Most big companies have some sort of insurance to cover their butts in a world where data breaches are an everyday occurrence, but now AIG is joining the ranks of insurers offering (wealthy) consumers coverage as a buffer against the threat of the internet. [More]
online privacy
Several High-Profile Twitter Accounts Hacked Overnight
By 3.15.17
If you happened to be on Twitter in the early hours of the morning here in the U.S., you may have noticed some strange activity: Several major news sites’ accounts, along with accounts of various European political bodies, were hacked ahead of elections in the Netherlands. [More]
Reminder: If Your Password Is “123456,” Change It
By 1.16.17
While one might think that there cannot possibly still be anyone out there who would use incredibly easy-to-guess passwords like, for example, “123456,” one would be wrong: according to a new study, that’s still the most popular password in the world. Sigh. [More]
Hacker Claims To Be Selling Stolen Info For 200 Million Yahoo Accounts
By 8.2.16
After a rash of account breaches on social media networks like MySpace, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Twitter, the latest site to fall victim to hackers seems to be Yahoo, with a hacker claiming he’s got account information for 200 million users and is selling those credentials on the internet’s black market. [More]
Toy Maker VTech Hires Cyber Forensic Team To Help Beef Up Security After Data Breach
By 12.3.15
After a data breach at popular kids’ toy maker VTech that put the personal information of nearly five million parents and children at risk, as well as reportedly exposing many of their photos and chat logs, the Hong Kong-based company says it’s bringing in the pros to help shore up its security. [More]
Security Vulnerability In New Kardashian Websites Coughs Up User Info For 600K Subscribers
By 9.17.15
If you’re not up to date on all your reality TV star news, perhaps you aren’t aware that the Kardashian/Jenner sisters recently launched new mobile apps and redesigned websites to stay even more connected with their adoring hordes than before. But while the family’s popularity has seen hundreds of thousands of people signing up for those sites, a new report says the personal information for many of those subscribers was available — albeit briefly — to anyone with the know-how to get it. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Twitter Eavesdrops On Direct Messages
By 9.15.15
When you send a direct message on Twitter, you might imagine it zipping straight from your account to its intended recipient, arriving exactly how you wrote it, untouched and unchanged. But a new lawsuit in California claims Twitter is effectively snooping on users’ direct messages, and changing them to benefit its own advertising goals. [More]
Ashley Madison CEO Steps Down In Wake Of Hacking Scandal
By 8.28.15
Less than two weeks after hackers published two big data dumps full of material stolen from Ashley Madison, a dating website for cheaters, its parent company Avid Life Media announced that effective today, CEO Noel Biderman will be stepping down from his position and is no longer with the company. [More]
Digital Privacy And Parental Rights Act Would Put Restrictions On The Use Of Student Data Online
By 4.29.15
Students are more dependent than ever on technology and the Internet for their education, but those same apps and online learning tools that help educate them could be putting their personal information at risk if shared improperly. Nearly a month after it was first expected, a pair of U.S. representatives have introduced a bill aiming to restrict third-party use of students’ sensitive personal data. [More]
Report: Google Error Leaks Hidden Data For 280,000 Domains
By 3.13.15
Usually when we hear that a company has had a bunch of data leaked to the world, hackers are responsible. But in the case of a Google leak involving hidden data for 280,000 domain names, a bug in Google’s system is apparently to blame. [More]
Snooping Sites, Aimless Ads, Sexist Stereotypes: A Look Back At The Week In Tech News
By 6.13.14
It’s a big, busy world, and even with a smartphone in your pocket at all times it’s hard to read everything written about it in a week. Sometimes, useful info slips through the cracks. So, here are five interesting stories from the world of internet and technology news. [More]
This How-To Video On Protecting Your Online Identity Won’t Actually Work, But It’s Still Amazing
By 6.12.14
Once you’ve got an online identity, it’s pretty much there to stay. So while we can’t be advocating one YouTuber’s tip on how to protect your personal info online due to its total and complete ineffectiveness, we can applaud him for a spirited performance. [More]
Report: Almost Half Of American Adults Were Hacked In The Last Year
By 5.28.14
If you’ve felt like there hasn’t been a day in the last year without a warning of some new hack on big businesses and services you use and have had to change your passwords and keep an eye on your accounts as a result, you’re not alone — not by a long shot. A new report says about half of American adults were the victims of hackers in the last 12 months. [More]
Predictive Models, Secret Scores: How Computers Decide Who You Are & What To Sell You
By 3.20.14
Savvy consumers all know that their lifetime debt history ends up in their credit score, and that lenders use that score to try to predict if someone is a good bet for a big loan like a mortgage. But even the most-connected consumer may not realize how many hundreds of other scores we all now trail in our wakes too, thanks to the advent of big data. Do you know, to the last decimal, how likely are you to buy jewelry? To sign up for cable? To have a kid in the next year? Someone, somewhere, is tallying all of that information about almost everyone. But good luck finding out what’s out there, who’s scoring it, and if your numbers are even actually about you at all. [More]
FTC Approves Oversight Program For Compliance With Kids’ Online Privacy Rules
By 2.12.14
The FTC announced today that the agency has approved a new “safe harbor” certification program for websites that handle childrens’ personal data. The kidSAFE program will certify websites and programs that meet the standards of the the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. [More]
United Nations Names Online Privacy That You Probably Don’t Have As A Universal Human Right
By 1.17.14
Online privacy: it’s a contentious ground between corporations and consumers, a troubled 21st century frontier of expectations, and, apparently, a universal human right. [More]
Microsoft Trying To Get A Grip On Customers’ Online Privacy Concerns With New Campaign
By 4.22.13
In a time when almost any aspect of our lives can be translated into online terms and our personal information collected, tracked and used like so much currency, many people are understandably concerned about privacy in the virtual world. Microsoft is attempting to show its customers that it’s on top of things with a new campaign dedicated to discussing online privacy. [More]
Senator Introduces “Do-Not-Track” Bill Saying Industry Failed To Protect Consumers Voluntarily
By 3.1.13
Far from sitting on his laurels as an outgoing Congressman, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia is gearing up to go out with a blaze of consumer advocacy. He’s set to retire at the end of next year after championing consumers during his career, but before then will be working on the “Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2013,” a bill he introduced yesterday. [More]
