Latest news with #DigitalFreedom
Scoop
31-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Gen Threat Report Reveals Rise In Crypto, Sextortion And Tech Support Scams In An AI-Powered World
Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more, today released its Q2/2025 Gen Threat Report. This quarter was marked by the takedown of the first known ransomware developed using AI, and globally, a 21% growth in data breaches and a 340% increase in financial scams. The team of Gen researchers also found a 100% increase in sextortion scams and a surge in Tech Support Scams spreading through Facebook. New Zealand's top threats in Q2/2025 were: · Malvertising · Scams (phishing, generic scams, E-shop scams, dating scams) 'This quarter's global trends reveal a troubling surge in cyber threats, from AI-powered ransomware to cryptocurrency scams and sextortion,' said Mark Gorrie, Managing Director APAC for Gen Digital. 'With the rise of AI and widespread data breaches, scams have become faster, more personalised, and harder to spot. New Zealand is not immune to these trends.' Weaker economy might fuel the rise in crypto and financial scams Generally, crypto scams have been on the rise almost everywhere. In Q2/2025, blocked attacks jumped from thousands to millions globally, with June marking the sharpest spike. Globally, the risk of being targeted by crypto scams increased by 69,508% in Q2. New Zealand experienced an even sharper rise at 77,721%, which indicates heightened risk well above the global average. 'In a weaker economy, people facing financial uncertainty are increasingly drawn to quick fixes like crypto, creating fertile ground for scammers to exploit,' said Gorrie. Cryptocurrency scams are fraudulent schemes where scammers trick people into sending digital currency or sharing sensitive login information. These scams often involve fake investment opportunities, impersonation of trusted figures, or emotional manipulation through romance scams. The anonymous and irreversible nature of crypto transactions makes it harder to recover lost funds. Globally, financial scams jumped 340% in Q2/2025, with many traced back to deceptive ads and fake pages on Facebook. Scammers used everything from deepfake videos to chatbot forms to collect personal and financial data, often under the guise of legal help or investment offers. New Zealand among top 20 countries at risk of sextortion In New Zealand, sextortion scams surged by 170% in Q2, significantly higher than the global average increase of 100%, pushing New Zealand to #19 on the list of the top 20 most at-risk countries. The top 20 sextortion countries by risk ratio includes Japan, Czechia, Croatia, Singapore, Cyprus, Hong Kong, South Africa, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Australia, Canada, Greece, Maldives, Cabo Verde, United Arab Emirates (the), New Zealand, Curaçao, highlighting how widespread and borderless the threat has become. Criminals are refining their tactics, thanks to the help of AI and a wealth of personal data available from recent large-scale breaches. One of the latest techniques used by cybercriminals involves Google Maps and is designed to employ a more invasive and personalised approach that can really shock and intimidate their victims into complying with demands. Criminals – utilising names, addresses, and emails readily available on the Dark Web due to data breaches – can create targeted emails to victims containing fabricated footage and unsettling information and images of their real homes. Push notifications and Facebook tech support scams flourishing In Q2/2025, the report reveals that globally, 14% of all blocked Facebook threats were linked to Technical Support Scams, a sharp rise driven by fake Messenger-style pages that locked browsers and pushed users to call fake help lines. Facebook's reach and ad infrastructure continue to make it a powerful tool for fraud at scale. In New Zealand, there was a 278% spike in malicious push notifications, often disguised as video players or system alerts. These deceptive pop-ups trick users into clicking, leading them to phishing sites or triggering unwanted downloads, a tactic increasingly used to spread scams and malware. 'Scammers are counting on panic clicks; they exploit the split second where you react before you think. And that single click can take a person straight to a scammer's doorstep,' Gorrie explained. 'If an alert feels aggressive or off, trust your instincts and double-check through your antivirus software directly, and avoid giving notification permissions to untrusted websites.' Beating the bots: Gen cracks AI-powered ransomware Gen continues to uphold its commitment to help victims of ransomware, uncovering a critical cryptographic flaw in FunkSec. This was the first known ransomware strain partially built using generative AI. While the malware successfully encrypted data and demanded payment, the Gen research team worked quietly with law enforcement to help victims recover their files without paying via a free decryptor released by Avast. FunkSec has since gone quiet. Other key global highlights from the report include: · +21% increase in data breach events, with the number of breached emails increasing by nearly 16%. · Lumma Stealer remained active post-takedown, using a fresh infrastructure to continue data exfiltration. · +317% spike in malicious push notifications, often disguised as video players or system alerts. · +62% rise in remote access attacks, led by the return of Wincir RAT and abuse of cloud services like OneDrive. · DealPly adware, a threat that has been steadily declining, was revived with a focus on the US, Brazil, France and India. · A target on small businesses with infostealers, exploits, and remote access tools. Scams remained the top threat to small businesses. Gen's family of trusted brand is always focused on keeping people's digital lives safe and protecting against scams – the very scams mentioned in this report – through solutions such as the newly added Scam Guardian feature in Avast Free Antivirus and Avast Premium Security to protect people from scams before they even spot them. Norton Genie within the Norton lineup is also an extra layer of scam protection on desktop and mobile. For identity threats, LifeLock helps keep people covered in the event of a breach or data exposure. About Gen Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Digital Freedom Declaration Presses EU For Clear Rules On Privacy Tech
Joachim Schwerin, principal economist at the European Commission in discussion with Judith De Boer, ... More Alexey Pertsev's lawyer Launched in May 2025, the Digital Freedom Declaration is a coordinated push by civil society, technologists, and trade groups urging European lawmakers to adopt 'sound, proportionate regulation' that protects innovation in privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) and gives developers the legal certainty they lack today. Backed by more than two dozen organisations and experts, including the European Blockchain Association, Blockchain for Europe, the European Crypto Initiative, and, from the U.S. side, the DeFi Education Fund and the Blockchain Association, the declaration argues that PETs are indispensable to Europe's digital sovereignty. At the heart of the document is a plea for 'clear legal rules and procedures for developers and maintainers of privacy tools.' The declaration wants to foster an environment 'where emerging technologies can thrive and benefit everyone, trust in digital systems is strengthened, and data is safeguarded from cyber-threats and misuse', all while keeping the EU competitive on the global stage. To protect innovation, digital freedom, and the rule of law, signatories call for investment in public education, clearer liability rules and a shift away from prosecuting the authors of open-source code for actions committed by third-party users. Europe's policy landscape sends mixed signals. On one hand, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may require controllers to adopt privacy by design, an imperative many technologists interpret as a mandate to integrate PETs at the protocol layer. On the other, the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) will, from 1 July 2027, ban crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under direct EU supervision from engaging with privacy coins and anonymous crypto accounts. CASPs that continue to list tokens such as Monero or ZCash risk losing their licenses. The AMLR undercuts the GDPR's privacy-by-design principle and will push legitimate crypto privacy innovation off the continent. Dr. Joachim Schwerin, a principal economist at the European Commission and signatory of the declaration, frames the issue starkly by stating that developers of PETs must never be liable for misuse once their tools are publicly available. Obfuscation techniques are a societal good he says, 'they provide an indispensable counterweight to excessive intrusion into personal data by public and private actors. Privacy enhancing technologies are essential to secure the digital rights of citizens and to guarantee the protection of business secrets and entrepreneurial freedom'. The Tornado Cash prosecution by the Netherlands remains the industry's touchstone. In May 2024, a Dutch court sentenced Alexey Pertsev to 64 months for money-laundering, holding him responsible for how strangers used the open-source PET smart contracts that he developed. Pertsev is now free under electronic monitoring while he appeals. Logo Lawmakers demand stronger privacy safeguards even as they criminalize some of the very tools that deliver them. Pertsev's counsel, Judith De Boer, views the Digital Freedom Declaration as a necessary corrective: 'Holding someone in the real world responsible for creating a neutral tool is unprecedented. A better understanding of DeFi and the role of privacy in our digital era is essential to avoid judgments that hold a developer liable for the risk that a tool can be misused by third parties. How much involvement can a developer keep with a project, what is the tipping point? We have faith in a just outcome on appeal'. Literally: all of our on-chain data is there to be seen by everyone, through block explorer tools like Etherscan. Bitcoin, Ethereum and most other public ledgers were initially designed without the inclusion of strong privacy guarantees. Once a wallet address, the equivalent of your on-chain identity, is linked to a state-given identity, often through a centralized exchange that performs know-your-customer checks, every historic transaction, counter-party graph and balance become visible. The more data is gathered, the more it can be inferred about an individual's behavior, preferences, and personality. Blockchain pseudonymity is already an artifact of the past. Blockchain-analytics firms such as Chainalysis and Arkham Intelligence have built their trade around labeling wallets and selling deanonymization services. With artificial-intelligence tools accelerating pattern recognition, the amount of behavioral data that can be inferred from a single address is growing rapidly. For consumers and businesses alike, the reliance on 'pseudonymity' as a hedge against the lack of privacy is already fading; full-stack privacy solutions are becoming a prerequisite for using blockchains in sensitive contexts such as payroll, competitive supply chains or political donations, as well as in less sensitive contexts. The future of blockchain is tied to its privacy. Whether the EU plays a meaningful part in that future is yet to be seen.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gen Completes Acquisition of MoneyLion, Accelerating the Company's Leadership in Financial Wellness
TEMPE, Ariz. and PRAGUE, April 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its family of consumer brands, today announced the successful closing of its acquisition of MoneyLion Inc. This strategic milestone strengthens Gen's leadership in financial wellness, empowering consumers to confidently manage and protect their digital and financial lives. "We're thrilled to welcome MoneyLion to the Gen family. The addition of MoneyLion accelerates our position to redefine financial empowerment in a digital-first world," said Vincent Pilette, CEO of Gen. "People need intuitive, holistic solutions they can trust. We're uniting decades of expertise and the global scale of Gen's Consumer Cyber Safety Platform with MoneyLion's industry-leading financial ecosystem. Gen is uniquely positioned to empower people to make smarter financial decisions, take greater control, and build lasting financial well-being." Under the terms of the agreement, Gen acquired MoneyLion for $82.00 per share in cash, representing a transaction value of approximately $1 billion. Additionally, MoneyLion shareholders are entitled to receive one contingent value right (CVR) per share, offering a conditional payment of $23.00 in the form of Gen common stock if, on any date from the date hereof prior to April 17, 2027, for over 30 consecutive trading days, the average volume-average share price of Gen common stock is at least $37.50 or Gen undergoes a change of control. The CVRs are approved to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. To learn more about the acquisition visit Additionally, the Company will hold its Fiscal 2025 Q4 and Full-Year Earnings Call on May 6, 2025, at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET and will share more about Gen's expanded financial wellness offerings then. About GenGen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to safe harbors under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements that represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events, including, without limitation, references to our ability to utilize our deferred tax assets, as well as statements including words such as "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "goal," "intent," "momentum," "projects," "forecast," "outlook," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," and similar expressions. In addition, projections of our future financial performance, anticipated growth and trends in our businesses and in our industries, the consummation of or anticipated impacts of acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, stock repurchases, financings, debt repayments and investment activities, the outcome or impact of pending litigation, claims or disputes, our intent to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future, plans for and anticipated benefits of our products and solutions, anticipated tax rates, benefits and expenses, the impact of inflation, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, changes in interest rates, ongoing and new geopolitical conflicts, and other global macroeconomic factors on our operations and financial performance, the expected impact of our new strategy and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions, based on our current expectations about future events and may not prove to be accurate. We do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring or circumstances arising after the date of this press release. Investor Contact Media Contact Jason Starr Jess Monney Gen Gen IR@ Press@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.
Associated Press
08-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Gen Brands Recognized Across Independent Cybersecurity Tests
At Gen, we're proud to power Digital Freedom for nearly 500 million users across the globe. And, we're honored when our work is validated by independent industry leaders. In the latest round of cybersecurity evaluations, four of our trusted consumer brands — Norton, Avast, AVG and Avira — earned a total of 16 awards from the world's top third-party testing institutions: AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and AVLab. A Testament to Real-World Protection and Performance Independent testing labs assess products on their ability to defend against real threats, including day-to-day malware to sophisticated, emerging attacks. The awards we've received reflect excellence across core areas like: Here's what the experts saw: Why it matters (to us, and to you) This work isn't theoretical. It's personal. We build tools that detect threats and protect against them,,helping protect what matters most — one click, one alert, one quiet block at a time. And when we earn recognition from AV-Test or AVLab — or take home the Cybersecurity Excellence Award for 2025 — that's great. But we measure success in peace of mind. In protection that's felt, not flashy. Leena Elias, our Chief Product Officer, said it best: 'People trust us. These awards are just one more reason why.' Cyber threats continue to grow in complexity. From phishing and fake online shops to AI-powered scams and advanced malware. The stakes have never been higher. That's why independent validation matters to the millions of people who rely on our products every day.
