Neowin News Feed for: Theft

Microsoft is allowing IT admins to monitor your AI prompts and responses in plaintext

Usama Jawad — Sat, 09 May 2026 18:00:01 +0000

Your workplace AI chats may no longer be as private as you think, as Microsoft gives security teams unprecedented visibility into prompts. Read more...

Login credentials for millions of PayPal accounts reportedly being sold online

Usama Jawad — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 05:46:02 +0000

A seller claiming to have the credentials of millions of PayPal customers exposed as recently as May 2025 is selling them online for $750. Read more...

$2.2 billion in crypto stolen in 2024, North Korea largely to blame

Paul Hill — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 16:48:01 +0000

There has been around $2.2 billion in crypto assets stolen this year, according to Chainalysis. Some of the main culprits were North Korea-linked actors. Read more...

Ex-Apple engineer sentenced to prison for stealing Apple Car trade secrets

Karthik Mudaliar — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 12:56:01 +0000

In the case of United States v. Xiaolang Zhang which is ongoing since 2018, the California District Court has sentenced Zhang for imprisonment for stealing numerous documents about the Apple Car. Read more...

A guide on how to secure your iPhone from theft

Adam Bottjen — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:16:02 +0000

If you are out for a night on the town and your iPhone is stolen, it's possible to have your digital life turned up side down. Join us today in this weeks tech tip Tuesday for ways to help prevent it. Read more...

Volkswagen briefly refused to track car with abducted child inside until it received payment

Paul Hill — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:50:01 +0000

Volkswagen recently tried charging police $150 to enable a car tracking feature following the abduction of a young child. The company has apologized and said the rep breached the firm's processes. Read more...

How to quickly lock your Windows PC

Adam Bottjen — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 15:16:01 +0000

You may want to lock your computer screen when you are out, so nobody can access it while you are away, should that be a concern. Join us today in this week's Tech Tip Tuesday to find out how. Read more...

Former Apple car engineer pleads guilty to allegations of trade secret theft

Usama Jawad — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:58:01 +0000

One of the two Apple engineers accused of stealing trade secrets related to the firm's self-driving car project has pleaded guilty. The stolen material included plans for a circuit board. Read more...

Apple will not fix iPhones marked as missing or stolen

Taras Buria — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 07:34:01 +0000

Apple reportedly notified its retail stores and authorized service providers about policy changes prohibiting fixing iPhones reported as stolen or missing in the GSMA Device Registry. Read more...

Chainalysis: Cryptocurrency crime hit an all-time high last year

Paul Hill — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 18:32:02 +0000

New data from Chainalysis shows that illicit cryptocurrency funds reached an all-time high in 2021, totalling $14 billion. Scams were the largest source of these illicit funds followed by theft. Read more...

Apple AirTags are being exploited to steal cars in Canada

Usama Jawad — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 13:50:01 +0000

According to a report from the York police, car thieves in Canada are reportedly using AirTags in their heists. They are being leveraged to track cars so they can be stolen under conducive conditions. Read more...

Here is how Brazilian criminals are accessing bank accounts using stolen iPhones

Fiza Ali — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 07:56:02 +0000

Brazilian criminals are capable of accessing bank accounts using data from stolen iPhones. They don't use any modern ways or advanced tools from Cellebrite, just SIM cards to access devices' data. Read more...

Apple is tracking down looted devices in the U.S.

Paul Hill — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:54:04 +0000

Apple has told iPhone thieves to return devices to the Apple stores they were taken from. The message appears on stolen devices. Apple also disabled the phones and is tracking them. Read more...

Cryptocurrency exchange gets hacked, loses a hefty $32m

Hamza Jawad — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 14:32:02 +0000

The Bitpoint exhange in Japan has suspended its services, following a security breach in which $32m in digital currencies got stolen. Most of the funds that are lost belong to customers. Read more...

Cyber criminals are using a stolen NSA tool to carry out digital attacks in Baltimore

Namerah Saud Fatmi — Sun, 26 May 2019 01:56:02 +0000

Reports are pouring in about an alleged malware attack being carried out on the government of Baltimore, Maryland. It is believed that the culprits are using a hacking tool leaked from within the NSA. Read more...

Tesla begins rolling out Sentry Mode for added theft protection

Paul Hill — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 14:18:01 +0000

Tesla has announced that it's rolling out Sentry Mode for Model 3 vehicles in the U.S. starting today. It will bring the feature to post-August 2017 Model S and Model X vehicles soon too. Read more...

Bitcoin price hits two-month low following major cryptocurrency theft

Hamza Jawad — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 14:36:01 +0000

Coinrail, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed that it got hacked with around one third of its token reserves being compromised. Consequently, the price of bitcoin has taken a tumble. Read more...

The Big Bitcoin Heist: Thieves steal 600 bitcoin mining servers in Iceland

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 10:50:01 +0000

Dubbed the 'Big Bitcoin Heist' by the country's media, a group of thieves has stolen over 600 Bitcoin mining servers worth a total of $2 million over the past few months in Iceland. Read more...

White House official says bitcoin regulation not near

Paul Hill — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 17:32:02 +0000

Rob Joyce, head of cybersecurity at the White House, has cast doubt on the possibility of bitcoin regulation in the near term. The White House is still weighing up the benefits and risks of bitcoin. Read more...

Coincheck will refund those affected by recent hack

Paul Hill — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 09:08:01 +0000

Coincheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it will refund users which had their NEM cryptocurrency stolen. The company will have to pay users back around $400 million. Read more...

Google search now involves looking for bikes taken from its campus

John Keefer — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 17:02:01 +0000

Apparently, bicycles meant for employees to get around the sprawling main campus have started disappearing, as many as 100-250 each week. And, when found, they are showing up in some strange places. Read more...

Electrum bitcoin wallet patched to fix vulnerability

Paul Hill — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 14:16:01 +0000

The popular bitcoin wallet, Electrum, has been patched to fend off a JavaScript attack that had been discovered. All users should install the updated client as soon as possible to be safe. Read more...

New phishing scam sends out fake Netflix suspension emails

Justin Luna — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 14:44:01 +0000

A new phishing scam pretending to be from Netflix has recently been discovered, telling recipients that their subscription has expired, and they have to "re-activate" to continue enjoying the service. Read more...

Microsoft files a new patent to stop laptop thieves

Ehtisham Ul Haq Shams — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 12:36:01 +0000

A recently published patent from Microsoft suggests disablement of stolen laptops, which will not require any cellular service to be turned on in the device, reducing the instances of laptop theft. Read more...

Samsung worker arrested for stealing $700,000 of phones to pay off $800,000 gambling debt

Timi Cantisano — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 17:54:01 +0000

A Samsung worker has been arrested for stealing over 8,000 handsets and reselling them. The man utilized the extra money to pay off his gambling debts which amounted to roughly $800,000. Read more...

Razer offers $25,000 reward after theft of its Project Valerie notebook prototypes at CES

Andy Weir — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 16:37:08 +0000

Razer is offering a $25,000 reward for "information leading to identification, arrest and conviction of a criminal suspect", following the theft of its two Project Valerie notebook prototypes at CES. Read more...

Razer CEO: "Two of our prototypes were stolen from our booth at CES"

Andy Weir — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 09:21:59 +0000

Razer's much-celebrated appearance at CES 2017 ended on a sad note, as its CEO said today that two of its prototypes were stolen from its show stand - and it hasn't ruled out industrial espionage. Read more...

Tesco Bank halts online banking after 20,000 accounts got robbed [Update]

Vlad Dudau — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:04:01 +0000

Tesco Bank has had around 40,000 accounts breached over the weekend, with half of those having money stolen out of them. The bank has stopped online payments and is promising refunds for all affected. Read more...

Malware infections dropped drastically in the first half of 2016

Jett Goldsmith — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 00:22:01 +0000

A new report says that while malware and ransomware risks remain too high for comfort, the number of infections dropped dramatically - by 47.3% in the first half of 2016. Read more...

How Russian cybercrime bosses crafted a ransomware empire out of an economic crisis

Jett Goldsmith — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 11:02:18 +0000

A new report details an organized deep web-based Russian ransomware campaign which has targeted thousands of corporations, from hospitals to hotels, and netted ringleaders exorbitant salaries. Read more...

Hackers stole Social Security numbers, personal data from every single federal employee

Jett Goldsmith — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 20:16:02 +0000

The largest federal employee union has claimed in an internal letter that Chinese hackers in last week's attack stole the Social Security numbers and info of every single federal employee. Read more...

Chinese hackers breach US government, compromise data of millions

Jett Goldsmith — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 07:52:01 +0000

Chinese hackers have been blamed for an attack at the U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management which may have compromised the data of up to 4 million people in every federal agency. Read more...

It's surprisingly easy to wipe a stolen Apple Watch without the passcode

Andy Weir — Thu, 14 May 2015 13:26:01 +0000

If your Apple Watch gets stolen, the thief will have no trouble wiping your data and then using or selling the device, as an apparent bug in Apple's software allows a hard reset without your passcode. Read more...

Attention Kmart shoppers: your credit card may be compromised

Chris Schroeder — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 01:50:01 +0000

It has been reported that the Sears-owned Kmart retailer experienced a security breach today that may have given hackers access to customer credit card information. Read more...

If you steal Microsoft product keys, you will get arrested like Mr. Prabhu

Brad Sams — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 21:54:55 +0000

Microsoft makes the majority of its revenue by selling software and if you try to steal product keys from Microsoft, don't be surprised if they send the authorities after you like they did in India. Read more...

New Windows Phone update will introduce anti-theft protection

Andy Weir — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 15:36:48 +0000

Microsoft will bring new anti-theft protections to Windows Phone in a future update - including the ability to render the device fully inoperable - as part of an industry-wide initiative. Read more...

Mt. Gox finds 200,000 missing bitcoins

Shreyas Gandhe — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:47:53 +0000

Japanese Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, has revealed that it has found 200,000 missing bitcoins after searching in wallets which used an old format, but is still far from recovering the remaining 650,000. Read more...

Flaw in SIM encryption leaves millions of old phones at risk

Paul Ferson — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 20:39:23 +0000

Due to a weakness in old encryption technologies, millions of phones are at risk of being controlled by hackers, who could be able to gain control of all phone features within a few minutes. Read more...

Apple admits their Dev Center was hacked, some info may have leaked

Vlad Dudau — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:27:57 +0000

Apple finally admitted that their Developer Center has been compromised by hackers. The Dev website went offline last week and it's still not back online due to the security breach. Read more...

San Francisco's DA wants anti-theft improvements for Windows Phone

John Callaham — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 22:25:28 +0000

George Gascó, the district attorney for San Francisco, wants Microsoft and Google to make improvements to Windows Phone and Android that would make smartphones with those system unusable if stolen Read more...