Aaron Mendes

🔓Alleged ransomware attack on Apple supplier Luxshare may have exposed employee data: names, roles, emails, and project details. Why this matters: This kind of breach fuels targeted phishing, attackers can impersonate real employees to gain deeper access to vendors, partners, and internal systems. That’s often the first step in a wider scam wave. Even if consumers aren’t directly affected now, this is exactly how tomorrow’s threats begin. #Cybersecurity #DataBreach

2025 had some of the biggest data breaches on record: • PowerSchool (Education) — 62M records exposed after attackers used stolen credentials and remote access tools, escalating into extortion • Salesforce ecosystem (SaaS) — 1B records affected across 40+ companies after phishing and voice scams abused third-party integrations • Yale New Haven Health (Healthcare) — 5.5M patients impacted after unauthorized network access exposed sensitive medical data • Prosper Marketplace (Finance) — 17.6M email addresses breached, with financial and identity data accessed from internal systems • TransUnion (via third-party app) — 4.4M Americans affected after a connected external tool was compromised Different industries. Same playbook: stolen passwords + third-party access + personal data that’s more valuable than ever. Breaches are inevitable. Exposure isn’t. Shrink your digital footprint. 🔒

149M usernames + passwords exposed in an unsecured database. What was in the leak? ✅ Email logins (Gmail + more) ✅Social accounts (Facebook/Instagram) ✅ Banking logins ✅ Streaming + subscriptions (Netflix, etc.) ✅ Everyday accounts people reuse everywhere Researchers suspect these were collected via infostealer malware (not a direct hack of major platforms). Quick actions to protect yourself: Change your email password + turn on 2FA everywhere + replace reused passwords 🔒

Tax season is when scams surge. As filing, payments, and document sharing move online, scammers use timing and stress to their advantage. That’s why phishing emails, fake refund notices, and IRS-themed texts show up every year. What to know: the IRS only contacts you by email or text with permission, may call about account matters without sharing sensitive details, and directs payments or issues only to IRS.gov. When in doubt, ignore the message and verify directly through official IRS channels.

@Razzyox @Privacy_Hawk I’d recommend @Privacy_Hawk! 😁 It’s really the only service that has fully automated deleting your digital footprint. Full disclosure I’m the CEO! But it’s the truth too!

@Privacy_Hawk What are the options or tools you’d recommend, if I wanna delete my acc?

Myth: Deleting something online makes it disappear instantly 🗑️ Reality: Digital deletion has layers. Uninstalling an app removes it from your device, your account still exists ❌ Deleting an account may remove your profile, but some data can still be retained Deactivating an account just pauses access, the data stays stored ⏸️ That’s why uninstall, deactivate, and delete aren’t the same thing. If you want data truly gone, look for options like permanently delete or remove your data or use tools that help send those requests for you 😉

TikTok updated its Terms of Service in the U.S. following its move to U.S.-based ownership, raising questions about data collection. What we know: TikTok didn’t suddenly start collecting new data, it made existing practices more explicit. What’s now clearly listed: ✅Sensitive data categories (including biometric info and immigration status) ✅ Precise location data (based on settings) ✅Processing user content, including drafts ✅Using activity to support AI tools This clearer language is likely tied to U.S. privacy laws like the CCPA. Now that you know what’s collected, remember: you have a choice. You decide what to share, what to turn off, and whether the app is still worth it for you.

🚨 Toll-related text scams are on the rise. Here’s how to spot them. According to The Toll Roads agency, they don’t send payment requests by text, especially to non-accountholders. If a message: 💸 Claims you owe a small balance 🛣️ References toll roads you recognize ⏱️ Urges immediate payment via a link …it’s likely a phishing scam. Always double-check directly with the agency before clicking links or making any payments you’re unsure about.

Big news 💚 PrivacyHawk was named Private Sector Winner by @SDbusiness for helping people take back control of their personal data. This recognition highlights something important: More people are standing up for their privacy and taking action to protect their digital lives. We’re proud to make that easier, and we’re just getting started. 🛡️

@TheHackersNews Investors should always do at least several hours of hard-core research before making any investments, even more so with crypto.

🚨 A €600M crypto scam just got taken down. 9 suspects across 5 countries ran fake “investment” sites that looked 100% real. They even laundered the money on-chain — hiding millions in plain view. Read here ↓ thehackernews.com/2025/11/europo…

@BleepinComputer Multiple failures by @Penn here. 1) Too many third party vendors that exposed them to breach risk, 2) lax employee security. Most of these breaches happen by social engineering. People are the weakest link in security.

A hacker has taken responsibility for last week's University of Pennsylvania "We got hacked" email incident, saying it was a far more extensive breach that exposed data on 1.2 million donors and internal documents. bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/… bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/…

@DailyDarkWeb Another example that small businesses can also be targeted by ransomware and hackers. Small businesses need to take security just as seriously as large organizations.

#USA 🇺🇸 - Gerson & Schwartz Accident & Injury Lawyers allegedly breached by the Pear ransomware group, which claims to have exfiltrated 1.1 Tb of data including client PII, PHI, and court files. dailydarkweb.net/gerson-schwart…

@TheHackersNews I think this generally a net positive, but agree with @warriors_mom, sending the messages to the cloud is a big compromise to scam detection. Would be nice if they could do most of it on device.

Meta just rolled out new anti-scam tools for WhatsApp & Messenger. ⚠️ Screen-share warnings 🤖 AI scam detection 🚨 Instant alerts ... but one setting quietly breaks 🔐 encryption. Learn more ↓ thehackernews.com/2025/10/meta-r…

@TheHackersNews Scammers are like cockroaches. Always finding new clever ways to compromise systems. Best to keep your digital footprint small!

A Chinese-linked hacking group breached Europe’s telecom defenses — weaponizing antivirus software. They planted a backdoor in legitimate Norton and Bkav installs. Payload: SnappyBee, a new ShadowPad variant delivered via DLL side-loading. Learn more ↓ thehackernews.com/2025/10/hacker…

Introducing Family Plan!

Just got another one in the 5 minutes since I posted this!

Dear @Apple @tim_cook can you puuuullllleeease mark political texts as spam! They are not “promotions.” Nobody wants these! Make your customers happy, and do this.

@troyhunt Or exercising your privacy rights and asking them to delete your personal data after every use, which is also not convenient.

@troyhunt Yeah, these data breach lawsuits just make a bunch of money for the lawyers. Individuals always get the shaft. $1 for leaking sensitive information to criminals. Best thing consumers can do is PREVENT themselves from being in breaches by reducing their digital footprint.

Good news for ParkMobile data breach victims - your class action payout is here! You can now claim your $1.00 reward, but you need to do so over 4 transactions of 25c discounts each. Congrats!

@mer__edith @derekslater Good news, I guess?! Insane that disallowing fully private messaging was even considered as remotely reasonable.

We're so relieved to see Germany reaffirm its opposition to the dangerous Chat Control proposal--the one that would mandate mass scanning of communications. Germany's long been a solid champion of privacy, and the news that it was considering backing mass surveillance was alarming. 1/

@mer__edith @signalapp We’ll have to fight fire with fire, agents with agents. It’s a hard problem; and we @Privacy_Hawk are building the proactive personal data protection super agent that will help protect people from this risk by reducing their digital footprint.

📣 NEW -- In The Economist, discussing the privacy perils of AI agents and what AI companies and operating systems need to do--NOW--to protect Signal and much else! economist.com/by-invitation/…