You might think you’re pretty good at making sure you don’t share your internet life with the entire world. You use Facebook’s strictest privacy settings, don’t share anything sensitive on Twitter, and you regularly trash your laptop’s browsing history. All good, right? Nope. All that “anonymized” data you leave behind out in the ether is still totally you, and it’s far easier than you think to make it paint your picture and yours alone. [More]
privacy
Wells Fargo Accidentally Handed Over A Bunch Of Confidential Info On Its Rich Clients
By 7.24.17
After having a heckuva time dealing with backlash over its recent fake accounts fiasco, Wells Fargo has another debacle on its hands: A new report says a lawyer for the bank accidentally released a whole lot of confidential information about tens of thousands of its richest clients. [More]
FBI To Parents: Watch Out For Kids’ Privacy With Internet-Connected Toys
By 7.19.17
A basketball, a Lego set, or a box of crayons is largely what it seems, but modern “smart toys and entertainment devices” for kids have a lot of things in them that can collect sensitive data. And as more and more of a kid’s nursery fills up with gadgets that connect to Bluetooth, the web, or parent apps, the feds are advising parents to be wary. [More]
Here’s How Easy It Is To Hack A Myspace Account — And How To Delete Yours
By 7.17.17
If you still have a Myspace account sitting at the back of your virtual Internet closet, it might be time to dust it off and consider deleting it: A security researcher says it’s ridiculously easy for anyone to hack into accounts using the site’s account recovery feature. [More]
Can Border Patrol Agents Search The Data Your Phone Stores In The Cloud?
By 7.13.17
While police must have a warrant to search someone’s phone in the U.S. — even after that person has been arrested — what can law enforcement do with gadgets seized at the border? For one thing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says its officers are limited to searching phone content that is saved directly to the device, and not on the cloud — including social media. [More]
Here Are The 14 Trump Hotels Affected By Company’s Latest Hack Attack & What You Can Do About It
By 7.12.17
Marking the third such breach in the last two years, Trump Hotels notified guests this week that 14 of its properties have been affected by a hack attack, exposing guests’ full names, emails, addresses, and credit card information, including expiration dates. Here’s what you need to know. [More]
Feds Shut Down Loan Application Sites That Illegally Sold Personal Data
By 7.6.17
There are a lot of people who need to borrow money quickly but don’t know where to go for a loan. So they go online, where there are plenty of shady operators promising to connect loan applicants with lenders. What the borrower doesn’t know is that these lead generators may also be selling their personal information with third parties who have nothing to do with that loan. [More]
Mississippi Official Tells Trump ‘Election Integrity’ Commission: “Go Jump In The Gulf Of Mexico”
By 6.30.17
You may have heard that President Trump’s new Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is asking state election officials to turn over a raft of very personal data about voters’ records. Not surprisingly, some states are reluctant to provide this information, and the Secretary of State for Mississippi has a very direct response for the administration. [More]
These Forms Collect Your Data Even If You Don’t Hit “Submit”
By 6.29.17
If you fill in a web form and hit “submit,” you expect your data to get whisked off into the great ether, and probably from there to be shared with third parties. But you probably don’t expect your keystrokes — and form auto-fill fields — to be captured and sent away as-entered, before you hit submit. And yet, a new report claims, that may be exactly what’s happening. [More]
TSA May Want To Flip Through Your Summer Reading Next Time You Fly
By 6.26.17
At this point, most travelers know that your electronics, your shoes, your food, and your liquids are going to have to come out of your bag (or off your person) and get extra screening just so you can get on a flight. But now, it seems books — good, old-fashioned paper books — may be joining that list. [More]
Google Wiping Private Medical Records From Search Results
By 6.23.17
If the thought of a stranger accessing your medical history online gives you the creeps, you’re not alone: In an effort to tamp down on the spread of such private information, Google has started wiping private medical records from its search results. [More]
Personal Info For 200 Million U.S. Voters Left Unsecured Online
By 6.19.17
A cybersecurity firm says that a database of registered voter information containing personal data on nearly 200 million Americans was left online without proper security by a contractor hired by the Republican National Committee. [More]
Rape Victim Sues Uber After Learning Company Exec Obtained, Shared Her Medical Records
By 6.15.17
The 2014 rape of an Uber passenger by her driver was in the news again recently when it was reported that an Uber executive had not only obtained the woman’s medical records in an attempt to discredit her, but shared them with others at the company. Now the passenger is suing the ride-hailing service for invading her privacy. [More]
Report: Feds Investigating Uber Over Privacy Violations
By 6.14.17
Uber’s awful week month year may have just gotten a bit worse, as sources report the ride-hailing company is now in the crosshairs of federal regulators. [More]
Supreme Court Will Decide If Your Mobile Phone Location Data Is Private
By 6.5.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
It’s a funny thing about the 21st century: Nearly all of us carry location trackers on us, voluntarily, every single place we go. They’re our phones, and we carry them with us when we shop, while we work, while we exercise, while we sleep, and even when we use the bathroom. And that leaves an incredibly valuable, intimate trail of location data that businesses use basically however they want. But as far as your legal rights are concerned, is that personal data actually private? [More]
Digital Rights Advocates Sue Justice Dept. To Learn More About FBI Paying Off Best Buy Informants
By 6.1.17
A child pornography case in California has grown into a strange thing over the years, as lawyers for the defendant argued — and later proved — that the FBI had been paying Best Buy employees after they found illegal content on customers’ devices. Now the EFF is suing the Justice Department to find out just how the feds found, recruited, and trained these informants, and just how widespread the practice is. [More]
Do You Use OneLogin? Change Your Password Now
By 6.1.17
If you use OneLogin to keep all your, well, login information straight, it’s time to change your password, as the password manager’s U.S. data centers are at the center of the latest hack attack. [More]
Kmart Victim Of Second Hack Attack In Three Years
By 6.1.17
Even with fewer stores and sales floors full of boxes, Kmart is still an attractive target for ne’er-do-wells: The retailer has found itself on the receiving end of another hack attack, just three years after its last security breach. [More]
