Month: April 2025

WhatsApp has introduced an extra layer of privacy called Advanced Chat Privacy, that allows users to block participants from sharing the contents of a conversation in both traditional chats and chat groups.

“This new setting available in both chats and groups helps prevent others from taking content outside of WhatsApp for when you may want extra privacy,” WhatsApp said in a statement.

When this optional feature is enabled, it prevents other chat participants from exporting chats, auto-downloading media to their phone, and using messages for AI features. It’s worth noting that users can still take individual screenshots, or manually download the media.

​The new Advanced Chat Privacy feature is part of a broader effort to make communicating using WhatsApp more secure.

Read more about it here.

Car rental giant Hertz has announced and begun notifying its customers of a data breach that included their personal information and driver’s licenses. The data breach affected at least 100,000 customers.

The rental company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands, said in notices on its website that the breach relates to a cyberattack on one of its vendors, Cleo, providing file transfer platform used by Hertz.

“On February 10, 2025, we confirmed that Hertz data was acquired by an unauthorized third party that we understand exploited zero-day vulnerabilities within Cleo’s platform in October 2024 and December 2024.”

The stolen data varies by individual and region, but includes customer names, contact information, date of birth, credit card information, driver’s license information and information related to workers’ compensation claims. Hertz said a smaller number of customers had their Social Security or other government identification numbers, passport information, Medicare or Medicaid ID, or injury-related information associated with vehicle accident claims, were impacted by the event.

Hertz has disclosed the breach with several US states, including California, Maine, and Texas. Hertz said at least 3,400 customers in Maine were affected, and some 96,665 customers in Texas, but neither listed the total number of affected individuals.

Read more about it here.

Laboratory Services Cooperative (LSC) is a non-profit US organization providing laboratory services, primarily to Planned Parenthood clinics, in 31 states. It is based in Seattle, Washington.

“On October 27, 2024, LSC identified suspicious activity within its network,” reads the notice.

“In response, LSC immediately engaged third-party cybersecurity specialists to determine the nature and scope of the incident and notified federal law enforcement.”

“The investigation revealed that an unauthorized third party gained access to portions of LSC’s network and accessed/removed certain files belonging to LSC.”

The information exposed for each individual varies and may include one or more of the following data types:

Personal identifiers: Full name, SSN, driver’s license or passport number, date of birth, and government-issued IDs.
Medical info: Dates of service, diagnoses, treatments, lab results, provider, and facility details.
Insurance info: Plan type, insurer, and member/group ID numbers.
Billing and financial data: Claims, billing details, bank and payment card info.
According to an April 10, 2025 filing submitted to the Maine’s AG Office, the data breach impacts 1,600,000 people.

For LSC employees, the breach may also include information about their dependents or beneficiaries, if such details were provided to LSC.

Read more about it here.