https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tech-giants-duped-giving-data-173424811.html * HOME * MAIL * NEWS * FINANCE * SPORTS * ENTERTAINMENT * LIFE * SEARCH * SHOPPING * YAHOO PLUS * MORE... * [yahoo_fina][yahoo_fina] Yahoo Finance [ ] Sign in Mail Sign in to view your mail * Finance Finance * Watchlists Watchlists * My Portfolio My Portfolio * Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies * # Yahoo Finance Plus Yahoo Finance Plus + Dashboard Dashboard + Research Reports Research Reports + Investment Ideas Investment Ideas + Community Insights Community Insights + Blog Blog * Screeners Screeners + Saved Screeners Saved Screeners + Equity Screener Equity Screener + Mutual Fund Screener Mutual Fund Screener + ETF Screener ETF Screener + Futures Screener Futures Screener + Index Screener Index Screener * Markets Markets + Calendars Calendars + Trending Tickers Trending Tickers + Stocks: Most Actives Stocks: Most Actives + Stocks: Gainers Stocks: Gainers + Stocks: Losers Stocks: Losers + Top ETFs Top ETFs + Futures Futures + World Indices World Indices + Currencies Currencies + Top Mutual Funds Top Mutual Funds + Options: Highest Open Interest Options: Highest Open Interest + Options: Highest Implied Volatility Options: Highest Implied Volatility + US Treasury Bonds Rates US Treasury Bonds Rates + Currency Converter Currency Converter * News News + Latest News Latest News + Politics Politics + Stock Market News Stock Market News + Crypto News Crypto News + Morning Brief Morning Brief + Bidenomics Report Card Bidenomics Report Card + Aarthi Swaminathan Aarthi Swaminathan + Adriana Belmonte Adriana Belmonte + Akiko Fujita Akiko Fujita + Alexandra Canal Alexandra Canal + Alexandra Garfinkle Alexandra Garfinkle + Alexandra Semenova Alexandra Semenova + Alexis Keenan Alexis Keenan + Andy Serwer Andy Serwer + Anjalee Khemlani Anjalee Khemlani + Ben Werschkul Ben Werschkul + Brad Smith Brad Smith + Brian Cheung Brian Cheung + Brian Sozzi Brian Sozzi + Brooke DiPalma Brooke DiPalma + Dani Romero Dani Romero + Daniel Howley Daniel Howley + Dave Briggs Dave Briggs + David Hollerith David Hollerith + Ella Vincent Ella Vincent + Emily McCormick Emily McCormick + Erin Fuchs Erin Fuchs + Ethan Wolff-Mann Ethan Wolff-Mann + Ines Ferre Ines Ferre + Jared Blikre Jared Blikre + Jennifer Schonberger Jennifer Schonberger + Julie Hyman Julie Hyman + Kerry Hannon Kerry Hannon + Luke Carberry Mogan Luke Carberry Mogan + Marquise Francis Marquise Francis + Max Zahn Max Zahn + Michael Kelley Michael Kelley + Pras Subramanian Pras Subramanian + Rachelle Akuffo Rachelle Akuffo + Rick Newman Rick Newman + Ronda Lee Ronda Lee + Seana Smith Seana Smith + Sheila Bair Sheila Bair + Stephanie Asymkos Stephanie Asymkos * Personal Finance Personal Finance + Home Home + Retirement Retirement + Taxes Taxes + Rates Rates * Videos Videos + Yahoo Finance Live Yahoo Finance Live + Influencers with Andy Serwer Influencers with Andy Serwer + Yahoo Finance Presents Yahoo Finance Presents + Yahoo U Yahoo U + A Time for Change A Time for Change + Spotlight Spotlight + Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit + Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway + Events Events + ETF Report ETF Report + Davos Davos + Crypto Corner Crypto Corner + FA Corner FA Corner + Women and Money Women and Money + America: Back in Business America: Back in Business * Yahoo U Yahoo U * Industries Industries + Saved Screeners Saved Screeners + Equity Screener Equity Screener + Mutual Fund Screener Mutual Fund Screener + ETF Screener ETF Screener + Futures Screener Futures Screener + Index Screener Index Screener * Tech Tech + Reviews Reviews + How To How To + Games Games + Video Video * Contact Us Contact Us ... ... __ Advertisement __ U.S. markets closed * S&P 500 4,183.96 +8.76 (+0.21%) * Dow 30 33,301.93 +61.75 (+0.19%) * Nasdaq 12,488.93 -1.81 (-0.01%) * Russell 2000 1,884.04 -6.44 (-0.34%) * Crude Oil 101.82 -0.20 (-0.20%) * Gold 1,885.30 -3.40 (-0.18%) * Silver 23.37 -0.09 (-0.38%) * EUR/USD 1.0556 -0.0087 (-0.81%) * 10-Yr Bond 2.8180 +0.0460 (+1.66%) * GBP/USD 1.2538 -0.0036 (-0.28%) * USD/JPY 128.5360 +1.3260 (+1.04%) * BTC-USD 39,089.62 +829.60 (+2.17%) * CMC Crypto 200 906.99 +14.07 (+1.58%) * FTSE 100 7,425.61 +39.42 (+0.53%) * Nikkei 225 26,386.63 -313.48 (-1.17%) BloombergBloomberg Tech Giants Duped Into Giving Up Data Used to Sexually Extort Minors Read full article * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * FB * AAPL * SNAP * GOOG * GOOGL * TWTR * William Turton April 26, 2022, 1:34 PM*6 min read [add935b57c] [e041949346] 1 / 2 Tech Giants Duped Into Giving Up Data Used to Sexually Extort Minors In this article: * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below * FB * AAPL * SNAP * GOOG * GOOGL * TWTR (Bloomberg) -- Major technology companies have been duped into providing sensitive personal information about their customers in response to fraudulent legal requests, and the data has been used to harass and even sexually extort minors, according to four federal law enforcement officials and two industry investigators. Most Read from Bloomberg * Four European Gas Buyers Made Ruble Payments to Russia * Russia to Cut Gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Making Energy a Weapon * Russia to Cut Gas to Poland, Bulgaria Until Pay Demands Met * Amazon's Twitch Seeks to Revamp Creator Pay With Focus on Profit * Ukraine Latest: Russia Says It Cut Gas Flows to Poland, Bulgaria The companies that have complied with the bogus requests include Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Snap Inc., Twitter Inc. and Discord Inc., according to three of the people. All of the people requested anonymity to speak frankly about the devious new brand of online crime that involves underage victims. The fraudulently obtained data has been used to target specific women and minors, and in some cases to pressure them into creating and sharing sexually explicit material and to retaliate against them if they refuse, according to the six people. The tactic is considered by law enforcement and other investigators to be the newest criminal tool to obtain personally identifiable information that can be used not only for financial gain but to extort and harass innocent victims. It is particularly unsettling since the attackers are successfully impersonating law enforcement officers. The tactic is impossible for victims to protect against, as the best way to avoid it would be to not have an account on the targeted service, according to the people. It's not clear how often the fraudulent data requests have been used to sexually extort minors. Law enforcement and the technology companies are still trying to assess the scope of the problem. Since the requests appear to come from legitimate police agencies, it's difficult for companies to know when they have been tricked into giving out user data, the people said. Story continues Nonetheless, the law enforcement officials and investigators said it appears the method has become more prevalent in recent months. "I know that emergency data requests get used for in real life-threatening emergencies every day, and it is tragic that this mechanism is being abused to sexually exploit children," said Alex Stamos, a former chief security officer at Facebook who now works as a consultant. "Police departments are going to have to focus on preventing account compromises with multifactor authentication and better analysis of user behavior, and tech companies should implement a confirmation callback policy as well as push law enforcement to use their dedicated portals where they can better detect account takeovers," Stamos said. A Google spokesperson said, "In 2021, we uncovered a fraudulent data request coming from malicious actors posing as legitimate government officials. We quickly identified an individual who appeared to be responsible and notified law enforcement. We are actively working with law enforcement and others in the industry to detect and prevent illegitimate data requests." Facebook workers review every data request for "legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse," a spokesperson said. Similarly, Rachel Racusen, a Snap spokesperson, said the company carefully reviews each request it gets from law enforcement "to ensure its validity and have multiple safeguards in place to detect fraudulent requests." A Discord spokesperson said they validate all emergency requests. Twitter and Apple declined to comment. Emergency requests typically don't include a court order signed by a judge, so companies are usually under no legal obligation to provide data. But it is a generally accepted practice that companies will turn over limited data in response to "good faith" requests by law enforcement involving imminent danger. Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Apple and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, provided customer data to hackers who masqueraded as law enforcement officials. At that time, three people familiar with the matter said the fake requests appeared to be primarily used for financial fraud schemes. The exact method of the attacks varies, but they tend to follow a general pattern, according to the law enforcement officers. It starts with the perpetrator compromising the email system of a foreign law enforcement agency. Then, the attacker will forge an "emergency data request" to a technology company, seeking information about a user's account, the officers said. Such requests are used by law enforcement to obtain information amount online accounts in cases involving imminent danger such as suicide, murder or abductions. In return, the companies provide the attacker with basic subscriber information -- the same data provided to law enforcement in response to a court-ordered subpoena, said law enforcement officials and people familiar with the legal processes. The data provided varies by companies, but generally includes the name, IP address, email address and physical address. Some companies provide more data. Though seemingly innocuous, such personal data in the wrong hands can be weaponized. The attackers have used the information to hack into victim's online accounts or to befriend the women and minors before encouraging them to provide sexually explicit photos, according to the people. Many of the perpetrators are believed to be teenagers themselves based in the U.S. and abroad, according to four of the people. If the victims don't comply with the demands, the attackers have used several harassment techniques to retaliate, according to the people. One technique that has been deployed is called "swatting," where perpetrators call in a fake threat to a local 911 dispatcher in order to generate a law enforcement response to the address of their target. In multiple instances, underage women have been swatted at their homes and schools, the federal law enforcement officials said. Another approach, called doxxing, involves publishing the detailed personal information, including phone numbers and physical addresses of victims and their family members, online. The information, which is sometimes obtained in part by fraudulent legal requests, is usually posted on sites dedicated to doxxing, which essentially serve as an open invite for other people on the site to harass the victim. In addition, perpetrators have threatened to send sexually explicit material provided by the victim to their friends, family members and school administrators if they don't comply with the demands, according to the people. In a few instances, the victims have been pressured to carve the perpetrator's name into their skin and share photographs of it, according to the law enforcement officials and online chat transcripts reviewed by Bloomberg. The problem of forged legal requests is prompting companies to think of new ways to verify legitimate legal requests, according to a dozen people who are familiar with the matter. "Fraudulent emergency data requests abuse the 'good faith' basis of imminent harm, but fraudsters have also been known to spoof legitimate legal process such as subpoenas and search warrants by counterfeiting a judge's signature," said Matt Donahue, founder of Kodex, which creates software for companies to manage legal requests. In a statement last month, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, said he was requesting information from technology companies about the practice of forged legal requests. "I'm particularly troubled by the prospect that forged emergency orders may be coming from compromised foreign law enforcement agencies, and then used to target vulnerable individuals," Wyden said. "No one wants tech companies to refuse legitimate emergency requests when someone's safety is at stake, but the current system has clear weaknesses that need to be addressed." Allison Nixon, chief research officer at the cybersecurity firm Unit 221b, said the threat from underage perpetrators should be prioritized by the computer security industry and law enforcement. "We are now witnessing their transition to organized crime, and all the real world violence and sexual abuse that comes with it," Nixon said, adding that juvenile hackers are causing serious harm, so "we need to start treating them like adults." Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek * The 400 Airplanes That Russia Seized Have Become an Epic Insurance Struggle * China's Biggest Covid Failure Is Not Deploying an mRNA Vaccine * China's Campaign to Wipe Out Covid Is Crushing Its Economy * Elon Musk Stakes a $44 Billion Claim on the Future of Free Speech * An Entire Neighborhood Is Being Flipped by a Los Angeles Developer (c)2022 Bloomberg L.P. __ * __ Advertisement [ ] Related Quotes Symbol Last Price Change % Change AAPL 156.57 -0.23 -0.15% Apple Inc. FB 174.95 -6.00 -3.32% Meta Platforms, Inc. GOOG 2,300.41 -89.71 -3.75% Alphabet Inc. GOOGL 2,285.89 -87.11 -3.67% Alphabet Inc. SNAP 27.09 -1.60 -5.58% Snap Inc. TRENDING * 1. U.S. consumer chief Chopra to revisit rules around credit card fees, abuses * 2. Amazon Permanently Lifts Ban on Mobile Phones in Warehouses * 3. Hwang's Spectacular Collapse Culminates in Criminal Charges * 4. McDonald's earnings preview: Here's what to expect * 5. U.S. Tech Bounce Boosts Sentiment Before Asia Open: Markets Wrap * __ Advertisement * __ Advertisement Recommended Stories * [placeholde] Times Record News Wichita Falls man gets probation in child indecency case A Wichita Falls man pleaded guilty Monday to indecency with a child. 1d ago * [placeholde] Bloomberg California Is Set for Gas-Tax Hike After Newsom Fails to Win Freeze (Bloomberg) -- California is set for an automatic increase in its fuel tax July 1 after Governor Gavin Newsom failed to convince lawmakers to pause the hike, part of his plan to bring relief to residents in the state with the most expensive gasoline. Most Read from BloombergFour European Gas Buyers Made Ruble Payments to RussiaRussia to Cut Gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Making Energy a WeaponRussia to Cut Gas to Poland, Bulgaria Until Pay Demands MetAmazon's Twitch Seeks to Revamp Creator Pay With 7h ago * [placeholde] Ad*Play Gun Lake Online Casino + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus AdClaim 500 Free Spins on Top Gun! Join Play Gun Lake Online Casino and Get $750 Match Bonus + 500 Free Spins! * [placeholde] KOKI Wisconsin track, cross-country star Sarah Shulze dead at age 21 The Shulze family has created a charitable foundation "to continue to support the causes most important to Sarah," such as women's rights. 1d ago * [placeholde] Bloomberg Russia's Lukoil Makes Debt Payment After Sanctioned Founder Exit (Bloomberg) -- Some investors in Russian oil and gas company Lukoil PJSC received a debt payment due on Monday in dollars, days after the company said its sanctioned chief executive and founder would resign. Most Read from BloombergRussia to Cut Gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Making Energy a WeaponFour European Gas Buyers Made Ruble Payments to RussiaRussia Warns of Nuclear War Risk as Ukraine Talks Go OnUkraine Latest: Russia Says It Cut Gas Flows to Poland, BulgariaRussia to Cut Gas to Poland, Bu 13h ago * [placeholde] Bloomberg Hwang's Acolyte Tao Li Is Mystery Fund Manager in Archegos Case (Bloomberg) -- As Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital Management sought to supersize a favorite stock bet beyond what banks were willing to carry out, he turned to hedge fund run by an old friend, according to U.S. prosecutors.Most Read from BloombergFour European Gas Buyers Made Ruble Payments to RussiaRussia to Cut Gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Making Energy a WeaponRussia to Cut Gas to Poland, Bulgaria Until Pay Demands MetAmazon's Twitch Seeks to Revamp Creator Pay With Focus on ProfitUkraine Latest 2h ago * [placeholde] Ad*Fisher Investments + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus Ad7 Ways to Retire Comfortably With $500k For those with a $500k portfolio, download this guide to learn ways to grow your wealth and generate income from your portfolio. * [placeholde] Associated Press Oregon governor's clemency of murderer unleashes criticism In 1994, Kyle Hedquist led a teenager down a remote logging road, then shot her in the back of the head because he feared she might tell police about burglaries he'd committed. Gov. Kate Brown granted clemency to Hedquist, who was serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of murdering Nikki Thrasher when he was 17. Brown's act is unleashing a storm of criticism from prosecutors and law enforcement. 3h ago * [placeholde] NextShark Girl, 14, beaten unconscious by older male student in Canada after he made anti-Asian, homophobic remarks Local authorities in Canada are investigating an attack that left a 14-year-old student unconscious inside a high school in the city of Richmond. Janice Xie, a Grade 9 student at Hugh Boyd Secondary School, said a 17-year-old Grade 11 student beat her up in a school corridor and left her with head injuries on Thursday. Xie, who was rushed to the hospital for treatment, suffered a concussion. 4h ago * [placeholde] LA Times Rebecca Grossman's SUV hit 81 mph before hitting two boys, didn't stop, witnesses testify Grossman was driving nearly double the speed limit and braked for only a split-second after fatally striking two boys in Westlake Village in 2020, witnesses said. 19h ago * [placeholde] Ad*FinanceBuzz + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus Ad5 Clever Moves When You Have $1,000 In The Bank We did the research so you don't have to. Explore our top ways to get the most out of $1,000. * [placeholde] Time Deported From France as Convicts, These Women Helped Build New Orleans The frigate was bound for the vast territory in what is now the United States that the French called "Louisiana" in honor of King Louis XIV. The vessel transported only female passengers, all of them convicts taken from one of Paris's most notorious prisons. Authorities had suddenly become aware of a critical lack of Frenchwomen in a colony that Indies Company officials hoped to develop quickly and turn into a major producer of tobacco, thus allowing France to rival English colonies along the Chesapeake. 1d ago * [placeholde] MarketWatch Chugga-chugga-cheat: Vintage train buff guilty of ripping off National Park Service in $860K project to restore 1923 train car John Rimmasch was accused of billing hundreds of thousands for removing old asbestos even though he didn't. 8h ago * [placeholde] The Independent Six-year-old boy suffers third-degree burns in bullying attack: 'Mommy they lit me on fire' Dominick Krankall is expected to recover, but his small frame remains bandaged and swollen from Sunday's attack 3h ago * [placeholde] Ad*Sogoodly + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus AdWrap Foil Around Doorknobs When Alone Always wrap foil around doorknobs when alone, here's why * [placeholde] Ukrayinska Pravda Defence industry official leaks Ukrainian aircraft secrets to Russian Federation KATERINA TISHCHENKO - WEDNESDAY, 27 APRIL, 2022, 04:24 PM Military counterintelligence of the SBU exposed a defence facility official in the Zhytomyr region who was collecting classified information about Ukrainian combat aircraft and air force infrastructure. 10h ago * [placeholde] Kansas City Star Spare me the comparison of Jackson to Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett SCOTUS hearings Brett Kavanaugh humiliated himself with his emotional performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. | Opinion 13h ago * [placeholde] Fort Worth Star-Telegram Man shoots his neighbor over a parking space, Texas family says. 'That's my spot' "He keeps asking the doctors if he's going to live, and he's scared to go to sleep because he thinks he will die." 1d ago * [placeholde] Ad*M Technologies | Search Ads + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus AdInstalling a Ductless AC in 2022 May Be Dirt Cheap Search for ductless AC installation costs here... you might be in for a big surprise this year! * [placeholde] Bloomberg Hwang Pleads Not Guilty, to Be Released on $100 Million Bond (Bloomberg) -- Archegos Capital Management Founder Bill Hwang pleaded not guilty to fraud and other charges from the collapse of his family office, and will be freed on $100 million bail. Most Read from BloombergFour European Gas Buyers Made Ruble Payments to RussiaRussia to Cut Gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Making Energy a WeaponRussia to Cut Gas to Poland, Bulgaria Until Pay Demands MetAmazon's Twitch Seeks to Revamp Creator Pay With Focus on ProfitUkraine Latest: Russia Says It Cut Gas Flows to 3h ago * [placeholde] WFXT Student pilot comes under fire while landing a plane at Gardner Airport The FAA said the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 172 reported a bullet hole in the gas tank after landing. 2d ago * [placeholde] Yahoo Movies 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn defends Chris Pratt against latest social media backlash James Gunn is (once again) looking out for his "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Chris Pratt. 1d ago * [placeholde] Ad*Gundry MD Total Restore + Why this Ad? + I like this ad + I don't like this ad + Try Yahoo Finance Plus AdIf You Eat Oatmeal Every Day, This Is What Happens Top Doctor explains what eating certain fruits, veggies, and whole grains may cause to your body. You might be surprised at the effects! * [placeholde] Fox News Boston juveniles hurling racial slurs, 'terrorizing' downtown arrested again in McDonald's brawl: police Three juveniles accused of participating in the beating of a 20-year-old woman allegedly targeted because of her race and hairstyle were arrested again over a recent brawl at a McDonald's. 1d ago * [placeholde] The Independent When are the May Bank Holidays? Full list for 2022 Everything you need to know before planning your annual leave for 2022 2d ago * [placeholde] Atlanta Black Star By Any Means: Emmett Till's Family Calls on Authorities to Use 1995 Kidnapping Warrant to Apprehend Woman Who Wrongly Accused the Chicago Teen The white woman who said Emmett Till flirted with her, an action that in the 1950s led to his brutal slaying, may have an outstanding [...] 8h ago More Stories * __ Advertisement __ Advertisement __