Widely used apps -- including Spotify, Pinterest and Tinder -- are malfunctioning on iOS devices today, with early reports blaming a Facebook software development kit that manages logins for many apps. Facebook says it is "aware [of] and investigating an increase in errors on the iOS SDK."

A recently patched security flaw in smartwatch software could have been used to direct people to take dangerous amounts of medication, security firm Pen Test Partners says. The software is widely used in smartwatches, including some models marketed to dementia patients and caregivers.

Oracle's Cloud@Customer program now supports dedicated regions, meaning customers can use its flagship Autonomous Database and other Oracle cloud services in their own on-premises data centers, but managed by Oracle. The service has found two early customers: Japanese consulting firm Nomura Research Institute and state-owned Oman Information Technology and Communications Group.

The government paperwork filing obligations faced by 30 million business in the US have given birth to a new field -- regulation technology, also known as regtech. In this analysis, Andrew Moore points out that noncompliance can mean monetary fines and penalties, "including being prevented from entering into legal contracts."

The hackers who hit the city of Knoxville, Tenn., with ransomware last month demanded roughly $393,000, city officials said Thursday. Bits of stolen information, including city employees' names, addresses and salaries, have been posted online, but the city says it has isolated the threat and will not pay the ransom.

Only about 1 in 100 ransomware attacks are publicly disclosed, says Jared Phipps of cybersecurity provider SentinelOne, but that could change as ransomware groups increasingly steal data and threaten to release it. This "name and shame" tactic puts much greater pressure on companies because in many cases, disclosure of data theft is required by law.

An emerging form of phishing attack known as consent phishing is aimed not at stealing passwords but at deceiving the target into granting the attacker permissions to an app that appears harmless but is used to gain access to sensitive data. The tactic, which Microsoft describes in a blog post, exploits the widely used authorization technology OAuth 2.0.

Malware has evaded Google's Play Store security processes and is infecting legitimate apps and subscribing users to premium services without their consent. CheckPoint researchers described how the new variant of the Joker spyware works and listed 11 apps found to be infected with it.

Enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act began July 1, and the law's provisions go further than those of EU laws in terms of what data is considered private, writes Maria Korolov. In this primer, she explains the scope of the law, the penalties violators could face and which businesses are subject to the law, noting that companies "don't have to be based in California or have a physical presence there to fall under the law."

Google and Canonical have teamed up to add Linux support to Flutter. "By making Linux a first-class Flutter platform and supporting the Snap Store, Canonical is hoping to broaden the availability of high-quality applications for Linux," writes Emil Protalinski.