RE: https://todon.eu/@autonomysolidarity/116087470098321002

Add to this that the Dutch police has been working in secret with Palantir since 2012, but with knowledge of the OM and AIVD, seems all our Western democratic governments are setting up the Stasi 10.0.

#BiometricSurveillance #SurveillanceState #WesternDemocracy #Palantir

CBP has just inked a contract with Clearview AI to use its facial-recognition system for tactical targeting, even as DHS faces growing scrutiny over biometric surveillance. The move raises fresh questions about immigration enforcement and civil liberties. What does this mean for privacy and oversight? Read the full story. #ClearviewAI #FacialRecognition #BiometricSurveillance #CivilLiberties

🔗 https://aidailypost.com/news/cbp-signs-clearview-ai-contract-tactical-targeting-amid-dhs-scrutiny

Hello everyone! It's been a pretty active 24 hours in the cyber world, with a significant ransomware incident, a deep dive into a global state-sponsored espionage campaign, and some critical warnings about social engineering on messaging apps. We're also seeing more scrutiny on biometric data and AI surveillance. Let's get into it:

Payment Gateway Hit by Ransomware ⚠️
- BridgePay Network Solutions, a major US payment gateway, has confirmed a ransomware attack caused widespread outages across its core production systems.
- The incident, which began on Friday, led to merchants nationwide being unable to process card payments, forcing some to go cash-only.
- While initial forensics suggest no payment card data was compromised, the attack encrypted files and highlights the critical impact of ransomware on payment infrastructure.

🤖 Bleeping Computer | https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/payment-gateway-bridgepay-confirms-ransomware-attack-behind-outage/

Global Espionage Operation 'Shadow Campaigns' Uncovered 🕵️
- Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 has detailed "Shadow Campaigns," a global espionage operation by an Asia-based state-sponsored actor (tracked as TGR-STA-1030/UNC6619) active since January 2024.
- The group has compromised at least 70 government and critical infrastructure organisations in 37 countries, with reconnaissance efforts targeting 155 nations.
- Initial access methods include tailored phishing with a custom 'Diaoyu' loader and exploitation of 15 known vulnerabilities, alongside the deployment of 'ShadowGuard', a custom Linux kernel eBPF rootkit designed for stealthy persistence.

🤖 Bleeping Computer | https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/state-actor-targets-155-countries-in-shadow-campaigns-espionage-op/

State-Sponsored Signal Phishing Targets High-Value Individuals 📱
- German intelligence agencies (BfV and BSI) are warning of state-sponsored phishing attacks via the Signal messaging app, targeting politicians, military personnel, diplomats, and journalists.
- Attackers impersonate "Signal Support" to trick victims into revealing their Signal PIN or scanning a malicious QR code, gaining access to contacts, profile information, and potentially message history.
- This campaign doesn't exploit Signal vulnerabilities but weaponises its legitimate features; similar tactics could extend to WhatsApp, underscoring the need for Registration Lock and vigilance against social engineering.

📰 The Hacker News | https://thehackernews.com/2026/02/german-agencies-warn-of-signal-phishing.html

Biometric Surveillance Under Scrutiny 🔒
- New York City's MTA is trialling AI-powered cameras in subway gates to detect fare evasion, generating physical descriptions of suspected individuals and raising significant privacy concerns.
- This initiative is part of a broader trend of increasing biometric surveillance in NYC by both government and retailers, prompting warnings about "sleepwalking into a surveillance state."
- Separately, the DHS Inspector General has launched an audit into the Department of Homeland Security's privacy practices, specifically focusing on the collection and management of biometric data by ICE and OBIM amid allegations of civil liberties violations.

🗞️ The Record | https://therecord.media/nyc-explores-ai-cameras-fare-evaders-subway
🤫 CyberScoop | https://cyberscoop.com/dhs-ig-audit-ice-obim-biometric-data-privacy-facial-recognition/

#CyberSecurity #Ransomware #Espionage #APT #StateSponsored #Phishing #SocialEngineering #SignalApp #DataPrivacy #BiometricSurveillance #AI #InfoSec #ThreatIntelligence #IncidentResponse

Don't Let the Grocery Store Scan Your Face: How to Stop Wegmans

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/01/07/dont-let-the-grocery-store-scan-your-face-a-guide-to-fighting-back-against-biometric-surveillance-at-wegmans/

#HackerNews #BiometricSurveillance #Wegmans #PrivacyRights #ConsumerAwareness #FightBack

Coded Bias: Panel Debate on Algorithmic Discrimination and the Artificial Intelligence Act

https://peertube.european-pirates.eu/videos/watch/4e59a1a7-f10e-41db-9688-6682c26de21b

Biometrics are a convenient and secure way to authenticate our devices. Many of us use and trust the biometrics of our devices without much thought, but are they really secure?

And with so many options, which ones are the best?

https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/02/13/biometrics-explained/

#Biometrics #Security #Privacy #BiometricSurveillance #PrivacyGuides #PrivacyExplained #PrivacyExperts #TechExplained #Explainer

🚨 Hungary’s new #BiometricSurveillance laws violate the EU #AIAct 🚨

The expansion of the use of #FacialRecognition technology in Hungary is incredibly concerning. The government plans to use it to track and identify people attending peaceful assemblies, such as #BudapestPride, and for minor infractions.

The EU must act urgently to protect our #FundamentalRights ✊🏽

Read our full analysis with @ecnl, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, & Civil Liberties Union for Europe ⤵️ https://edri.org/our-work/hungarys-new-biometric-surveillance-laws-violate-the-ai-act/

From @eff on the "Blue Bird"

Rather than increasing #surveillance, countries across #Europe must make use of their prerogatives to ban #biometricsurveillance , ensuring that the use of this #technology is not permitted in sensitive contexts such as Europe’s borders. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/saving-internet-europe-defending-privacy-and-fighting-surveillance

Kurz vor der Wahl will die CDU schnell noch mal die anlasslose #Massenüberwachung per #Vorratsdatenspeicherung in's Parlament bringen? Also alles reinpacken, was im sogenannten Sicherheitspaket abgelehnt wurde. Und natürlich noch ein bisschen mehr...

Von den grund- und europarechtswidrigen Grenzschließungen mal ganz zu schweigen.

Wir fordern stattdessen nach wie vor endlich die #Überwachungsgesamtrechnung!

#VDS
#biometricSurveillance
#Staatstrojaner

https://netzpolitik.org/2025/massenueberwachungsplaene-der-union-trump-geleckt/

The EU's #AIAct experts consultation on the definition of an AI system and on prohibited AI practices closed on Dec 11. But loopholes still threaten #FundamentalRights.

The #AIActCivilSociety and the #ProtectNotSurveil coalitions demand guidelines that ban #SocialScoring, #BiometricSurveillance, and other harmful practices. We call on the AI Office to ensure the upcoming guidelines will provide a fundamental rights-based enforcement of the AI Act.

👉 https://algorithmwatch.org/en/statement-commission-guidelines-ai-act/