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.
An Xfinity data breach has been revealed by the company, in which hackers were able to obtain a wide range of customer information.
Data obtained for at least some Xfinity customers “may” include usernames, hashed passwords, real names, contact information, date of birth, last four digits of social security numbers, and security questions and answers …
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In what would be a massive privacy breach if it were true, a major marketing company is claiming that it can eavesdrop on your conversations, through microphones in smartphones, TVs, and smart speakers.
Calling the claimed capability Active Listening, Cox Media Group (CMG) has been promoting the service on its website, and pitching it to brands …
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One of the key features added in the iOS 17.3 beta is Stolen Device Protection. This is a thoughtful and creative solution to balancing out the need for protecting iPhone users without stopping them do the things they want to do with their devices.
What I love about Apple’s solution here is that someone has clearly put a lot of thought into that balancing act …
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When it was revealed that foreign governments were demanding push notification data from Apple and Google, it was suspected that the US government was doing the same. This has now been confirmed, one use of it being to investigate January 6th Capitol rioters.
Apple was not previously allowed to reveal that it was receiving legal demands for the information, but now that it can do so, it has also set a higher bar for compliance …
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Following up on last year’s report “The Rising Threat to Consumer Data in the Cloud”, Apple has shared a new study from MIT’s Dr. Madnick that looks at how cyber threats are growing worldwide. Read on for a look at the state of online security and what we can do to limit our exposure and risk like using Apple’s Advanced Data Protection.
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Update: Apple issued the following statement to 9to5Mac:
Apple is committed to transparency and we have long been a supporter of efforts to ensure that providers are able to disclose as much information as possible to their users. In this case, the federal government prohibited us from sharing any information and now that this method has become public we are updating our transparency reporting to detail these kinds of requests
Apple has confirmed that foreign governments have been carrying out what has been described as “push notification spying,” stating that the company was not previously allowed to disclose the practice.
Governments have been serving both Apple and Google with secret legal orders to hand over details of the push notifications sent to iPhones and Android smartphones …
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Continuing with its mission to provide the most private and secure services, Proton is out today with the expansion of its Proton Sentinel security program. The feature comes to Proton Pass Plus users for free and delivers the company’s highest level of protection that can secure your Proton account even if your login credentials are compromised.
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Apple released an important security update today for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The list of fixes is short, but iOS 17.1.2 and macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 patch two web-based security flaws that have been actively exploited.
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A powerful new malware launched in early 2023 called Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS) targets Apple users and has become a growing threat. Now, with the latest iteration of the malware, malicious parties are planting AMOS inside fake Safari and Chrome browser updates for Mac. We’ll cover how it works and how to avoid this threat.
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After turning email into end-to-end encrypted communication, Proton Mail Key Transparency will close another potential security hole, says the company: ensuring you’re emailing the right person …
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A new report says that personal information sold by data brokers is even more sensitive and detailed than previously thought, making so-called anonymized data even easier to tie back to specific individuals.
The report says that those buying data are able to target people working in extremely sensitive professions, including military personnel and “decision makers” working in national security roles …
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Apple has sent iPhone hack warnings to the leader of India’s main opposition party, alongside other politicians opposing Narendra Modi’s government – placing Apple in a potentially delicate position.
A security researcher was also alerted, and shared a copy of the alert message he was sent, in which Apple advised enabling Lockdown Mode …
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A combined Facebook and Instagram subscription is coming to European users in the next few weeks, enabling an ad-free experience in both services for €9.99/month ($10.60).
Alongside this, parent company Meta has announced that it is “pausing” all advertising to under-18s at the same time, meaning they get the same privacy benefits as a paid subscription at no cost …
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Apple’s new iMessage Contact Key Verification at first glance seems to be a rather niche security feature, likely to be of interest only to the most paranoid or highly-targeted individuals. But it could turn out to be a privacy feature which protects us all from government spying.
That’s because it seems almost custom-designed to prevent a plan developed by the UK’s equivalent to the NSA – GCHQ …
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Apple has launched its first major update for all users since debuting iOS 17 in September. iOS 17.1 comes with a range of security patches and none of them were identified as exploited in the wild ahead of the fixes.
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A planned law to require CSAM scanning in chat apps would be illegal, disproportionate, and could increase rather than decrease the risks to children, say experts. It could also see Apple withdraw iMessage from EU countries.
The warning was given by more than 20 speakers at a privacy seminar, as the European Union continues to press for a CSAM measure which would effectively outlaw end-to-end encryption in chat apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal …
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Some 81% of Americans are concerned about how companies use their personal data, according to a large-scale study.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said they have little to no understanding of what companies do with the data collected about them, and even more believe there’s nothing they can do about it …
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A MOVEit data breach resulted in “at least” 64 million people having their personal data exposed by the failings of a company they’ve likely never heard of.
The breach affected customer organizations ranging from Sony to the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, and the SEC is now investigating …
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A class action lawsuit against Apple claims that AirTag stalking has led to “multiple murders.”
The lawsuit alleges that AirTags have been used by stalkers in at least 20 US states, and that Apple has failed to take adequate action to protect victims …
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A powerful new California privacy law has now taken effect, designed to make it far easier for consumers to request that data brokers delete their data instead of selling it. The state’s right to repair legislation is also now active.
It’s hoped that both laws will serve as models for other US states, with a more ambitious goal of seeing their provisions enacted in federal law …
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Snapchat’s My AI feature is facing the prospect of a ban in the UK, over concerns that it may be putting the privacy of children at risk.
It follows separate user outrage at the ChatGPT integration being pinned to the top of their chats, and a mix of concern and amusement when the chatbot went rogue …
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A Homeland Security report on the illegal use of smartphone location data by multiple government agencies – including the US Secret Service – has now been made public. The report concludes that three separate US agencies broke the law by breaching privacy protections.
The report was originally categorized as Law Enforcement Sensitive, but this classification has now been removed, and a redacted version made available to the public …
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One of the new privacy improvements with iOS 17 is a fresh embedded Photos picker for third-party apps plus alerts about which apps have full access to your photo library. Follow along for how to limit iPhone Photos app access for apps with iOS 17.
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Apple and its former engineer Cher Scarlett didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, but the company has publicly thanked them for identifying a Find My privacy flaw …
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