Tag Archive for: LinkedIn
Data Scraping: In HiQ V. LinkedIn, The Ninth Circuit Reaffirms Narrow Interpretation Of CFAA – Data Protection
On April 18, 2022, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its narrow
interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s (CFAA)
“without authorization” prong in a data scraping dispute
between hiQ and LinkedIn. The opinion upheld a preliminary
injunction that barred LinkedIn from stopping hiQ from scraping
public data from the LinkedIn website and held that scraping such
public information likely does not constitute accessing a computer
“without authorization” under the
CFAA.1 The opinion is good news for companies
employing data scraping practices for publicly available
information. More broadly, the decision’s narrow interpretation
of the CFAA follows the Supreme Court’s narrow approach to the
statute in its Van Buren decision and clarifies (at least
in the Ninth Circuit) several questions that the Supreme
Court’s ruling in Van Buren left open.2
The CFAA and the Van Buren Decision
The CFAA prohibits, in relevant part, accessing computers
“without authorization” or “exceed[ing] authorized
access” and thereby obtaining information, and permits civil
recovery for victims suffering “damage or loss” as a
result of a violation.3 As a prior Jenner &
Block alert discussed, in Van Buren v. United States, the
Supreme Court resolved a Circuit split over the CFAA’s
“exceeds authorized access” prong, holding that the CFAA
does not apply to an individual who is authorized to access
information on a computer, even if they do so for an improper
purpose. Instead, the Court held, the CFAA creates a
“gates-up-or-down” inquiry: either an individual is
authorized to access a computer system or parts of that system, or
they are not; a person “exceeds authorized access” by
accessing a part of the computer system to which the authorization
does not extend.4
The Supreme Court’s decision suggested-but did not expressly
hold-that violating purpose-based limits on access to a computer
system, such as the terms of service of a public website, would
also not on its own violate the CFAA’s “without
authorization” prong.5 Instead, the Court
limited its holding to the scope of “exceeds authorized
access.”6 Enter the hiQ v. LinkedIn
dispute.
hiQ v. LinkedIn
Before the Van…
Ransomware hackers used AI Images, Microsoft Flaw in campaign to create fake LinkedIn profiles
A group of ransomware hackers used a variety of techniques to try breaching hundreds of companies last year, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft and using AI to create fake LinkedIn profiles, Alphabet Inc.’s Google found.
A group of ransomware hackers used a variety of techniques to try breaching hundreds of companies last year, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows and using artificial intelligence technology to create fake LinkedIn profiles, Alphabet Inc.’s Google found.
The group, which Google refers to as Exotic Lily in research published Thursday, is known as an initial access broker. Such groups specialize at breaking into corporate computer networks, and then providing that access to other cybercriminal syndicates that deploy malware that locks computers and demands a ransom.
The findings help illuminate the ransomware-as-a-service model, a cybercriminal business strategy in which different hacking groups pool their resources to extort victims, then split the proceeds.
The Exotic Lily group sent over 5,000 malicious emails a day, Google observed, to as many as 650 organizations around the world, often leveraging a flaw in MSHTML, a proprietary browser engine for Windows. Microsoft issued a security fix for the Windows vulnerability in late 2021. Google did not identify victims by name.
“Up until November 2021, the group seemed to be targeting specific industries such as IT, cybersecurity and health care, but as of late we have seen them attacking a wide variety of organizations and industries, with less specific focus,” Google said in a blog post.
Google also observed that Exotic Lily is associated with notorious Russian-speaking ransomware group Conti. That group, accused of using digital extortion to reap $200 million in 2021, is currently in turmoil after a suspected insider leaked a trove of internal chat logs, revealing hackers’ tactics to the public.
What makes Exotic Lily unique, according to Google, is the level of human interaction behind each of its attacks. Creating fake LinkedIn profiles to add legitimacy to the group’s malicious emails requires an extra…
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure Afghan users’ accounts amid Taliban takeover
The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 2, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Illustration
Aug 19 (Reuters) – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said this week they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them against being targeted amid the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.
Facebook (FB.O) has temporarily removed the ability for people to view or search the friends lists of accounts in Afghanistan, its security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted on Thursday.
Gleicher also said the company had launched a “one-click tool” for users in Afghanistan to lock down their accounts, so people who are not their Facebook friends would be unable to see their timeline posts or share their profile photos.
Human rights groups have voiced concerns that the Taliban could use online platforms to track Afghans’ digital histories or social connections. Amnesty International said this week that thousands of Afghans, including academics, journalists and human rights defenders, were at serious risk of Taliban reprisals.
The former captain of the Afghan women’s soccer team has also urged players to delete social media and erase their public identities.
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said it was in touch with civil society partners to provide support to groups in the country and was working with the Internet Archive to expedite direct requests to remove archived tweets.
It said if individuals were unable to access accounts containing information that could put them at risk, such as direct messages or followers, the company could temporarily suspend the accounts until users regain access and are able to delete their content.
Twitter also said it was proactively monitoring accounts affiliated with government organizations and might temporarily suspend accounts pending additional information to confirm their identity.
A LinkedIn spokesman said the Microsoft-owned (MSFT.O) professional networking site had temporarily hidden the connections of its users in Afghanistan so other users would not be able to see them.
Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford in London
Editing by Chris Reese and Sam Holmes
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.