Security News
An analysis of 40 COVID-19 contact tracing applications for Android has led to the discovery of numerous security and privacy issues, according to a new research paper. Contact tracing applications have been created to help authorities automate the process of identifying those who have been in close contact with infected individuals.
TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance has agreed to pay $92 million in a settlement to U.S. users who are part of a class-action lawsuit alleging that the video-sharing app failed to get their consent to collect data in violation of a strict Illinois privacy law. The federal lawsuit alleged that TikTok broke the Illinois biometric privacy law, which allows suits against companies that harvest consumer data without consent, including via facial and fingerprint scanning.
Balancing data privacy within an organization is no easy task, particularly for data scientists who need quick access to data, and security and governance teams whose job it is to protect it. In typical cloud data architectures, there is no magic button for IT or data architects to gain instant access to the different data sets that are created by users across the enterprise and often distributed across different cloud services.
Through the app employed in the study researchers were able to identify which kind of personal information the app extracted and its privacy sensitivity according to users. "Users are largely unaware of the privacy implications of some permissions they grant to apps and services, in particular when it comes to location tracking information", explains Musolesi.
Boffins based in Belgium have found that a DNS-based technique for bypassing defenses against online tracking has become increasingly common and represents a growing threat to both privacy and security. In a research paper to be presented in July at the 21st Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium, KU Leuven-affiliated researchers Yana Dimova, Gunes Acar, Wouter Joosen, and Tom Van Goethem, and privacy consultant Lukasz Olejnik, delve into increasing adoption of CNAME-based tracking, which abuses DNS records to erase the distinction between first-party and third-party contexts.
Mozilla Firefox 86 was released today with Total Cookie Protection, a new privacy feature that prevents web trackers from keeping tabs on your activity while browsing the web. With the release of Firefox 86, all other Firefox development branches have also moved up a version bringing Firefox Beta to version 87, and the Nightly builds to version 88.
Thirteen years, one institutional investor and two acquisitions later, it offers a unified platform that helps general counsel and chief legal officers manage challenges related to e-discovery, data privacy compliance obligations, Data Subject Access Rights, digital forensic investigation and so on. Legal plays a critical role in ensuring that all compliance obligations are met, and overall risk to the organization is mitigated.
Privitar released the latest version of the Privitar Data Privacy Platform which includes enhanced HIPAA compliance-focused features, new "Fast start" rules packs designed to enable first time users to get their data privacy initiatives up and running quickly, and expanded multi language support to enable the masking and unmasking of data in more than 60 languages. "Privitar is committed to helping organizations worldwide maximize the value of their sensitive data by addressing gaps in their privacy strategies," said Nico Dard, Director of Product Management at Privitar.
As its competitors face growing data privacy concerns, Telegram for Windows has received an update that includes new privacy features that provide better control over your data. As part of the latest update, Telegram is introducing a new feature that now allows you to delete groups you created and call history for all sides without leaving a trace.
People returning to work following the long pandemic will find an array of tech-infused gadgetry to improve workplace safety but which could pose risks for long-term personal and medical privacy. Tech giants and startups are offering solutions which include computer vision detection of vital signs to wearables which can offer early indications of the onset of Covid-19 and apps that keep track of health metrics.