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.
California may have found the perfect way to get tech giants to support a federal privacy law: show that the alternative could be an inconsistent mess of state-by-state laws.
An industry lobbying group whose members include Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung and others has been ‘aggressively’ lobbying the White House to argue the case for a federal law, reports the New York Times …
An American woman is suing US Customs and Border Protection over what she claims is the illegal seizure and search of her iPhone at Newark airport …
T-Mobile has disclosed that hackers gained access to the personal data of some two million of its customers.
Compromised information includes names, zip codes, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers and account types …
Yesterday, we reported on a hacking incident by an Australian teenager, who downloaded about 90 GB of data from Apple servers.
Apple has given a statement to the press that confirms no personal customer data was exposed or compromised in this incident.
Banks are secretly gathering up to 2,000 data points on how you use your phone and computer to help detect fraud. The data used can be anything from the angle at which you typically hold your phone to whether or not you use a numeric keypad when typing numbers on your computer …
The Australian government has today proposed a new law which would require tech companies like Apple to give authorities access to encrypted data on receipt of a warrant. Failure to comply would leave the company liable to fines of up to A$10 million ($7.3 million), and potential jail time.
Apple does already comply with court orders demanding access to encrypted data where it has the means to do so and is satisfied that doing this is legal, but cannot do so for Messages and FaceTime …
Apple has long sought to protect the personal data of its customers, but that reputation was probably most cemented in the minds of the public by the way the company stood up to the FBI. Refusing to compromise its stance on iOS security even in the face of a legal demand by the highest federal law enforcement agency in the land sent an extremely strong message.
But Bloomberg yesterday ran a piece questioning Apple’s commitment to privacy …
The Pentagon has banned deployed military personnel from using smartphones, smart watches fitness trackers and apps with geolocation enabled.
The move was made in response to a serious security risk identified in January, when publicly available Strava data was found to reveal both the locations and layouts of US military bases in countries like Syria and Afghanistan …
One of the scarier things you need to do to gain access to some apps – mostly financial ones – is to prove your identity by uploading a photo of official ID, like a driving license or passport. Most services say that the document will be deleted following verification, but it’s a process that requires a large degree of trust in the company.
This is an issue Telegram sets out to address in a new update hitting the iOS and Android apps today …
Facebook saw as much as $150B wiped from its value in after-market trading saw the share price fall by 25%. This followed the company warning that its profit margin is likely to fall from its current 44% to the mids-30s for more than two years …
Apple is highlighting some of the iPhone’s key differentiators with a new webpage and several fun animations posted on YouTube. The page is currently live on Apple’s German website, and will likely roll out to other countries soon.
Spotify has responded to a feature request for the ability to block followers, saying that it is a ‘good idea’ – but it has no current plans to implement it …
A security researcher who analyzed more than 200 million Venmo transactions said that she was able to learn ‘an alarming amount’ about the private lives of users thanks to a privacy weakness in the app.
Anyone can track a Venmo user’s purchase history and glean a detailed profile – including their drug deals, eating habits and arguments – because the payment app lacks default privacy protections …
Apple takes careful steps to protect your location data, requiring apps to ask for permission to access it, and allowing you to decide whether to permit foreground or background access – as well as displaying which apps have recently accessed your location.
But these protections are of limited value if carriers sell your location to third-party companies, which both legal experts and a senator say is the case today …
The UK’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has just imposed its largest fine ever for failing to safeguard user data. It fined Facebook £500k ($662k), the highest amount permitted by law …
A New York Times report last month pointed to the growing problem of smart home devices being used to harrass and stalk former partners.
Smart home technology is being used to inflict new forms of domestic abuse on partners and former partners. Examples include everything from video surveillance through cameras to blasting out loud music through smart speakers and turning up thermostat temperatures to oppressive levels.
A British university has now put together a series of links to resources which can help those who find themselves being targeted in this way …
Timehop, an app which resurfaces memories from your past social media posts, says that it has been hacked. Names, email addresses and phone numbers have been obtained, and the company urges users to take urgent steps to protect their cellphone numbers …
It’s not uncommon for people to think that Facebook is spying on their conversations when online ads appear to advertise something they discussed offline. The reality is often simply coincidence or more often based on cookies when searching online for something related.
But that doesn’t mean Facebook doesn’t know how to spy on users — even if the company swears it won’t use the technology…
A Who’s Who of tech giants is expected to get together on Wednesday in San Francisco for an all-day meeting on how to tackle growing consumer concerns about data privacy …
In line with Apple’s stance, a new Supreme Court decision this morning has ruled that in general the government will need a warrant to collect information from wireless carriers like location data.
We noted yesterday one of many calls for the US to adopt European-style protections for personal data, and the White House is now reported to be examining options …
The WSJ features an interesting debate on whether or not the US should follow Europe’s example in enacting tough privacy regulations requiring individual consent for storing and processing personal data …
Governments around the globe seem to be lining up to demonstrate their ignorance about how strong encryption works, with Australia the latest to do so.
The Australian government has announced its intention to reveal new laws to force tech companies like Apple to provide access to the encrypted data of suspected criminals …
The controversy over third-part companies getting access to Facebook user data doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. The latest revelation is that Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Blackberry were just a handful of more than 60 device makers given ‘deep access’ to user data …