FRANK BAJAK

Technology reporter

Bajak is an Associated Press technology reporter who focuses on hacking, privacy, surveillance and military AI.

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2021 file photo, people try out iPhone products at an Apple Store in Beijing. The Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 allowed a court order to take effect that could loosen Apple's grip on its lucrative iPhone app store, potentially siphoning billions of dollars away from one of the world's most profitable companies. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file)

Justice Department sues Apple, alleging it illegally monopolized the smartphone market

The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors, stifles innovation and keeps prices artificially high.

Microsoft says it hasn’t been able to shake Russian state hackers

Microsoft says it is still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email of senior company executives in November and have since been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data.

This cover image released by Crown shows "Means of Control" by Byron Tau. (Crown via AP)

Book Review: ‘Means of Control’ charts the disturbing rise of a secretive US surveillance regime

In the book “Means of Control,” former Wall Street Journal reporter Byron Tau exposes in disturbing detail how private Beltway contractors have grown a secretive surveillance regime, AP technology reporter Frank Bajak writes.

FILE - People cross the street near the Fulton County Courthouse, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Court and other systems in Fulton County, Georgia's largest county is still repairing damage inflicted on its government offices by a cyberattack a month ago. Hackers in late January 2024 shut down online systems and phone service in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta.(AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

Georgia’s largest county is still repairing damage from January cyberattack

Georgia’s largest county is still repairing damage inflicted on its government offices by a cyberattack a month ago.

The interior of the I-Soon office, also known as Anxun in Mandarin, is seen after office hours in Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to China’s top policing agency and other parts of its government. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

The Chinese government carefully watches those it deems a threat. Here’s a glimpse into how

Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to China’s top policing agency and other parts of its government.

Microsoft says US rivals are beginning to use generative AI in offensive cyber operations

Microsoft says U.S. adversaries — chiefly Iran and North Korea and to a lesser extent Russia and China — are beginning to use generative artificial intelligence in mounting and organizing offensive cyber operations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

US rolls out visa restriction policy on people who abuse spyware to target journalists, activists

The Biden administration is rolling out a new policy that will allow it to impose visa restrictions on foreign individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware.

Journalists, lawyers and activists hacked with Pegasus spyware in Jordan, forensic probe finds

A new report says Israeli-made Pegasus spyware was used in Jordan to hack the cellphones of nearly three dozen people, including journalists, lawyers and human rights activists.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, testifies during a House Select Committee focusing on China on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

US says it disrupted a China cyber threat, but warns hackers could still wreak havoc for Americans

FBI Director Chris Wray has told House lawmakers that Chinese government hackers are busily targeting critical infrastructure inside the United States, including water treatment plants, the electrical grid and transportation systems.

FILE - A sign marks the entry way into Hewlett Packard Enterprise, May 24, 2016, in Andover, Mass. Hewlett Packard Enterprise disclosed Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, that suspected state-backed Russian hackers broke into its cloud-based email system and stole data from cybersecurity and other employees. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

HP Enterprise discloses hack by suspected state-backed Russian hackers

Hewlett Packard Enterprise says suspected state-backed Russian hackers broke into its email system and stole data from cybersecurity and other employees.

(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

Insider Q&A: Small federal agency crafts standards for making AI safe, secure and trustworthy

A little-known federal agency, The National Institute of Standards and Technology, was tapped by the Biden administration to set testing parameters for ensuring generative AI systems are safe, secure, trustworthy and socially responsible.

Microsoft says state-backed Russian hackers accessed emails of senior leadership team members

Microsoft says state-backed Russian hackers broke into its corporate email system and accessed accounts of members of the company’s leadership team, as well as those of cybersecurity and legal employees.

US retail mortgage lender loanDepot struggles with cyberattack

The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot says it’s struggling with a cyberattack that has impacted loan processing and phone service.

FILE - Joan Donovan, then-research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, speaks remotely during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, on Capitol Hill, April 27, 2021, in Washington. The prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August 2023 has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history. (Al Drago/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation

A prominent disinformation scholar is accusing Harvard University in a whistleblower disclosure of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive into a damning trove of Facebook files.

This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. The hacked device was in a pumping booster station owned by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa. An electronic calling card left by the hackers suggests they picked their target because it uses components made by an Israeli company. (Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP)

Breaches by Iran-affiliated hackers spanned multiple U.S. states, federal agencies say

U.S. and Israeli authorities say a small western Pennsylvania water authority was just one of multiple organizations breached by Iran-affiliated hackers who targeted a specific industrial control device because it is Israeli-made.

This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. The hacked device was in a pumping booster station owned by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa. An electronic calling card left by the hackers suggests they picked their target because it uses components made by an Israeli company. (Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP)

Congressmen ask DOJ to investigate water utility hack, warning it could happen anywhere

Three members of Congress are asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate how hackers breached a water utility system near Pittsburgh.

The Longshot, an air-launched unmanned aircraft that General Atomics is developing with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency for use in tandem with piloted Air Force jets, is displayed at the Air & Space Forces Association Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Oxon Hill, Md. Pentagon planners envision using such drones in "human-machine teaming" to overwhelm an adversary. But to be fielded, developers will need to prove the AI tech is reliable and trustworthy enough. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Pentagon’s AI initiatives accelerate hard decisions on lethal autonomous weapons

Artificial intelligence employed by the Pentagon has piloted pint-sized surveillance drones, helped Ukraine fight Russia, predicts when Air Force jets need maintenance and tracks rivals’ satellites in space.

(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

Insider Q&A: Pentagon AI chief on network-centric warfare, generative AI challenges

Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer Craig Martell is alarmed by the potential for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT to deceive and sow disinformation.

FILE - The exterior of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building is pictured on May 4, 2021, in Washington. U.S. regulators on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, sued SolarWinds, a Texas-based technology company whose software was breached in a massive 2020 Russian cyberespionage campaign, for fraud for failing to disclose security deficiencies ahead of the stunning hack. Detected in December 2020, the SolarWinds hack penetrated U.S. government agencies, including the Justice and Homeland Security departments, and more than 100 private companies and think tanks. It was a rude wake-up call on the perils of neglecting cybersecurity. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

US regulators sue SolarWinds and its security chief for alleged cyber neglect ahead of Russian hack

U.S. regulators have sued SolarWinds and its top security executive for fraud for allegedly concealing poor cybersecurity practices ahead of the Texas-based technology company’s stunning hack by Russian spies.

FILE - United Auto Workers signs for a strike are shown at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, in Sterling Heights, Mich., Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Jeep maker Stellantis has reached a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union that follows a template set earlier this week by Ford, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

UAW escalates strike against lone holdout GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis and Ford

The United Auto Workers union has widened its strike against General Motors, the lone holdout among the three Detroit automakers, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with Jeep maker Stellantis.

File - Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in San Francisco, on July 28, 2023. The social media platform X says it is trying to take action on a flood of posts sharing graphic media, violent speech and hateful conduct about the latest war between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

X promises ‘highest level’ response on posts about Israel-Hamas war. Misinformation still flourishes

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, says it is struggling with a flood of posts sharing graphic media, violent speech and hateful conduct about the latest war between Israel and Hamas.

FILE - An Egyptian policeman walks near a pyramid in Giza, Egypt, on Nov. 9, 2015. A leading Egyptian opposition politician was targeted with spyware multiple times after announcing a presidential bid — including with malware that automatically infects smartphones, security researchers have found. They say Egyptian authorities were likely behind the attempted hacks. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)

Leading Egyptian opposition politician targeted with spyware, researchers find

Security researchers say a leading Egyptian opposition politician was targeted with Predator spyware after announcing a president bid.

This cover image released by Verso shows "The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation" by Cory Doctorow. (Verso via AP)

Book Review: Novelist and blogger Cory Doctorow pens a manual for destroying Big Tech

“There is no fixing Big Tech,” Cory Doctorow, a novelist and public-interest technologist who gained online fame with the blog “Boing Boing,” writes in his new book “The Internet Con: How To Seize The Means of Computation,” a manifesto for people who want to destroy it.

Google reaches tentative settlement with all 50 states over alleged app store monopoly

All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of the distribution of apps for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones.

FILE - Heavy traffic heads south on Interstate 93 over the Zakim Bridge, Friday, Sep. 1, 2023, in Boston. Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. A new study released Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, found that most major brands admit they may be selling your personal data, with half saying they will share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Carmakers are failing the privacy test. Owners have little or no control over data collected

Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. A new study finds most major brands admit they may be selling your personal data.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announces in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023 the multinational take down operation of Qakbot malware. In their latest disruption of global cybercrime, the FBI and partners in Europe infiltrated and seized control of a major malware network that was used for more than 15 years to commit a gamut of online crimes including crippling ransomware attacks. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP)

FBI and European partners seize major malware network in blow to global cybercrime

U.S. officials say the FBI and its partners in Europe infiltrated and seized control of a major malware network that was used for more than 15 years to commit a gamut of online crimes including crippling ransomware attacks.

Don’t expect quick fixes in ‘red-teaming’ of AI models. Security was an afterthought

White House officials concerned about AI chatbots’ potential for societal harm and the Silicon Valley powerhouses rushing them to market are heavily invested in a three-day competition ending Sunday at the DefCon hacker convention in Las Vegas.

FILE - In this June 19, 2018, file photo, a router and internet switch are displayed in East Derry, N.H. The White House on Tuesday held its first-ever cybersecurity “summit” on the ransomware attacks plaguing U.S. schools, which has included hackers leaking sensitive student data such as medical records, psychiatric evaluations and student sexual assault reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

White House holds first-ever summit on the ransomware crisis plaguing the nation’s public schools

The White House held its first-ever cybersecurity “summit” on the ransomware attacks plaguing U.S. schools.

FILE - Computer hacker turned author Kevin Mitnick poses for a portrait Thursday, June 27, 2002, in Las Vegas. Mitnick, whose pioneering antics tricking employees in the 1980s and 1990s into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies made him the most celebrated U.S. hacker, has died at age 59. (AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta, File)

Pioneering hacker Kevin Mitnick, FBI-wanted felon turned security guru, dead at 59

Kevin Mitnick, whose pioneering antics tricking employees in the 1980s and 1990s into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies made him the most celebrated U.S. hacker, has died at age 59.

A presenter talks about Microsoft in the Information Age during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Thursday, July 6, 2023. A China-based hacking group has breached email accounts linked to government agencies in Western Europe, Microsoft Corp. said in a blog post published Tuesday, July 11. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese hackers breached State Dept., other government email on eve of Blinken visit, officials say

U.S. officials say state-backed Chinese hackers foiled Microsoft’s cloud-based security and hacked the email of officials at multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing last month.