Much of the debate about encrypted devices and messaging services has been centered on more sophisticated criminal or terrorist activities, where the people involved are actively searching out ways to avoid detection by law enforcement. However, the FBI’s top attorney contends that tech companies may be inadvertently giving dimwitted crooks a leg up by making quality encryption so widely available. [More]
Data & Privacy
Arby’s Admits Malware Infection And Credit Card Breach At Hundreds Of Restaurants
By 2.9.17
The last time you satisfied your craving for seasoned curly fries at Arby’s, did you use a credit or debit card? It’s time to start watching your statements for fraudulent transactions and also to watch your mailbox for a new card: Arby’s announced a payment card breach at a few hundred of its restaurants. [More]
Police Charge Arson Suspect Based On Records From His Pacemaker
By 2.7.17
How would you weigh the choice to have a pacemaker implanted if you knew that information from the device could be used against you in a criminal case? A man in Ohio is having his own cardiac rhythm used against him as he faces charges of aggravated arson and insurance fraud. This week, he pleaded not guilty to those charges. [More]
House Passes Bill Requiring Warrants For Searching Older Emails
By 2.7.17
The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a second attempt at new legislation that would update existing federal laws to require that law enforcement obtain a warrant in order to remotely search files that are older than six months. [More]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Confirms Payment Card Breach
By 2.6.17
In December, several banks had identified hospitality giant InterContinental Hotels Group as the common link among customers with otherwise unrelated fraudulent credit card transactions. InterContinental is now confirming the breach and releasing information on which of its hotels’ restaurants and bars were affected. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Says Rewards Accounts Being Attacked Using Data Stolen Elsewhere
By 2.6.17 — Updated: 2.7.17
Here’s another example of why you should take experts’ advice when they say not to use the same password on multiple sites: Hackers have been apparently been attempting to breach accounts of Toys ‘R’ Us rewards program members using data they got from other hacks. [More]
Vizio To Pay $2.2 Million For Watching TV Watchers Without Telling Them
By 2.6.17
There is a new truism for our era: If something can connect to the internet, it collects data. That’s true for everything from wearable fitness trackers to “smart” washing machines. But one TV company went farther than most, in collecting, aggregating, and selling your data, and now it’s in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
Federal Employees Turn To Encryption To Privately Discuss New Boss Trump
By 2.2.17
Every new President brings a wave of change to D.C., but the first two weeks of the Trump administration have been busier and more controversial than usual — to put it very mildly. While much attention has been paid to the public response to the White House’s newest tenant, there are federal employees who can’t be so vocal about their concerns, particularly when chatting over government-supplied devices. That’s why some federal staffers are turning to new encryption technologies to keep their discussions away from unwanted scrutiny. [More]
Twitter (Again) Promises New Approach To Reduce Harassment And Abuse
By 1.31.17
Twitter is something of a double edged sword, for its millions of users. On one hand, conversations are fast-flowing, free, and open, and a single retweet can bring that smart thing you said to everyone’s attention. Conversely, a single retweet can bring that smart thing you said to the attention of a roving hate mob, making your life utterly miserable and possibly putting you in actual danger.
Twitter’s been saying for years that it needs to improve its tools for mitigating abuse and harassment, and for years users have been finding each new option insufficient at best. But this time, the company’s leadership promises, they’re going to make good changes. For real. [More]
Industry, ISPs End Controversial “Six Strikes” Copyright Alert System
By 1.30.17
Since the Napster era began in 1999, content creators and distributors have really, really hated it when you share their stuff online without paying up. Industry groups have tried many ways to stem the tide but one, a four-year-old cooperative alert system, is being scrapped after basically proving not to work. [More]
Cable & Phone Industries Tell Congress To Reverse New Internet Privacy Rule
By 1.27.17
Last fall, the FCC approved a new rule detailing internet service providers can and can’t gather and use your information. The affected industries cried “unfair!” and now, with a new business-friendly FCC Chairman and White House, they are calling on Congress to make this pesky privacy rule go away. [More]
Even Police Can Fall Victim To Card Skimming Devices
By 1.26.17
You might think that you’re too savvy to be tricked into slipping your credit card into a skimming device that steals your account info, but you’re probably not. Just ask the Indiana State Police, whose troopers were fooled by one skimmer, and who are now using the incident as a teachable moment for everyone. [More]
5 Things We’ve Learned About How Companies Track You Online And Off
By 1.25.17
Is there an ad that seems to be following you everywhere? Perhaps you browsed for new sneakers in a slow moment at work a week ago, and now you see ads for them on every site you view on your phone? Or maybe you clicked an ad on Facebook, and now that company’s product seems to be stalking you around the internet, asking you to buy it in every sidebar ad you see. [More]
Court Declines To Rehear Appeal, Agrees Microsoft Can’t Be Forced To Turn Over Email Stored Overseas
By 1.24.17
Back in July, a federal appeals court took Microsoft’s side in a case over a contentious question: if you’re a U.S. company, storing a customer’s data on a server in another country, are you obligated to turn over all that data as part of a search warrant? Microsoft said no, and many years later, it appears that at the end of the appeals process, the court once and for all agrees. [More]
Net Neutrality Foe Ajit Pai Officially Named FCC Chairman
By 1.23.17
As expected, President Trump has elevated Ajit Pai from his FCC Commissioner to Chairman, clearly establishing that the new administration seeks to undo the telecommunications regulations of the previous White House. [More]
Should Microsoft Be Allowed To Tells Its Users When Government Searches Their Data?
By 1.23.17
If the police serve a search warrant on your home, you know, but if law enforcement searches your cloud-stored files, you’ll probably have no idea — and companies like Microsoft are currently forbidden from telling you. That’s why the tech giant is suing the Justice Department, but can Microsoft even bring this lawsuit? [More]
Did Yahoo Wait Too Long To Disclose Massive 2014 Data Breach? SEC Investigating
By 1.23.17
Yahoo, the online company that hosted your email in 2001, was the victim of two huge account breaches in 2013 and 2014, but didn’t tell customers or investors until last year. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is one of the government entities investigating the breach, to find out whether Yahoo kept the info from its investors for too long. [More]
Sprint Buying 33% Of Jay Z’s Tidal Streaming Music Service
By 1.23.17
Sprint is lagging behind T-Mobile and the rest of the U.S. wireless field, while Jay Z’s artist-friendly Tidal streaming service has not been able to catch up to Spotify and other competitors; so why not team up? [More]
