Privacy is a growing concern in today’s world. Follow along with all our coverage related to privacy, security, what Apple and other companies are doing to keep your information safe, and what steps you can take to keep your information private.
Americans are divided on whether they would be willing to use coronavirus contact tracing apps powered by the joint Apple/Google API. A Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found an exact 50/50 split between those who would use it and those who wouldn’t.
That’s already less than ideal, but there were three further worrying aspects …
Update: Zoom 5.0.0 is finally landing today, after initially being promised for April 22. It hasn’t yet shown up in all app stores, but should do so shortly.
Zoom security and privacy has been boosted with the addition of no fewer than nine new features in the latest update, Zoom 5.0 …
Students taking examinations during the coronavirus lockdown say they are being subjected to remote proctoring via their webcams, and it’s creeping them out …
The joint Google/Apple contact tracing API for coronavirus has ‘a stunning blindspot’ claims one company working on a rival approach designed for adoption by businesses for their own employees, as a second company says there is good reason for companies to use a location-based approach.
Not everyone has a smartphone, says Microshare, which is instead proposing the use of Bluetooth badges, keyrings, and wristbands …
The German government has announced a change in policy over the weekend, and now favors the Apple/Google contact tracing approach for the coronavirus over the rival one proposed by the European Union.
Apple, meantime, is pushing an alternative term designed to emphasize the benefits over the methodology …
A new potentially serious software vulnerability has been discovered in iOS 13 that works via the default Mail app on iPhone and iPad. The security group ZecOps (via Motherboard) says that one of the two vulnerabilities is a zero-click exploit (no user interaction needed) that can be performed remotely.
An iOS 12 exploit has reportedly reemerged, being used by a group of hackers in China known as the “Evil Eye.” The latest Insomnia exploit gives attackers root access to iPhones running iOS 12.3 to 12.3.2.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised some aspects of the Apple/Google coronavirus contact tracing API, while saying that the companies need to do better in three areas.
The ACLU says that any electronic contact tracing needs to respect six principles. The Apple/Google API makes “a strong start” with these, it says, but it has three criticisms …
The European Union has called on Apple to remove from the App Store contact tracing apps that don’t have appropriate privacy safeguards. Google should do the same with the Play Store, it says, stating that fighting the coronavirus must not mean sacrificing the rights of citizens.
It has previously called for a common standard across all 27 countries in the union and hinted – though not confirmed – that it will use the Apple/Google API …
If there’s one thing that’s become abundantly clear since Apple and Google’s API partnership, it’s that the coronavirus contact tracing privacy protections need to be spelled out in terms that non-technical people (even POTUS) can understand.
The two companies have gone to pains to explain that privacy was top priority in the design of the application programming interface, but mainstream media reports and conversations with non-techy friends have made it obvious that many don’t understand why apps that use this can be trusted …
Popular videoconferencing service Zoom will shortly allow paying subscribers to opt out of Chinese servers when routing calls …
Earlier this month, four US senators formally questioned Apple in a letter over its COVID-19 screening app and website even though the company has been transparent about how it works and the privacy and security it’s built on. Now Apple has officially responded to the government request.
The UK’s National Health Service has announced plans to adopt the Apple-Google coronavirus API jointly announced last week, but in a weakened form.
Even without the UK’s planned compromise, the idea of this type of contact tracing has come under criticism from a University of Cambridge computing professor …
The collection and sale of smartphone location data has long been a source of controversy, especially given that most people don’t realise they are being tracked.
But there’s a fresh argument now, as location data brokers claim they can use the data to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, while privacy advocates argue this is just an attempt to legitimize the wholesale tracking of consumers without informed consent …
Zoom has created a security advisory council to help conduct a detailed review of its apps, with Alex Stamos as one of its members. Stamos was Facebook’s chief security officer from 2015 to 2018, and now researches and teaches on ‘the misuse of technology’ at Stanford …
The Taiwanese government has made the decision to ban the use of Zoom over security concerns. The German government hasn’t gone quite that far, but the country’s foreign ministry has barred it from government computers and heavily restricted any use of the service …
Rather than each European country developing its own coronavirus tracking app, they should either all use the same one, or at least ensure that they use common standards, says the European Commission.
We recently outlined how these apps can help, but also how they can pose a significant risk to privacy without careful design…
Apple launched its user-friendly and helpful COVID-19 screening app and website last week. Even though the company publicly detailed it isn’t collecting responses, four US senators have asked Tim Cook for more details on the privacy policy of the app. Here’s what we found in our analysis of the app.
Over the last few years, Facebook has had a slew of privacy and security blunders and more details about one of them have come to light through a new court filing as the social media company is suing the spyware company NSO Group. It turns out Facebook tried to buy controversial government spyware to monitor iPhone and iPad users.
It seems hardly a day can go by without more Zoom vulnerabilities being discovered – with not just one but two more being revealed today …
A white-hat hacker was able to hijack iPhone cameras using a chain of three vulnerabilities he discovered. The same approach would also work with the cameras on Macs.
Ryan Pickren disclosed the vulnerabilities to Apple in December of last year. The company fixed the most serious of them in January, and the rest last month.
The approach relied on an exception to the normal privacy requirement for apps to seek permission for camera or microphone access…
After writing an apology note earlier today, fixing two serious Mac flaws, and detailing a plan to improve its security, privacy, and transparency moving forward, Zoom has also fixed its “malware-like” installer with the latest macOS update.
Zoom penetration tests have been commissioned by the popular videoconferencing service after a series of security and privacy issues were found in the company’s mobile and desktop apps.
Zoom’s problems have been a messy mixture of poor communication, sketchy marketing, rule-breaking, and actual security holes …
Zoom, the popular video call service has had a number of privacy and security issues over the years and we’ve seen several very recently as Zoom has seen usage skyrocket during the coronavirus pandemic. Now two new bugs have been discovered that allow hackers to take control of Macs including the webcam, microphone, and even full root access.