Home Depot’s legal battles over the massive 2014 data breach that saw millions of customers’ card accounts compromised may finally be nearing an end, with news that the home repair retailer has reached a deal that will pay $25 million to banks and credit unions who had to help mop up Home Depot’s mess. [More]
Data & Privacy
Google Says Android, Chrome Vulnerabilities Detailed In WikiLeaks Documents Resolved
By 3.9.17
A day after Apple and Samsung announced that they had fixed or were working to fix vulnerabilities referenced in WikiLeaks’ data dump of alleged “Vault 7” CIA documents, Google has followed suit, noting that it has addressed any exploitable vulnerabilities in its Android and Chrome OS devices. [More]
Lawmakers Try Again To Close Loophole Allowing Government To Make Debt-Collection Robocalls
By 3.8.17
Once again, federal lawmakers are trying to close a recently opened loophole that allows the federal government — and, by extension, contractors working for the government — to blast out automated, unwanted, possibly incorrect, debt-collection robocalls. [More]
Apple, Samsung Say They’ve Already Fixed Issues Revealed In WikiLeaks Documents
By 3.8.17
The recent WikiLeaks data dump of alleged “Vault 7” CIA documents put some people on edge. Did, as WikiLeaks contends, the government already have tools to remotely bypass encryption on iPhones or turn your Samsung TV into a listening device? For their part, Apple and Samsung say they have already fixed — or are working to fix — the vulnerabilities referenced in the leaked docs. [More]
Prison Emails Inmates Social Security Numbers To Convicted ID Thief
By 3.8.17
We don’t know why a man previously convicted of identity theft (and making bomb threats) would be sending public record requests for current prison rosters. Everyone needs a hobby, right? The ID thief in this story received a bonus when one prison sent him the list of more than 2,000 inmates’ names: their full Social Security numbers. [More]
Senators Officially Introduce Resolution To Reverse ISP Privacy Rule
By 3.8.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Back in October, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a rule limiting what ISPs can or can’t do with your personal data. As expected, lawmakers are now attempting to overturn this new rule through use of the Congressional Review Act. [More]
4 Things Consumers Should Know About WikiLeaks’ Dump Of CIA ‘Vault 7’ Documents
By 3.7.17
Earlier today, WikiLeaks unleashed a trove of what it claims are thousands of pages of CIA documents containing details on the intelligence agency’s abilities to breach a variety of consumer products to collect data and spy on people. [More]
Verifone, Largest Maker Of Card Payment Terminals, Targeted By Hack
By 3.7.17
Verifone, the company behind many of the payment systems you see at retailers across the country, is reportedly the latest hack attack victim. [More]
Court Denies Vizio’s Request To Dismiss Users’ Privacy Lawsuits
By 3.7.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
We learned back in 2015 that while all smart TVs collect data on your viewing habits, Vizio was going above and beyond, collecting more information than most, and telling you even less about it. As you might expect, loads of folks who owned Vizio TVs were deeply unhappy about this, and sued the company. And now, a judge has denied Vizio’s motion to dismiss that suit, meaning it will indeed have to defend itself in court. [More]
Amazon Hands Over Echo Recording Related To Murder Investigation
By 3.7.17
Just two weeks after Amazon filed a motion claiming that turning over information stored on an Echo speaker located inside a murder suspect’s home would be a violation of privacy, the e-commerce giant abandoned its argument after the suspect in the case consented to the release of the information. [More]
4 Scams You Should Always Be Aware Of
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In honor of National Consumer Protection Week — don’t worry; we forgot to get you a gift too — we wanted to take a few moments to remind everyone of some of the most common scams so that they can do their best to avoid them. [More]
Announcing A New Open-Source Privacy Standard For The Internet Of Things
By 3.6.17
At Consumerist, consumer privacy and data security have been growing areas of coverage over the past few years. We regularly write about policies, corporate and government alike, that either threaten or help safeguard your privacy. We cover data breaches big and small, and investigate tips from you, our readers. We offer advice about good practices that can help protect you and your data, and try to give you a heads-up when a company changes something that might affect you. And when your kid’s doll is recording what you say and sending the information to a defense contractor — Consumerist is there.
But we’re excited to announce a new initiative that will allow us to do much, much more. [More]
Facebook Promises To Quit Snooping On Private Messages For Ad-Targeting Purposes
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
More than three years after a group of Facebook users sued the social media network, claiming that it was sharing links sent in private messages with marketing companies in order to boost its ad revenue, The Zuck’s company has agreed to stop eavesdropping on those communications. [More]
FTC: Businesses Could Be Doing More To Protect Customers From Phishing, But Aren’t
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
You probably know the danger signs of a phishing message when it arrives in your inbox: It impersonates a company that you don’t do business with, mentions a transaction that didn’t happen, or has blatant spelling or grammatical errors. The Federal Trade Commission, though, notes that businesses that contact consumers online could implement simple steps to keep phishing messages from us in the first place. They just don’t. [More]
FCC Officially Blocks Part Of ISP Privacy Rule From Taking Effect
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
As it was foretold, so it has come to pass: The Federal Communications Commission, under the direction of its new Chairman Ajit Pai, has taken action to block a portion of its own new privacy rule for internet service providers. [More]
Twitter Confirms It’s Trying To Identify Abusive Accounts Before Anyone Reports Them
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Twitter is on a roll: In its second safety update of the year aimed at curbing harassment on its platform, the social media network says it will now proactively try to identify abusive accounts — even before anyone has reported them for being abusive. [More]
FCC Chair Claims Broadband Investment At Historic Low Level Because Of Net Neutrality; That’s Not What The Numbers Say
By 2.28.17
This morning, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made a claim that net neutrality, which hasn’t even been in place for two years, has driven investment in U.S. broadband to historically low levels. However, the actual numbers given by the nation’s largest cable and telecom companies don’t appear to back this up. [More]
CloudPets “Smart” Toys Leak More Than 2M Voice Recordings, Other Personal Data
By 2.28.17
CloudPets are not cute little adoptable cumulonimbus and cirrus toys for your kid to play with. Instead, they are traditional dog, cat, and bear stuffed animals that relay voice messages between an adult and a kid through the digital cloud. Which in and of itself is not necessarily a bad idea, even if it’s not your style. What is a bad idea, however, is failing to secure your server, and making more than 2 million of those very personal messages public, for anyone on the internet to grab. [More]
