engadget: “Ring is continuing its bid to improve privacy and security after facing criticism. As of today, the Amazon brand will start requiring two-factor authentication for all users when they sign into their Ring accounts. When the feature reaches you this week, you’ll always get a six-digit code sent to either your email or (less… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Privacy
Use these 11 critical iPhone privacy and security settings right now
Fast Company – iOS offers more tools than ever to defend yourself against hackers, nosy sites, and other intruders. Here’s why they matter and how to benefit from them. “If one object you own encapsulates who you are, how you think, and what you do, it’s your smartphone. Our phones not only contain our contacts… Continue Reading
A spotter’s guide to the groups that are out to get you
ZDNet- From disorganised crime to state-backed hackers these groups can make the internet a dangerous place. Here’s a guide to the major menaces to avoid. “Criminals are drawn to the internet for as many different reasons as the rest of us. Some of them just want to break things, many want to get rich, and… Continue Reading
Almost half of connected medical devices are vulnerable to hackers
ZDNet – A new report suggests that vulnerabilities in medical devices could put hospital patients at risk from hackers – but there are some simple ways to protect against these attacks: “Connected medical devices are twice as likely to be vulnerable to the BlueKeep exploit than other devices on hospital networks, putting patients and staff… Continue Reading
How Location Tracking Works on Your Phone in 2020
gizmodo: “How phones track location is changing – if you’ve upgraded to the latest Android 10 or iOS 13 updates, you may have noticed more prompts around what apps can do with data about your whereabouts. Here’s what those new prompts mean, and how you can get your phone’s location tracking settings set up in… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 15, 2020
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 15, 2020 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading
Activate This ‘Bracelet of Silence,’ and Alexa Can’t Eavesdrop
The New York Times – “…Mr. Zhao and Ms. Zheng are computer science professors at the University of Chicago, and …with the help of an assistant professor, Pedro Lopes, they designed a piece of digital armor: a “bracelet of silence” that will jam the Echo or any other microphones in the vicinity from listening in… Continue Reading
How Big Companies Spy on Your Emails
Motherboard: “Multiple confidential documents obtained by Motherboard show the sort of companies that want to buy data derived from scraping the contents of your email inbox…A dataset obtained by Motherboard shows what some of the information pulled from free email app users’ inboxes looks like. A spreadsheet containing data from Rakuten’s Slice, an app that… Continue Reading
How the U.S. Government Obtains and Uses Cellphone Location Data
WSJ.com video [no paywall] – “The U.S. government is using app-generated marketing data based on the movements of millions of cellphones around the country for some forms of law enforcement. We explain how such data is being gathered and sold.” Continue Reading
DOJ files new lawsuits in renewed push to pressure ‘sanctuary cities’
WSJ.com [paywall]: “The U.S. Justice Department filed three lawsuits against California, New Jersey and a Washington county late Monday over their laws and policies limiting local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, escalating a Trump administration battle against liberal states and localities that adopt so-called sanctuary cities…” See also: DOJ Sues NJ and officials over… Continue Reading
DOJ Sues NJ and officials over ICE access to immigration docs
Justice Department Sues State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor, and New Jersey Attorney General for Prohibiting State Officials From Sharing Information With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The… Continue Reading
Draft DHS memo highlights retaliation against states not releasing driver records
A memo obtained by BuzzFeed News outlines options to put leverage on states that, like New York, deny federal immigration officials access to state driver records: “The Trump administration drafted a slew of plans to consider not only circumventing state laws limiting the Department of Homeland Security’s access to driver records, but to retaliate against… Continue Reading
