors have already been affected by WikiLoader, according to Palo Alto researchers, who are warning that SEO poisoning broadens the scope of potential victims.

“While SEO poisoning is not a new technique, it continues to be an effective way to deliver a loader to an endpoint. Spoofing trusted security software is likely to assist in bypassing endpoint controls at organizations that rely on filename-based allow listing,” the Unit 42 report said.

Proofpoint recently detailed that  attackers used WikiLoader to convey banking trojans like Danabot or Ursnif/Gozi to associations in Italy.

Attackers used many tricks to avoid identification. The sample file obtained from a victim was called GlobalProtect64. However, in order to sideload the initial WikiLoader component, it was a rebranded copy of a legitimate share trading application. More than 400 hidden files were included in the zip file.

To prevent victims from wondering why GlobalProtect was not installed, the malware shows a fake error message saying that a DLL is missing once the infection is complete.

Other renamed legitimate software, for example, the Microsoft Sysinternals tool ADInsight.exe, was concealed inside the installer to sideload backdoors.

For order and control, the malware speaks with compromised WordPress  sites.

Researchers stated, “WikiLoader sample will terminate if it finds processes related to virtual machine software.”

They believe that WikiLoader use throughout 2024 and beyond.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is set to fine the security camera organization Verkada $2.95 million for different violations, including its failure to carry out appropriate safety efforts – one of which permitted hackers to watch clients.

Verkada is a US-based camera security organization that works in different areas, including schooling, medical care, and hospitality. The organization sells IP-empowered enabled security cameras that, if not protected, pose significant security risks.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) say that the company let hackers spy on customers in their most vulnerable environments because it failed to protect their personal information.

As per the FTC, hackers got to 150,000 live security feeds to watch patients in mental medical clinics, women’s health clinics, schools, and prisons.

In Walk 2021, a threat actor successfully accessed live camera takes care of and had the option to watch clients without them knowing. Verkada was allegedly unaware of this until the hacker made the attack public.

Not only did the threat actor watch people through Verkada’s security cameras, but the hacker also downloaded sensitive information from clients, including names, email addresses, actual areas, usernames and passwords, geolocation of the security cameras, and that’s just the beginning.

The FTC and DOJ stated that individuals associated with Verkada left falsely positive reviews of their products and services in addition to the poor security practices. Investors and representatives left these surveys without revealing their relationship with the organization.

Verkada also allegedly violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography Act, and the company is said to have sent commercial emails to customers without letting them unsubscribe or opt out. Over the course of three years, Verkada is alleged to have sent thirty million emails.

Verkada is now required to adopt a robust security program that includes encryption of information and multi-factor authentication to access sensitive information. This security program will need to be evaluated by outside parties for the company. Verkada should pay nearly $3 million in fines for violating the CAN-SPAM Act.arketing Act or CAN-SPAM Act, which regulates commercial messaging.