Apple Warns of Cyberattack Targeting 1.46 Billion Apple Devices
Apple has sent a warning to all 1.46 billion users of Apple devices worldwide after tech experts spotted a cyberattack targeting Apple IDs.
Experts explained that hackers are using SMS phishing campaigns that send messages claiming to be from Apple. The messages then encourage users to visit a link to an “important request” about iCloud.
Symantec, a California-based security firm, uncovered the attack in July. The firm explained that the links lead to fake websites that tell users to input their Apple ID information.
Apple has established guidelines for similar attacks, urging iPhone owners to activate two-factor authentication (2FA) that requires a password and a six-digit verification code to access their account from an outside device.
On its website, Symantec advised that Apple credentials are “highly valued” among hackers because they prove “control over devices, access to personal and financial information, and potential revenue through unauthorized purchases.”
Symantec explained that Apple’s strong brand reputation makes users more prone to trusting deceptive communications pretending to be from Apple. It also makes Apple customers attractive targets to cyber criminals.
The warning was released on July 2, and it said that a malicious SMS being sent contained the following text:
“Apple important request iCloud: Visit signin[.]authen-connexion[.]info/icloud to continue using your services.”
Symantec added that the hackers added a CAPTCHA to the fake website to make it seem more legitimate to their targets. Once completed, the website will redirect users to an outdated iCloud login template.
On its support page, Apple cautioned that scammers may ask iPhone users to disable features like 2FA or Stolen Device Protection because it can help “stop an attack or to allow you to regain control of your account.” In reality, disabling these features will instead lower your security so they can carry out their own attack.
The company warned that Apple will never ask users to disable security features on their devices or their accounts.
(Related: Cyberattack disrupts operations in hospitals and clinics operated by Prospect Medical Holdings.)
If you’re not sure what to look for, there are some effective ways to identify fraud, such as checking the link in the text. Even if the message seems legitimate, the URL will not match Apple’s website.
The company also cautioned users that hackers will often send texts that look significantly different from the company’s standard text messages.
Scam also targets customers from other companies like Amazon and Netflix
Apple isn’t the only company being targeted by cybercriminals. Other scams where hackers impersonate companies have many users reporting text messages claiming to be from Amazon, Netflix and other well-known companies.
The fake messages will claim that an account is frozen or credit cards have expired. The texts will then prompt account holders to click a link that asks for personal or bank account information.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned that if you receive a text message that you weren’t expecting and it asks you to give out your personal or financial information, don’t click on suspicious links.
“Legitimate companies won’t ask for information about your account by text,” warned the agency. The FTC also said that if you think the message might be real, you can confirm by contacting the company “using a phone number or website that you know is real.”
Visit Deception.news to read more stories about other cyberattacks in the United States.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt
Globalized ‘Honey’: Polish Beekeepers in Crisis as Cheap ‘Technical Honey’ from the East Floods Market
Globalism strikes again, with Polish beekeepers facing crisis as an increasing amount of cheap, so-called “technical honey” from Eastern Europe and Asia flooding the markets. In combination with the high costs of maintaining traditional apiaries, many Polish beekeepers are being forced to cease operations.
Representatives from beekeeping associations are raising alarms that apiaries are being shut down at an alarming rate, with a potential year-over-year loss of up to 30 percent of all bee colonies.
If this trend continues, Polish honey, renowned for its health benefits and delicious taste, will become both rare and expensive.
Previously, terms like “bakery honey” or “industrial honey,” also known as “artificial honey,” were used. Now, the term “technical honey” refers to very low-quality products that do not meet standards but are swiftly imported and sold to consumers at a fraction of the cost, often using fraudulent labeling.
“Ukraine is just a middleman; these honeys often come from China and Turkey and are of poor quality,” says Przemysław Maciąg, a board member of the Beekeeping Association. He notes that these honeys also negatively impact the Polish market, as many dishonest traders purchase them and sell them as Polish products, misleading consumers.
Trade in cheap honey is having severe consequences. Many beekeepers will give up their business as the market for Polish, high-quality honey is shrinking — partly due to inflation pressures. Polish beekeepers are losing out to “technical honey.” As a result, the costs of maintaining apiaries are becoming unsustainable.
“It’s mainly small apiaries, and the scale of the problem will truly be assessable in a few months when we receive full information on how many bee families have been prepared for wintering,” Maciąg explains. He confirms the issues based on his own circle of beekeepers.
“Just a year ago, there were about 1,500 bee families; now, there are only about 1,000. So, we are talking about a third less in a short time,” he said.
Maciąg, who runs an apiary with his wife Sylwia in the village of Ryszewo in northwestern Poland, does not want to shut down but points out another looming issue: “We might soon be dealing with an ecological time bomb.”
The difficulties in selling honey directly translate into a lack of investment in apiaries, as well as a lack of funds for fuel costs, purchasing new frames, increasing the number of bee families, and most importantly, paying for medications.
“Bees are getting sick, and medications are often required, such as vaccines. The costs of these medications have skyrocketed, and not every beekeeper can afford them today,” Maciąg explained.
For those who still want to work with bees, the fear is real. Untreated insects in small apiaries could lead to the spread of various diseases and infect more bee families, including those in other colonies. “It’s a ticking ecological bomb; if this happens, we will face a mass extinction of bees. I hope it will not come to this, but we must expect the worst,” says Maciąg.
Beekeepers say that those who do not want to give up their operations are making tough decisions and reducing the number of families in their apiaries due to huge problems with selling honey.
It is hard to predict how much Poles will be willing to pay for honey at the end of the year. All signs indicate that Eastern honey will continue to flood the Polish market.
In this manner, it is clear that the war in Ukraine is also partly responsible for the crisis in beekeeping, with fuel and other input costs higher, while unrestricted market access has already slammed Polish farmers selling sunflower oil, wheat, and other products.
Polish beekeeping dates back to pre-Christian times and the country features famous regional varieties many of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the EU. For many years, Poles have been consuming more honey, with the 15 years preceding 2021 seeing Polish honey consumption double. However, inflation has taken its toll, and changing consumer tastes are seeing many Poles eye cheaper honey from countries like China, which is produced with the cheapest production methods possible — sweet but lacking key nutrients, anti-oxidants, and antimicrobial elements found in honey made using traditional production methods.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt
Democrats Postpone Biden Nomination Process
The US Democratic Party has significantly delayed its candidate nomination process for the 2024 presidential election.
A virtual roll call to nominate President Joe Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 candidate which was scheduled for the coming week will now happen sometime in August, the party has announced.
The Democratic National Committee was supposed to meet on Friday and finalize the rules for the procedure, first proposed in May to ensure ballot access. In recent days, however, some party members have objected to “rushing” the process before the convention.
“None of this will be rushed,” said Leah Daughtry and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, leaders of the DNC rules committee, in a letter seen by CBS News.
Sent to 186 members of the committee on Wednesday, the letter confirms that “no voting will begin before August 1,”but notes that the virtual roll call will still happen before the in-person Democratic National Convention starts on August 19.
Meeting state ballot deadlines and avoiding potential lawsuits “is the driving reason for conducting a virtual voting process,” the letter added.
Read more Group of US Democrats oppose virtual Biden nomination – media
The roll call is a traditional procedure by which state delegations deliver primary votes to the nominee at the convention. The Republicans did so on Monday, arranging for former President Donald Trump’s children to announce the Florida votes that officially made him the party’s pick in November.
Dozens of House Democrats had circulated a draft letter earlier this week opposing the virtual vote, arguing that it would stifle debate, undermine morale and party unity, and foreclose any changes to the ticket “at the worst possible time.”
At least 21 congressional Democrats have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, citing his abysmal performance in the June 27 debate with Trump, advanced age, and possible neurological issues.
Senior party figures like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have urged Biden to step down in private, according to the New York Times. About 70% of Democrats in a recent poll backed Biden’s exit.
After the president retreated to his Delaware home with a Covid diagnosis, Axios reported he might drop out as early as this weekend. Campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo sought to dismiss the rumors on Thursday, however.
“Joe Biden is his party’s nominee. He’s the President of the United States. He’s running for reelection. Baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop,” Ducklo said on X (formerly Twitter).
Most polls currently show Trump winning the election against Biden, but also against Vice President Kamala Harris, should she get bumped to the top of the ticket.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt
Journalists Fear Self-Censorship as Cyprus Debates ‘Misinformation’ Penalties
In Cyprus, a proposal to criminalize the dissemination of “misinformation” and “offensive” comments, with penalties reaching up to five years in prison, has stirred considerable controversy. This proposed amendment to the criminal code, debated earlier this month by the Cypriot Parliamentary Committee of Legal Affairs, aims to elevate certain offenses from civil to criminal status.
Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides, and Committee Chair Nicos Tornaritis expressed that this amendment is only a “first step” in combating the spread of harmful “misinformation.”
Angelides cleared recently of corruption allegations, emphasized the need to balance freedom of speech with the curtailment of reckless misinformation, stating, “There are defenses when there is good faith.” He assured that the amendment would not restrict professional journalists from performing their duties, as it explicitly excludes opinion and criticism.
However, this stance is met with skepticism and alarm from various press freedom groups. Eleni Mavrou, representing the Association of Newspapers and Periodicals Publishers, described the amendment as a “blow to democracy,” arguing it would lead to self-censorship among journalists wary of criminal repercussions. Similarly, George Frangos, President of the Cyprus Union of Journalists, highlighted the subjective nature of terms like “fake news,” which could be exploited to suppress dissent.
Critics also draw parallels with similar legislative trends in neighboring regions, such as the northern part of Cyprus and other EU member states, where comparable laws have been criticized for potentially stifling free speech. The Cyprus Mail voiced concerns about the ambiguity in defining what constitutes an “offensive” comment and how such a law could lead to arbitrary legal challenges against journalists.
This legislative move aligns uncomfortably with broader European trends where “disinformation” is often not considered illegal per se but is increasingly criminalized, raising fears about the infringement of free expression rights enshrined in international and EU laws.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt
Biden Can’t Function Unless Handlers Guide His Every Move With Flash Cards: Evidence
The cognitive abilities of Joe Biden, 81, have so declined that the Commander-in-Chief’s every move is carefully planned by his handlers using flash cards and other visual cues, new evidence shows.
After Biden’s cringeworthy debate performance, many top Democrat donors threatened to pull support for the party unless Biden resigns and quits the race. Since Biden is doubling down on staying put, new leaks have emerged to show that “the big guy” is unable to even enter and exit a room properly without being told what to do by his puppet masters.
According to reports, Biden requires a special document each time he makes a public appearance that details how he must enter the venue, walk to the podium, and face the audience.
“I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements,” one person who arranged staffing for a Biden event this year is quoted as saying to Axios, which ran an exposé on the scandal.
“It surprised me that a seasoned political pro like the president would need detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room.”
Check out the images below to see what these instruction documents for Biden look like:
Biden is briefed on how to walk to the podium.
— Aaron Newborn (@_Aaron_Newborn) July 8, 2024
I really did wish this was a joke, however it is not… pic.twitter.com/3x1mUujhHv
White House says treating Biden like a child is completely normal
Responding to the revelations, the Biden White House tried to justify Biden’s incapacitation and constant need for visual, verbal and other cues just to function and perform his job duties.
“High levels of detail and precision are critical to presidential advance work, regardless of who is president,” commented White House spokesman Andrew Bates about how both Biden and Kamala Harris require such instructions in order to know how they are supposed to conduct themselves in front of the public.
In the aftermath of his dismal debate performance, Biden made several media appearances in which he dug his hole even deeper. In one interview, a deranged Biden claimed to be “a black woman.” In others, he was clearly fed pre-approved questions by select reporters, which did not go unnoticed by those whose questions were ignored for not being pre-planned by Biden’s handlers.
The Atlantic‘s Adam Serwer, the New York Times‘ Maureen Dowd and MSNBC‘s Joe Scarborough have all publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race. Axios‘ Alex Thompson added that he and his fellow reporters feel “duped” by the White House for trying to cover up Biden’s clearly very serious mental decline.
Biden’s braindead antics date back to before he was installed in his current term, mind you. Back during his 2020 campaign, Biden made many gaffes and slip-ups that were noticed by the independent media but ignored by the corporate media, which called them “deep fakes.”
Some of Biden’s worst public appearances include the time he tried to shake hands with an imaginary person and the time he got lost in public. According to Donald Trump, Biden “can’t string two sentences together.”
“If you’ve been duped by this man for 40+ years you might be just as dumb,” one commenter wrote about how Biden has clearly been deranged for decades.
The latest news about the Biden regime clown show can be found at JoeBiden.news.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt
YouTube’s New Firearm Censorship Policies Spark Crisis for Creators
YouTube has imposed stringent new policies regarding videos linked to firearms, profoundly affecting channels like the well-known Hickok45. With a subscriber base of 7.75 million, Hickok45 has been a cornerstone in the YouTube firearms community, offering content that spans reviews, safety tips, and educational discussions about firearms.
The channel’s hosts, known as Hickok45 and his son John, revealed troubling news about YouTube’s policy shifts in a recent video. “We just had a chat with our Google rep,” explained John, noting the dire implications of the changes. Since the policy update on June 18th, all videos featuring sponsorships from firearms companies or related accessories are not only prohibited but also place the entire channel at risk of termination. This marks a significant pivot from prior regulations, where only the videos themselves were at risk.
“Any videos posted with sponsorships of that kind post-June 18th will make your channel subject to being completely terminated,” John highlighted, stressing the severity of the situation. The channel, which has operated under these sponsorships for nearly its entire tenure, now faces the daunting prospect of losing nearly all its content, equating to 95% of its videos.
Reflecting on the long history of the channel, Hickok45 expressed dismay at the sudden shift in policy: “All these things that were perfectly fine for what, 15, 20 years, exactly all of a sudden are horrible.” The channel’s longstanding presence and compliance with previous YouTube guidelines underscore the abrupt and drastic nature of the policy change, which now threatens their entire body of work.
The changes represent a broader movement by YouTube to regulate content more strictly, aligning with a growing sensitivity towards gun-related content on social platforms. However, this shift poses existential threats to creators like Hickok45 who have built their audience around niche topics such as firearms and safety.
The Hickok45 team remains hopeful, encouraging followers to subscribe and stay updated across their various channels, including their main, clips, and talks channels. “We’re trying to be optimistic and we hope we can still keep giving you guys the content that you like to see,” John added, hinting at ongoing efforts to adapt to these new constraints without sacrificing their channel’s essence.
Last month, YouTube announced that it would intensify restrictions on firearm-related videos, a move aimed, it says, primarily at shielding its younger audience from exposure to potentially harmful content.
The Google-owned video-sharing giant will now block videos that instruct viewers on how to disable firearm safety features, along with imposing age restrictions on content showcasing homemade firearms, automatic weapons, and certain accessories such as silencers, limiting their viewing to those aged 18 and older. This policy adjustment was scheduled to be implemented on June 18.
YouTube’s new changes followed pressure from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who recently challenged YouTube to curb the spread of firearm-related content among youth, criticizing the platform for allegedly not adequately enforcing its rules.
Following the announcement of the new policy, Bragg commended YouTube’s decision, highlighting the direct impact of illegal and 3D-printed firearms on community safety.
Despite these changes, YouTube has remained silent on whether these revisions were influenced by political pressures.
Bragg has been particularly vocal about the dangers of “ghost guns” and has previously reached out to YouTube to adjust its content moderation practices to prevent its algorithm from recommending violent content to children. “We have heard firsthand from young individuals that YouTube’s algorithm is driving them to the world of illegal and 3D-printed firearms, which is having a direct impact on the safety of Manhattanites,” Bragg stated, commending YouTube for its cooperative stance in revising its guidelines.
This situation highlights a broader issue with YouTube’s governance: the inherent instability creators face due to the platform’s ability to modify rules on a whim and enforce them retrospectively.
Retroactive Rules and Creator Instability
The principal concern with YouTube’s approach is the retroactive application of new policies. Content that was created and monetized under old rules can suddenly be found in violation of new guidelines, penalizing creators for past actions that were, at the time, completely within the rules. This creates a non-static environment where the goalposts can shift unexpectedly. For creators who have invested years into building their channels and audiences, this can mean a significant part of their digital livelihood is at risk overnight.
Impact on Creator Trust and Strategy
Such abrupt policy shifts undermine trust between YouTube and its vast community of content creators. Creators must constantly anticipate potential policy changes and adapt, often without clear guidance on what future rules might look like. This uncertainty complicates content strategy, discouraging investment in certain topics that might suddenly fall out of favor with YouTube’s policy team.
Economic and Emotional Toll on Creators
The economic implications are profound. Many YouTube creators rely on the platform as their primary source of income. When channels face demonetization or termination due to retrospective rule changes, it’s not just a revenue stream that dries up but a full-fledged business. Beyond economics, there’s an emotional and psychological toll as well, with creators feeling vulnerable to decisions made without their input or direct involvement.
Calls for Transparency and Stability
Many creators and critics are calling for greater transparency and stability in how YouTube enforces its policies. A platform that respects its creators needs to provide clear, consistent guidelines and ensure that changes are implemented in a way that considers the impact on existing content and its creators. Implementing a grace period or grandfathering older content could be potential solutions, allowing creators to adjust without immediate negative repercussions.
EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt