Privacy

Implementation of a backdoor that would enable government access to Apple users' cloud storage data could set a precedent for authoritarian nation-states and threat actors, with Electronic Frontier Foundation's Thorin Klosowski noting the threat of a global emergency stemming from the secret order.

Increasing concerns regarding the potential utilization of Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek for foreign government surveillance have prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to ban the AI chatbot's usage across all state-issued devices just days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar prohibition for DeepSeek and Chinese-owned social media apps.

Trump "does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress," said the coalition of 14 states attorneys, which includes attorneys general from California, New York, Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Nevada.

Eight of the 19 states with consumer privacy data laws that were evaluated by the two organizations were deemed ineffective.

DeepSeek could be exploited by the Chinese government to facilitate surveillance and misinformation operations, according to the bipartisan bill, which also moves to prohibit any AI apps developed by DeepSeek's parent firm High-Flyer while offering exemptions for research and national security purposes.

Included in the leaked records were individuals' names, birthdates, birthplaces, phone numbers, email addresses, nationalities, employment histories, educational backgrounds, and social media links, according to Cybernews researchers, who noted that such information could be exploited in targeted phishing campaigns and malware intrusions.

Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, which support the chatbot service, have been sought by Garante to provide details not only on the types of gathered personal information, used sources, and server locations but also the purpose and legal basis of such data gathering process within 20 days.

Attacks involved the distribution of malicious PDF files to the targeted individuals, according to a WhatsApp spokesperson, who noted that Paragon has already been sent a cease-and-desist letter regarding the attempted intrusions.