Chrome zero-day vulnerability, internet restrictions and other cybersecurity events

We round up the week’s most important cybersecurity news.

Report: Internet shutdowns in 2022 cost the global economy $10.1 billion

Top10VPN researchers calculated that various government-imposed internet restrictions in 2022 cost the global economy $10.1 billion.

The most severe internet shutdowns were observed in Russia. They involved blocking nearly all major global social networks. The outages cost $8.78 billion.

In total, analysts recorded 54 internet shutdowns in 16 countries this year. Since 2019, various internet shutdowns have cost the economy more than $27 billion.

Apple unveils additional protection for users against spyware

Apple announced the rollout of a new Lockdown Mode feature designed to protect users from spyware deployment.

It will roll out this autumn on iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura. It is primarily aimed at users who could be targeted by spyware, such as journalists and human rights defenders.

In Lockdown Mode, most types of files in messages, except images, are blocked, and link previews are disabled.

In addition, Apple will earmark $10 million in grants to support cybersecurity initiatives focused on spyware research.

Former Facebook contractor claims existence of protocol enabling staff to recover user-deleted data

Former Facebook content moderator Brannan Lawson said he was fired for raising concerns about the protocol enabling employees to recover data deleted by users. Bloomberg reports.

He said that employees can “circumvent Facebook’s privacy protocols,” retrieving Messenger information “that users decided to delete.” Lawson noted that this violates EU digital privacy rules and Facebook’s obligation under the FTC to clearly inform users about data retention policies.

The protocol was mainly used to provide information to law enforcement, he added.

Google releases out-of-band Chrome update fixing a zero-day vulnerability

Google released an out-of-band update for the Chrome browser. It fixes the zero-day vulnerability that is being exploited by attackers.

Roskomnadzor blocked secure mail service Swisscows

In Russia, access to the secure mail service Swisscows was restricted. Roskomnadzor said that it was allegedly used to distribute false bomb threats.

Swisscows is known as a search engine that does not store data on users’ search queries. In 2022 the company launched its own VPN service and an email service focused on enhanced privacy.

AstraLocker ransomware operators shut down. They released decryptors

The AstraLocker ransomware operators announced shutdown and published decryptors, according to Bleeping Computer.

One of the malware operators told reporters that “the party is over sooner or later.” He added that he would stop dealing with ransomware and shift to cryptojacking.

Also on ForkLog:

• Crema Finance protocol on Solana stopped operation due to an attack. Later the hacker returned most of the stolen funds.
• Unknown individuals hacked the accounts of the British Army on Twitter and YouTube to promote a crypto scam.
• Hackers put up for sale a database that allegedly contains information about a billion Chinese citizens for 10 BTC.
• For the first half of 2022, attackers stole almost $2 billion from crypto projects, according to analysts.
• The media learned about the use of spyware in the Ronin attack.

What to read this weekend?

We explain how China’s social credit system works—a chilling system for rights advocates, as if straight from a dystopian novel.

Read ForkLog’s Bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.