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ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox . Following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, advocates for privacy and reproductive health have expressed fears that data from period-tracking apps could be used to find people who’ve had abortions. They have a point. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal patient privacy law known as HIPAA, does not apply to most apps that track menstrual cycles, just as it doesn’t apply to many health care apps and at-home test kits. In 2015, ProPublica reported how HIPAA, passed in 1996, has not kept up with changes in technology and does not cover at-home paternity tests, fitness trackers, or health apps. The story featured a woman who purchased an at-home paternity test at a local pharmacy and went online to get the results. A part of the lab’s website address caught her attention as … [Read more...] about Federal patient privacy law doesn’t cover most period-tracking apps

In a nutshell: The FBI and two other agencies have issued a warning that state-sponsored North Korean hackers are targeting US healthcare organizations with ransomware. The attacks have been taking place in the last year, often disrupting vital health services for "prolonged periods." The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of the Treasury issued the joint warning to provide information on the Maui ransomware that has been infecting Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector organizations since at least May 2021. Like other ransomware, Maui encrypts an infected system's files with AES 128-bit encryption. In this case, it's the servers responsible for healthcare services that are targeted. Impacted areas include electronic health records, diagnostics, imaging, and intranet. The agencies published technical details of Maui in the advisory, including indicators of compromise, using an industry analysis of a sample of the ransomware. The … [Read more...] about FBI warns that North Korean hackers are targeting US healthcare organizations with ransomware attacks

Samsung is under fire for a recent ad depicting a woman wearing a Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Buds running alone in the middle of a city at 2AM. Critics have called the ad both “unrealistic” and “tone-deaf” in the wake of the murder of Ashling Murphy , a 23-year-old who was killed while running in January in Dublin, Ireland. The ad is oblivious to the dangers of nighttime running, but that makes sense since many smartwatch makers don’t seem to understand how their limited safety features may fail runners. Samsung has since apologized for the ad, telling BBC Radio 1 that it hadn’t intended to “be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women’s safety” and that “the ‘Night Owls’ campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours.” Samsung’s intent is understandable. The ad is meant to highlight how easy it is to use Galaxy devices together and “empower” users to leave their phones at home. For many people … [Read more...] about ‘Tone-deaf’ Samsung ad is a reminder that smartwatch safety still has a ways to go

After years of development, the snootchiest of '90s bootchies will finally return to theaters this September. Writer and director Kevin Smith unveiled the first look at Clerks III on Wednesday via a two-minute trailer, though you'll have to look at some fine print to figure out exactly when and where you might get to watch this feature-length film. The core cast featured in 2006's Clerks II returns to modern-day New Jersey, once again relegated to a building that houses both a convenience store and a video rental shop. The latter has adapted to a modern video-streaming world, at least, with a massive "THC" indicator poorly taped over the original sign—and longtime series jesters Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) seem fine hanging out in front of this adjusted storefront for some reason. But time hasn't been kind to Randal (Jeff Anderson), as the trailer shows him suffering a heart attack and questioning a life spent watching movies all day. “What am I, a hack?” "I … [Read more...] about trailer: Jersey nerd trilogy goes meta in 2-night theater run

An Ohio man created a fake broadband provider in order to scam low-income consumers who thought they were getting government-funded discounts on Internet service and devices, according to the Federal Communications Commission. In a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture released Friday, the FCC proposed a fine of $220,210 against alleged scammer Kyle Traxler. Traxler created an entity called Cleo Communications that sought authorization to be a provider in the FCC's Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which provided $50 monthly discounts on Internet service and discounts for devices. "Cleo apparently existed for the sole purpose of taking financial advantage of customers under the disguise of being a legitimate EBB Program provider," the FCC notice said. "Cleo Communications has had no business activity outside of the EBB Program and no other business purpose." The FCC began investigating after receiving complaints from consumers in at least eight states who ordered … [Read more...] about Man set up fake ISP to scam low-income people seeking gov’t discounts, FCC says

Nearly a full year has passed since Virgin Galactic last flew its SpaceShipTwo vehicle into space, but the company says it is progressing toward a more rapid cadence of flights. On Wednesday, Virgin Galactic announced a deal with Boeing-owned Aurora Flight Sciences to design and manufacture two next-generation motherships. A mothership carries the Virgin Galactic spaceship to an altitude of about 15 km before releasing it, after which the spaceship fires its rocket engine and flies above 90 km. In a news release , Virgin Galactic said it expects to take delivery of the first of the two new motherships in 2025. The company presently has a single carrier aircraft, VMS Eve , that made its first flight in 2008. Virgin has not said how long this vehicle will be able to fly missions, nor how much refurbishment it will need as it begins flying more frequently. "Our next-generation motherships are integral to scaling our operations," said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier in … [Read more...] about Looking to the future, Virgin Galactic purchases 2 more motherships

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to collect a $51.1 million fine from a phone company accused of using “widespread enrollment fraud” to collect improper payments from a program designed to help poor people. Since 2014, Total Call Mobile (TCM) has requested and received $9.7 million in payments by signing up tens of thousands of duplicate or ineligible consumers “despite repeated and explicit warnings from its own employees, in some cases compliance specialists, that company sales agents were engaged in widespread enrollment fraud,” the FCC said in an announcement yesterday . Further Reading FCC says TracFone and other cell companies defrauded US program for the poor The alleged fraud targeted the Lifeline program, which provides discounted phone service to people with low incomes. Lifeline, part of the Universal Service Fund, is paid for by US residents through surcharges on phone bills. The FCC said its investigation into Total Call found that … [Read more...] about FCC: Carrier pocketed $10M in bogus cell phone subsidies

Officials in Florida are again battling a highly invasive, extraordinarily destructive giant snail species that also happens to be capable of spreading parasitic worms that invade human brains. The giant African land snail (GALS)—aka Lissachatina fulica —can grow up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) long and is considered " one of the most invasive pests on the planet ," according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It ravenously feasts on over 500 plant species—including many valuable fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals—while prolifically spawning, pushing out several thousand eggs in its multiyear life span. In late June, Florida state officials confirmed the presence of GALS on a property in Pasco County, on the west-central coast of the state, just north of Tampa. They have since set up a quarantine zone around the property and began snail-killing pesticide treatments last week. While the snails are a grave threat to agriculture and natural … [Read more...] about Florida once again has giant calamitous snails that spew parasitic brain worms

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday accused five wireless service providers of obtaining duplicate payments from a federal fund for low-income consumers. The FCC wants the companies to repay the extra money and, in addition, to pay $14.4 million in fines. The wireless providers allegedly violated rules of the Lifeline program, which has helped people afford basic telephone service since 1985. It was expanded to cover pre-paid cell phone service in 2005 under former President George W. Bush. "The violations involve thousands of consumers who had more than one Lifeline subscription from the same provider, resulting in duplicative support requests and payments," the FCC said. "In each case, the carrier knew or should have known, based on its own internal data, that the consumers were ineligible under Lifeline program rules. ... To protect the integrity of the Lifeline program, the Commission’s rules prohibit, among other things, Lifeline service providers from requesting … [Read more...] about FCC says TracFone and other cell companies defrauded US program for the poor

At midnight ET on Tuesday morning, the American federal government shut down operations as a result of the Congressional budget impasse. Currently there's no immediate end in sight, so a mish-mash of government agencies are open and closed. National parks and museums are off, but mail is still being delivered to American households. On Saturday, Ars took a quick look at which US government agency websites would be going dark during the shutdown. Those included the Federal Trade Commission, the Library of Congress, and the National Park Service sites. They all planned to go dark and have done so. The federal court system is remaining open , as it has a financial reserve that should last around two weeks. Similarly, the United States Patent and Trademark Office could stay open for approximately four weeks. However, we have now conducted a more thorough examination of 50-plus different .gov websites. In the chart below, we have highlighted whether they are up or down, and … [Read more...] about Shutdown of US government websites appears bafflingly arbitrary