Security News
12 of the 15 most popular video call apps meet Mozilla's Minimum Security Standards, according to a new report. Researchers with Mozilla decided to comb through the privacy policies, app specifications, and security features of 15 video call apps and platforms in their latest report, "*Privacy Not Included.
To help individuals and organizations choose video call apps that suit their needs and their risk appetite, Mozilla has released a new "Privacy Not Included" report that focuses on video call apps. Three of the evaluated apps have failed to meet Mozilla's Minimum Security Standards, but that doesn't mean that they should not be used.
The UK has decided to break with growing international consensus and insist its upcoming coronavirus contact-tracing app is run through centralised British servers - rather than follow the decentralized Apple-Google approach. Within the details over how it would work, the memo revealed the NHS and UK government reckon the contact-tracing protocols built by Apple and Google protect user privacy under advisement only.
While most people will say they are extremely concerned with their online privacy, previous experiments have shown that, in practice, users readily divulge privacy information online. A team of Penn State researchers identified a dozen subtle - but powerful - reasons that may shed light on why people talk a good game about privacy, but fail to follow up in real life.
Apple and Google have revealed a little more about their plans to support COVID-19 contact-tracing apps and changed up some of their security plans. Apple and Google won't see the information ever.
Despite changing IT priorities and tightening of spend due to COVID-19 measures, 56% of data privacy professionals are expecting there will be an increase in rights requests as a result of COVID-19. The research found that consumers are actively exercising their rights under CCPA with 51% of companies receiving more than 10 requests a week and 20% receiving more than 100 requests a week.
As policymakers and business leaders grapple with how to restart the economy after the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, MIT Professor Alex Pentland is advocating for the use of digital tools that certify a person's health status to create "Safe" environments for workers and customers-while also protecting people's personal privacy. Privacy advocates have voiced concerns about how that data will be used and by whom, as well as how and where it's stored.
CA domains, among other important internet functions, is rolling out a free Canada-wide DNS-over-HTTPS service to protect people's privacy. The Canadian Internet Registry Authority today said its new Canadian Shield service will allow people and businesses to encrypt their DNS queries in transit between their devices and CIRA's servers, providing an added layer of security at a time where millions in the country are transitioning to working from home mid-coronavirus pandemic.
Endpoint security firm Malwarebytes has launched a new VPN offering targeting work from home and consumer markets, featuring AES 256 encryption, WireGuard VPN protocol, no logging, and virtual servers in more than 30 different countries. Santa Clara, CA-based Malwarebytes has introduced Malwarebytes Privacy, a VPN it promises will be the first of an emerging suite of privacy products.
As more governments consider the use of contact tracing apps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, researchers say privacy will have to be at the forefront of efforts in order for civilians to use it. Rachael Falk, CEO of the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, said with a serious public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, digital contact tracing is helpful as positive cases need to be identified quickly, and particularly if the patients involved are unable to communicate with those who they come into contact with.