Whether you have a company-issued phone or you use your won for both work and play, finding love through dating apps on your device may increase the risk of a security breach for your employer, a new report from IBM says. [More]
privacy
Smart TV Users Accuse Samsung Of Inserting Pepsi Ads In Their Videos
By 2.11.15
If you own a smart TV, you probably purchased it thinking about all of the ways that you can use it to watch streaming services and your own library of video files. Samsung sees something different, though: they see a great big Internet-connected screen which they can use to splash ads on. It began three years ago with ads on the TV’s home screen, and now users are accusing the company of inserting advertisements where they don’t belong. [More]
Privacy Advocates Sue DOJ For Info About Planes Used To Snoop On Cellphones
By 2.10.15
Last November, a Wall Street Journal report pulled back the covers on a U.S. Marshals Service program that uses small planes carrying devices that mimic cellphone towers, allowing them to track criminals but also scoop up information from countless other phones of citizens not involved in any crimes. After months of trying to get more details on the program, one consumer privacy advocacy group has sued the Dept. of Justice hoping to compel the release of this information. [More]
Today In Social Media Hacks: Delta, Newsweek, And CFO Of Twitter Really Need To Change Their Passwords
By 2.10.15
Social media tools are an effective way for businesses and bigwigs to communicate with their customers… that is, as long as those companies or people are in charge of their own accounts. When hackers “borrow” their social presences, much less good things can happen. And today at least three high-profile accounts found that out the hard way. [More]
Samsung Clarifies Smart TV Privacy Policy That Freaked Everyone Out
By 2.10.15
This past weekend, someone noticed that Samsung reserves the right to record things we say near our TVs and upload them to a third party, and for some reason this freaked people out. Samsung has solved the problem by removing the problematic sentence from their privacy policy, replacing it with an expanded explanation of what uploading your speech to a third party really means. [More]
Report: Automakers Fail To Protect Connected Cars From Security, Privacy Hacks
By 2.9.15
The newest models of connected cars come with everything from built-in navigation and entertainment systems to roadside assistance. While these features might make life behind the wheel a little easier, a new report found that not enough has been done to adequately protect those components from hackers. [More]
What You Say To Your Samsung Smart TV Is ‘Transmitted To A Third Party’
By 2.9.15
It was almost three years ago that we started to wonder whether it was possible for smart TVs to watch and listen to anyone in the immediate area of the television. It’s possible, but could it really happen? Over the weekend, the Daily Beast pointed out a single incredibly creepy sentence in the privacy policy for Samsung’s smart TVs, and we all began to wonder what our TV sets are really up to. [More]
Iggy Izalea Not So Pleased To Hear From Papa John’s Delivery Guy’s Family After Placing Order For Pizza
By 2.9.15
Everyone needs pizza, even if you’re a Grammy-nominated rap artist. And it’s understandable that to successfully have said pizza delivered, you’d have to give out your phone number. Which is fine by Iggy Azalea, but she’s none too pleased that her Papa John’s delivery guy apparently then handed out her digits to his admiring family members. [More]
Taking Upskirt Photos Of Teen Girls In Target Is Legal In Oregon, Says Court
By 2.6.15
There are many reasons that you should never skulk around Target, or any other store, trying to sneak upskirt photos of female shoppers, let alone teenage girls; it’s vulgar, invasive, and inarguably immoral; not to mention the fact that every instinct tells you that it must be illegal. But according to an Oregon court, it doesn’t run afoul of state laws. [More]
“Tens Of Millions” Of Personal Records Stolen In Hack On Health Insurance Company Anthem
By 2.5.15
Any data breach is bad, but the more personal they are — and the more widespread — the worse. And by both metrics, the hack just announced by major health insurer Anthem is particularly terrible. [More]
RadioShack Employee Accused Of Stealing Racy Photos From Woman’s Phone
By 2.2.15
Recently when we’ve talked about stolen photos it’s been related to a massive data hack. But for a San Francisco woman, the invasion of privacy came at a much smaller, more personal level when several of her intimate photos were allegedly stolen by a local RadioShack employee, who now faces felony charges and a civil lawsuit. [More]
Study: “Anonymous” Credit Card Data Is Actually Completely Identifiable
By 1.30.15
We all kind of know that credit card data isn’t terribly secure, and that the payment information is likely to get swiped eventually. But that information is all theoretically anonymous. Without a name, address, or ZIP code attached, our credit card information doesn’t say much about us personally, right? Wrong. [More]
Verizon Wireless Will Finally Allow Users To Opt Out Of Being Tracked By “Supercookies”
By 1.30.15
Verizon has been watching you. If you use their mobile service, Verizon has been tracking your every move on the internet for the better part of the last two years, with no way for you to opt out. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good: the company is finally letting consumers turn off the trackers. [More]
Police Ask Waze To Remove Speed Trap Alerts To Protect Cops
By 1.26.15
The navigation and traffic app Waze is sometimes very helpful to help motorists avoid snarled traffic, construction, and road hazards. One of its features has some police officers worried, though. They worry that the feature that allows Waze users to alert each other to speed traps could endanger the lives of police officers. [More]
4 Ways Copyright Law Actually Controls Your Whole Digital Life
By 1.22.15
We all know that copyright law means you shouldn’t download copies of movies from shady torrent sites, and that you should pay for the music you listen to. We know it means people and companies have rights to stuff they make, like photos and music and books, and that there are legal and illegal ways of sharing those things. [More]
Verizon E-Mail Vulnerability Left All Users’ Messages At Risk
By 1.19.15
While many people no longer use the free e-mail accounts made available by their Internet service providers, there are still millions of Americans who do. And up until last week, a reported vulnerability in Verizon’s My FiOS app that left all Verizon e-mail users’ messages at risk of being read by complete strangers. [More]
Consumer Advocates Ask Congress To Please Consider Actually Helping Consumers This Term
By 1.13.15
The new month and new year brought with them a new Congress, and with that comes an all-new legislative agenda. Lawmakers get to start over with the process of introducing bills and hopefully passing some laws, and consumer advocates are calling on the President and all the legislators on Capitol Hill to get moving on an agenda to help American consumers. [More]
Uber Promises To Share Trip Data With Cities While Guarding Customer Privacy
By 1.13.15
On the one hand, the more information about how its traffic works a city can get, the more material it has to improve parking, or transit in that area. But on the other, customers who use ride-sharing services like Uber might balk at the idea of information about their trips being shared outside the company. Uber is pledging now to both share data about rides with U.S. cities as well as safeguard customers’ privacy. [More]
