Security News
Brandon Vigliarolo talks to Karen Roby about the new privacy features that Apple revealed during the keynote of WWDC 2021.
Apple on Monday announced a number of privacy and security-centric features to its upcoming versions of iOS and macOS at its all-online Worldwide Developers Conference. Users can either opt to update to the latest version of iOS 15 for all the latest features and most complete set of security updates or continue on iOS 14 and still get important security updates until they are ready to migrate to the next major version.
Encryption and verification package Pretty Good Privacy has celebrated a troubled 30 years of securing secrets and giving cypherpunks an excuse to meet in person, with original developer and security specialist Phil Zimmermann toasting a world where encryption is common but, he warns, still under threat. Following the end of the criminal investigation into Zimmermann, the PGP team set up PGP Inc. which was quickly gobbled up by security specialist Network Associates Inc. in 1997.
On Monday, at its 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled several privacy features that are coming with its new iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8 operating systems later this year. Apple announced iCloud+, which brings several new features on top of iCloud, including a new private browsing service named Private Relay.
Apple previewed new privacy protections in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8, which help users better control and manage access to their data. With App Privacy Report, users can see how often each app has used the permission they've previously granted to access their location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts during the past seven days.
Apple is once again demonstrating that it's all in on privacy with new user-protecting features for Mail, Siri, iCloud and additional app-tracking metrics. While there wasn't a single hardware announcement, as was hoped and predicted, the software announcements that Apple made at WWDC 2021 were extensive and are likely to be well-received by iPhone, iPad and Mac users, and privacy stands out as a central theme.
The policy change, first spotted by TechCrunch, went into effect on June 2. TikTok users who reside in the European Economic Area, the U.K., Switzerland, and other geographies where the service operates are exempted from the changes.
Businesses in this landscape are increasingly trading privacy and security for convenience. In its latest quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends, global information and insights company TransUnion found that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fraudster threats against businesses have increased by 46%. To counter this, many have been looking to the security industry for the answer.
Almost two weeks ago, the European Parliament took the step of objecting to the European Commission's decision to grant the UK data adequacy. The European Parliament's resolution will not block adequacy, but it nevertheless sends a significant political signal, particularly in the wake of two major court cases last week, which have found the UK's exemption of immigration from data protection laws to be unlawful and that UK mass surveillance laws violated privacy rights.
Four months later, in early May, the company gave up on its plans to delete user accounts, saying that, starting May 15, features would be removed one by one for users who don't agree with the new policy changes. "Given recent discussions with various authorities and privacy experts, we want to make clear that we will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works for those who have not yet accepted the update," the company said in a statement.