New Healthcare IoT Vulnerabilities, Google Eavesdropping, & More in This Week's Technology Headlines

This week's technology headlines include a new healthcare IoT vulnerability, reports of Google Assistants listening in on conversations, and more cybersecurity news.

TechCrunch: Flaws in Hospital Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices Allow Remote Tampering

By: Zack Whittaker

"Security researchers have found a vulnerability in a networking protocol used in popular hospital anesthesia and respiratory machines, which they say if exploited could be used to maliciously tamper with the devices."

The Intercept: How U.S. Tech Giants Are Helping to Build China’s Surveillance State

By: Ryan Gallagher

"The OpenPower Foundation — a nonprofit led by Google and IBM executives with the aim of trying to “drive innovation” — has set up a collaboration between IBM, Chinese company Semptian, and U.S. chip manufacturer Xilinx. Together, they have worked to advance a breed of microprocessors that enable computers to analyze vast amounts of data more efficiently."

The Verge: Yep, Human Workers are Listening to Recordings From Google Assistant, Too

By: James Vincent

"...contractors paid to transcribe audio clips collected by Google’s AI assistant can end up listening to sensitive information about users, including names, addresses, and details about their personal lives."

Fast Company: I’m a hacker, and here’s how your social media posts help me break into your company

By: Stephanie Carruthers

"Hackers are trolling social media for photos, videos, and other clues that can help them better target your company in an attack. I know this because I’m one of them."

Quartz: A Massive International Email Scam Netted $3 Million Worth of Top-Secret U.S. Military Equipment

By: Justin Rohrlich

"A crew of international con artists allegedly convinced a US defense contractor to send them millions of dollars worth of sensitive military gear they weren’t even supposed to know existed..."

ZDNet: Marriott Faces $123 Million GDPR Fine in the UK for Last Year's Data Breach

By: Catalin Cimpanu

"The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) intends to impose a fine of £99,200,396 ($123,705,870) on international hotel chain Marriott for last year's data breach."

Wall Street Journal: Regulators Eye the Auctions That Decide Which Web Ads You See

By: Patience Haggin and Sam Schechner

"When you load a website, an electronic auction happens in milliseconds to determine which ads show up on your screen. In that time, hundreds of potential bidders can find out information about you, including your location, birthday, the unique number associated with your mobile device and even whether you have been reading about infectious diseases or right-wing politics."

BBC News: Fake Voices 'Help Cyber-Crooks Steal Cash'

"Symantec said it had seen three cases of seemingly deepfaked audio of different chief executives used to trick senior financial controllers into transferring cash."

Bloomberg: How Facebook Fought Fake News About Facebook

By: Mark Bergen and Kurt Wagner

"Many companies monitor social media to learn what customers are saying about them. But Facebook’s position is unique. It owns the platform it’s watching, an advantage that may help Facebook track and reach users more effectively than other firms. And Facebook has been saddled with so many real problems recently that sometimes misinformation can stick."

New York Times: Big Tech ‘Knows You Better Than Your Wife.’ He Plans to Rein It In

By: Adam Satarino

"Germany’s top antitrust enforcer, Andreas Mundt, recently asked a room full of lawyers, academics and regulators to imagine a wall filled with their personal information collected by Facebook and Google. He told them to picture it stocked with their data broken up into categories like finances, location, relationships and hobbies.

'That is you,' Mr. Mundt said. 'And I promise you this wall knows you better than your wife.'"