We have brought together the most important news of the week from the world of cybersecurity.

Tor Browser Updates Help Bypass Barriers

The Tor Project team has released Tor Browser 11.5 with updates to help bypass censorship.

🎉 Big news: Tor Browser 11.5 is here! In this release, we bring you automatic censorship detection and bypassing, redesigned Tor Network settings, Firefox’s HTTPS Only Mode enabled by default, and improved font support.

Check out what’s new in Tor Browser 11.5: pic.twitter.com/Tq5ldrhJcd

— Tor Project (@torproject) 14 July 2022

Among the innovations is the Connection Assist function, which allows you to automatically bypass restrictions on access to the Tor network, taking into account the blocking features in various jurisdictions. The developers have also simplified and expanded the network connection settings section if the user wants to do this manually.

Also, HTTPS Only mode is now enabled by default. The HTTPS-Everywhere plugin remained only in the Android version.

Read about what the Tor browser is, why it’s needed and how to use it in the ForkLog cards.

UK delays controversial internet security bill

In the UK, the vote on a bill on Internet safety has been postponed, which has caused great controversy among human rights activists.

The document forces major tech platforms to tighten their content regulations to combat illegal, potentially harmful and offensive material. They face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover if the requirements are not complied with.

Many companies, including Google, Meta and Twitter, as well as human rights activists, have expressed concerns that the bill threatens freedom of speech and end-to-end encryption.

New malware spread on Google Play

Cybersecurity experts at Evina have discovered a new Android malware on the Google Play Store that secretly enrolls users for paid services.

New malware family found subscribing to premium services 👀

8 apps since June 2021, 2 apps always on Play Store, +3 million installs 💀💀

no webview like #joker but only http requests

let’s say #autolycos 👾#Android #Malware #evina pic.twitter.com/SgTfrAOn6H

— Maxime Ingrao (@IngraoMaxime) 13 July 2022

The malware, called Autolycos, has been found in at least eight Android apps, two of which are available on Google Play through analyst versions. Infected apps have been installed more than three million times.

Twitter suffered a major outage

On July 14, users around the world started complaining about not being able to access Twitter.

Later, the company explained the failure as “problems with internal systems.”

And we are back! We’ve had some issues with our internal systems that affect many of you globally. Twitter should be up and running as expected – sorry for the interruption.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) 14 July 2022

WhatsApp warns of fake versions of messenger stealing user data

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said the messenger team discovered hidden malware in the Hey WhatsApp app and others that allegedly offer advanced functionality.

reminding @What’s up Users downloading a fake or modified version of WhatsApp is never a good idea. These apps seem harmless, but they can work around WhatsApp privacy and security guarantees. One thread:

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) 11 July 2022

In fact, these apps aim to steal data from victims’ phones. Cathcart said the company is working with Google Play to detect such fake messengers.

Also on ForkLog:

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