NSA Warns of Continued Russian Hacking of US Systems; Legal Experts Say Executive Order Affecting Social Media Has No Standing; Ariz. AG Sues Google, Alleging Fraudulent Collection of Location Data; US Probing Israeli Private Intelligence Firm. Click “Continue reading” below.
Continue reading “Daily Digest (5/29)”Month: May 2020
By Peter A. McKay
Of all the things tech companies know about you, your spending habits are perhaps among the most sensitive — and the most overlooked by users.
Chalk the latter up to the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, which since has thrown a bright spotlight on potential abuses of social-networking data in particular, with Facebook arguably taking the brunt of criticism for the entire technology industry.
Continue reading “Online Payment Programs — Easy, Solid, Mundane — Carry Big Privacy Risks”Sen. Ron Wyden Opposes Reworked FISA Amendment; Researchers: Internet-Connected Security, Doorbell Cameras Contain Privacy Flaws; Bank of America Breach Affects Paycheck Program Applicants; Human Rights Watch: Russian Federal Database Threatens Privacy. Click “Continue reading” below.
Continue reading “Daily Digest (5/28)”
By Matthew Scott
The warrants granted recently in the special investigation of former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s alleged faked hate crime last year highlight law enforcement’s expanding ability to gain access to vast amounts of personal data and the potential risks that poses to the digital privacy rights of Americans.
“There are tremendous risks to individuals’ privacy from the collection of data on this scale and also law enforcement access to information on this scale,” Mark Rumold, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), warned to Digital Privacy News.
Continue reading “Jussie Smollett Warrants Threaten Digital Privacy Rights, Experts Say”2 House Republicans Hit TikTok Owners on Children’s Privacy; 25M Mathway Users’ Records Leaked Online; Consumer Reports Releases Studies on Digital Privacy, Online Tracking. Click “Continue reading” below.
Continue reading “Daily Digest (5/27)”
By Samantha Cleaver
The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) switched from in-person to online classes in March because of COVID-19.
Students were about to take quarterly final exams, and professors were given the option to use ProctorU, an online test-proctoring company.
The service was new to many faculty, Claudio Fogu, associate professor of Italian studies, told Digital Privacy News.
But Fogu and other faculty members read through ProctorU’s privacy policy and raised concerns about what data was collected, how it was used and whether students could opt out.
Continue reading “Online Test Proctoring Raises Privacy Questions Among University Faculty, Students”Dutch Judge Orders Grandmother to Remove Photos From Social Media; Canadian Spy Agency Warns Against Changes in Privacy Law; US State Legislator Introduces Bill to Protect Privacy as Contact-Tracing Begins. Click “Continue reading” below.
Continue reading “Daily Digest (5/26)”
What Does COVID-19 Surveillance Portend for Privacy?
By Charles McDermid
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified fears of a stricter surveillance environment in a world already troubled by huge data breaches and privacy violations, as well as the increasing power of Big Tech.
Experts now hope the new reality brought on by coronavirus includes heightened awareness and stronger government protections, rather than apathy from a public possibly frustrated by the slow burn of constant data-privacy fears.
Continue reading “A ‘New Normal’?”Ohio Data Breach Exposes Pandemic Jobless Aid Applicants; UK Contractor Shares Emails of 300 Contract-Tracers in Breach; Apple-Google COVID App Technology Draws Interest From 23 Nations; Ex-Apple Whistleblower Calls for EU Probe of Privacy Policies. Click “Read more” below.
Continue reading “Daily Digest (5/25)”
By Gregory Austin
Gamers across the world are eagerly awaiting the release of the PlayStation 5 this holiday season.
But one of the device’s most popular add-ons, the new DualSense wireless controller, likely will incorporate a higher level of data-collection that could infringe upon user privacy, experts told Digital Privacy News.
The DualSense’s built-in, headset-free microphone and upgraded hand sensors could leave users vulnerable to a hack like PlayStation’s enormous network breach in 2011.
Continue reading “PlayStation’s New DualSense Controller Has Built-In Privacy Concerns”