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Category Archives: ID Theft

Voted in America? This Site Doxed You

404 Media: “If you voted in the U.S. presidential election [November 5, 2024] in which Donald Trump won comfortably, or a previous election, a website powered by a right-wing group is probably doxing you. VoteRef makes it trivial for anyone to search the name, physical address, age, party affiliation, and whether someone voted that year for people living in most states instantly and for free. This can include ordinary citizens, celebrities, domestic abuse survivors, and many other people. Voting rolls are public records, and ways to more readily access them are not new. But during a time of intense division, political violence, or even the broader threat of data being used to dox or harass anyone, sites like VoteRef turn a vital part of the democratic process — simply voting — into a security and privacy threat. […]  The Voter Reference Foundation, which runs VoteRef, is a right wing organization helmed by a former Trump campaign official, ProPublica previously reported. The goal for that organization was to find irregularities in the number of voters and the number of ballots cast, but state election officials said their findings were “fundamentally incorrect,” ProPublica added. In an interview with NPR, the ProPublica reporter said that the Voter Reference Foundation insinuated (falsely) that the 2020 election of Joe Biden was fraudulent in some way. 404 Media has found people on social media using VoteRef’s data to spread voting conspiracies too. VoteRef has steadily been adding more states’ records to the VoteRef website. At the time of writing, it has records for all states that legally allow publication. Some exceptions include California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. ProPublica reported that VoteRef removed the Pennsylvania data after being contacted by an attorney for Pennsylvania’s Department of State. “Digitizing and aggregating data meaningfully changes the privacy context and the risks to people. Your municipal government storing your marriage certificate and voter information in some basement office filing cabinet is not even remotely the same as a private company digitizing all the data, labeling it, piling it all together, making it searchable,” said Justin Sherman, a Duke professor who studies data brokers. “Policymakers need to get with the times and recognize that data brokers digitizing, aggregating, and selling data based on public records — which are usually considered ‘publicly available information’ and exempted from privacy laws — has fueled decades of stalking and gendered violence, harassment, doxing, and even murder,” Sherman said. “Protecting citizens of all political stripes, targets and survivors of gendered violence, public servants who are targets for doxing and death threats, military service members, and everyone in between depends on reframing how we think about public records privacy and the mass aggregation and sale of our data.”

Inside Redbox’s insane bankruptcy unwinding

Sherwood: “Ever wanted to own 46 copies of Orlando Bloom’s latest movie? What about a dozen empty Redbox DVD cases? Or maybe an entire Redbox kiosk, free with local pickup? It’s all up for grabs, thanks to Redbox’s recent demise. The chain of DVD-rental kiosks filed for bankruptcy in June after racking up close to… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 12, 2024

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 12, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on… Continue Reading

FTC Staff Report Finds Large Social Media and Video Streaming Companies Have Engaged in Vast Surveillance

Report recommends limiting data retention and sharing, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for teens – “A new Federal Trade Commission staff report that examines the data collection and use practices of major social media and video streaming services shows they engaged in vast surveillance of consumers in order to monetize their personal information while… Continue Reading

Got a Change Healthcare letter about a data breach? Here’s what to do

Washington Post [gift article]: “After Change Healthcare, a technology company owned by UnitedHealth Group, reported a giant ransomware attack, you may have received a letter by mail letting you know your data has been compromised. But you get a lot of random stuff in the mail, too. How can you determine if the letter is… Continue Reading

National Public Data Published Its Own Passwords

Krebs on Security: “New details are emerging about a breach at National Public Data (NPD), a consumer data broker that recently spilled hundreds of millions of Americans’ Social Security Numbers, addresses, and phone numbers online. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that another NPD data broker which shares access to the same consumer records inadvertently published the passwords… Continue Reading

Data brokers are undermining country’s safety, privacy and security

roi-nj.com: “In Jersey and beyond, our law enforcement, judges and elected officials are putting both their privacy and lives on the line to serve. We must take steps in Congress and beyond to protect the well-being of those who choose to work for the people. New Jersey saw the acute need for privacy for our… Continue Reading

How to Block Companies From Tracking You Online

Lifehacker: “…Currently, there are two major methods of data-tracking online: The first, cookies, is on the way out, but pixel trackers are a bit more complicated. You’ve probably heard the term cookies before. These are little packets of information that allow websites to store data like your password, so you don’t need to log in… Continue Reading