When Verizon first announced its plans to acquire AOL back in May, jokes abounded. The name “AOL” still conjures the sound of modems screeching and a friendly digital voice announcing haltingly, “You’ve got mail!” It does not, on the other hand, immediately inspire one to think of a $4 billion media and data empire. But the latter is exactly what it is — and in conjunction with Verizon’s more pernicious tools, it may be about to get a whole lot bigger. [More]
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Coming Soon To An AOL Ad Network Near You: All That Data Verizon Collects On Mobile Users
By 10.7.15
Federal Data Breach Included 5.6M Compromised Fingerprints, Five Times The Original Estimate
By 9.23.15
Federal investigators underestimated the number of fingerprints stolen in a massive breach of the Office of Personnel Management earlier this year: the agency announced Wednesday that 5.6 million individuals’ finger prints were stolen, nearly five times the original estimate of 1.1 million compromised prints. [More]
Pharmaceutical Companies Using Fitness Trackers To Collect Data On Drug Trials, Other Research
By 9.14.15
Consumers looking to improve their health have turned to fitness trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, Vivofit, and Fuse that record the user’s heart rate, calories burned, steps walked, and other pertinent data. These devices are also increasingly being used for another purpose: tracking the effectiveness of new medications in drug trials and other research for pharmaceutical companies. [More]
Over 10M Consumers’ Personal Info Stolen In Latest Health Insurer Data Breach
By 9.10.15
For at least the fourth time this year, millions of consumers are being faced with some bad news: health insurer Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield has announced the discovery of a major data breach in their systems. Over 10 million subscribers to Excellus and their partner services now have their most personal information — including medical claims records and social security numbers — stolen. [More]
Facebook-Owned WhatsApp Crosses 900 Million User Mark
By 9.4.15
Facebook is having a good run this summer of taking over the world one app at a time. Hot on the heels of last week’s announcement that the big blue network now has more than 1 billion daily users, the company is now crowing about a user milestone they’ve reached on one of their two big messaging platforms, WhatsApp. [More]
New Spotify Privacy Policy Aims To Provide “Plain Language” Explanation For Collected Data
By 9.4.15
Just weeks after Spotify ticked off many of its 75 million active users with an updated, potentially invasive privacy policy, the music streaming service has once again revamped the terms, this time including an introduction that provides clear reasoning and examples of data collected. [More]
Google Launches Tool That Tells You If Solar Panels Can Save You Money
By 8.17.15
Are you thinking of putting a solar panel on your home, but not sure if the investment would be worthwhile? Google’s latest unusual online tool aims to take the guesswork out of the alternative energy investment. [More]
Flaw In Android Device Sensor Leaves Users’ Fingerprints Vulnerable To Theft
By 8.6.15
Using your fingerprint to open your phone may be convenient but it could also pose a security risk. That’s according to security researchers who discovered a way to breach Android devices to steal the unique prints. [More]
Target Testing System That Sends Customers Notifications On Deals While They Shop
By 8.5.15
Target wants to track your every move while shopping at its stores. Or at least that seems to be the gist behind the retailers’ new test of transmitters – known as beacons – that link to shoppers’ smartphones through the company’s app, sending coupons, deals, product recommendations and recipes based on their location inside the big box store. [More]
Ashley Madison Says It’s Secured All Customer Data After Hack Attack
By 7.21.15
After a group of hackers posted a sampling of user data stolen from AshleyMadison.com, the parent company of the dating site for cheaters says it’s secured all customer information that was allegedly leaked. [More]
T-Mobile Announces Family Plan Promo With More Data Than You Probably Need
By 7.14.15
How much LTE mobile data does your family (or just the unrelated people on your mobile phone plan) really need? 10 GB? 20? 40? It depends on what you do with your mobile device and where you use it, but most people don’t use that much. Today, T-Mobile announced new plans designed to compete with similar offerings from Verizon, but that include more data than most people could need. [More]
Federal Data Breach Reportedly Affects An Additional 21 Million People
By 7.9.15
Remember when it was announced that more than four million federal employees in the country were part of a massive data breach last month? Well, turns out that was just one of two rather large data breaches to hit the Office of Personnel Management, with the newly announced second, larger hack affecting upwards of 21 million current and former employees, as well as prospective employees, their families and others who applied for federal background investigations in the last 15 years. [More]
Your Personal Information Is Probably Going To Be For Sale When The Company You Gave It To Is
By 6.29.15
You’ve signed up for a dating site, and it has promised up and down not to sell your data for marketing purposes. One year in, so far so good. Except the site folds, and someone else buys its assets — and those assets include all your personal info. The new owners made no privacy promise, and now your likes, dislikes, and dating history are floating down you-know-what creek without you. [More]
Facebook Develops Technology To Recognize You Even When Your Face Is Covered
By 6.23.15
If you regularly shield your face in photos for fear someone might recognize you on Facebook, then you might need to find another way to stay incognito when it comes to the social media site. [More]
Political Campaign Stores Raking In Not Only Cash, But A Treasure Trove Of Data For Candidates
By 6.23.15
In an age when data is just as powerful as money, it may come as no surprise to learn that sales of political stickers, T-shirts, buttons, mugs and other merchandise emblazoned with a candidate’s brand not only go toward filling campaign coffers with money, but also provide presidential hopefuls with valuable personal data that sheds light on what kind of people/voters are out there shopping. [More]
Sprint Stops Throttling Data Speeds As Net Neutrality Goes Into Effect
By 6.18.15
Net neutrality only became well and truly legal on June 12, and yet already the new rules are prompting change: Sprint stopped intermittently throttling data speeds for its heaviest wireless Internet users during busy times as of Friday, the same day the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality rules went into effect. [More]
Privacy Advocates Abandon Facial Recognition Policy Talks In Protest
By 6.16.15
Facial recognition still kind of sounds like science fiction, but is a tech reality. It is, however, still a fairly new and unregulated reality — nobody quite knows how to handle it. So the Commerce Department brought together privacy advocates and industry representatives to hammer out a new code of conduct… and it is not going well. In fact, several of the advocates claim, the process is so broken that it can’t be fixed, and they are walking out. [More]
Uber’s Petition Website Hacked To Redirect To Lyft Homepage
By 6.15.15
It’s no secret that ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft have enjoyed a spirited rivalry in recent years. Over the weekend, a security researcher inserted himself into the crosshairs of the two ride-hailing services by exploiting a vulnerability in Uber’s petition website that allowed him to showcase and redirect visitors to Lyft’s homepage, while also changing the content of some petitions. Now he’s warning the company – and others like it – to take precautions when using petition and contest websites, as they might prove to be a welcome mat for malevolent hackers. [More]
