Security News

California Proposition 24 Passes
2020-11-05 15:28

California's Proposition 24, aimed at improving the California Consumer Privacy Act, passed this week. I was very mixed on the proposition, but on the whole I supported it.

California Voters Expand Data Privacy Law
2020-11-05 03:04

California voters have backed an initiative expanding a data privacy law criticized by rights watchdogs as having worrying "Loopholes" for firms such as Google and Facebook. The California Consumer Privacy Act become law at the start of this year, the toughest of its kind in the US. Like the European Data Protection Regulation, applied in the European Union since May 2018, the California law guarantees rights regarding control of online data.

Andrew Yang Takes Lead in California Data Privacy Measure
2020-10-04 11:39

The Fitbits on our wrists collect our health and fitness data; Apple promises privacy but lots of iPhone apps can still share our personal information; and who really knows what they're agreeing to when a website asks, "Do You Accept All Cookies?" Most people just click "OK" and hope for the best, says former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. "The amount of data we're giving up is unprecedented in human history," says Yang, who lives in New York but is helping lead the campaign for a data privacy initiative on California's Nov. 3 ballot.

California Elementary Kids Kicked Off Online Learning by Ransomware
2020-09-17 14:05

As students head back to the classroom, the spate of ransomware attacks against schools is continuing. The latest is a strike against a California school district that closed down remote learning for 6,000 elementary school students, according to city officials.

Computer Attack Disables California School District's System
2020-09-16 17:36

A ransomware virus took down a California school district's computer system, forcing a shutdown of distance learning for about 6,000 elementary school students, an official said. The attack disabled the computer server and email service for the Newhall School District in Valencia, The Los Angeles Times reports.

California cities partner with OpenGov to modernize internal operations and customer service delivery
2020-08-31 00:00

The Southern California cities of Irvine, Hermosa Beach, Camarillo, Montebello, Glendora, Cypress, Orange, Stanton, and Torrance, as well as the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District are partnering with OpenGov to drive staff productivity, increase accountability, and improve customer service and community engagement. "Southern California cities are leading when it comes to modernizing internal operations and customer service delivery through cloud software," says OpenGov Vice President Tim Melton.

University of California San Francisco pays ransomware gang $1.14m as BBC publishes 'dark web negotiations'
2020-06-29 16:29

A California university which is dedicated solely to public health research has paid a $1.14m ransom to a criminal gang in the hopes of regaining access to its data. The University of California San Francisco paid out in the apparently successful hope that the Netwalker group would send it a decryption utility for its illicitly encrypted files, which it referred to as "Data ... important to some of the academic work we pursue as a university serving the public good".

Data Privacy, Other Measures Qualify for California Ballot
2020-06-26 12:58

California voters will weigh in this November on whether to expand a landmark data privacy law, alter a decades-old law that limits property taxes on businesses and exempt ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft from a new state labor law. Ballot measures are often among the most expensive and high-profile issues before California voters each election year and tens of millions of dollars are likely to be spent on each of the major initiatives.

FBI: Online crimes increasing in Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, and New York
2020-06-25 14:29

"There doesn't seem to be any mitigation of the growing trend of online crime. The first line of defense from online fraud is not a technology solution or even law enforcement; it's user awareness. From a policy perspective, governments and other institutions should get the word out more so that individuals and organizations are more sensitive to online threats." The most popular internet crimes tracked by the FBI were extortion, government impersonation, and business email compromise, which cost victims $1.8 billion in 2019.

CCPA: How to prepare for California's new privacy law before enforcement starts July 1
2020-06-19 17:10

For businesses preparing to comply with California's new data privacy law, the first challenge is figuring out how much data is covered by the law. Christine Lyon, a partner at Morrison & Foerster and a member of the firm's global privacy and data security group, said that the CCPA establishes a new right that US consumers have never had. She also said that the data protected by the CCPA includes much more than just email address and name.