Most of 2.2 billion Facebook users had their data scraped by externals – because it was easy to do

At this point, the social media company is just going for broke, telling the public it should just assume that “most” of the 2.2 billion Facebook users have probably had their public data scraped by “malicious actors.” […] Meanwhile, reports have focused on a variety of issues that have popped up in just the last Read more about Most of 2.2 billion Facebook users had their data scraped by externals – because it was easy to do[…]

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower: Facebook data could have come from more than 87 million users

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie says the data the firm gathered from Facebook could have come from more than 87 million users and could be stored in Russia. The number of Facebook users whose personal information was accessed by Cambridge Analytica “could be higher, absolutely,” than the 87 million users acknowledged by Facebook, Wylie told Read more about Cambridge Analytica whistleblower: Facebook data could have come from more than 87 million users[…]

Yes, Cops Are Now Opening iPhones With Dead People’s Fingerprints

Separate sources close to local and federal police investigations in New York and Ohio, who asked to remain anonymous as they weren’t authorized to speak on record, said it was now relatively common for fingerprints of the deceased to be depressed on the scanner of Apple iPhones, devices which have been wrapped up in increasingly Read more about Yes, Cops Are Now Opening iPhones With Dead People’s Fingerprints[…]

Great, Now Delta airlines Is Normalizing Casual Fingerprinting

Delta Airlines announced Monday that it’s rolling out biometric entry at its line of airport lounges. With the press of two fingers, Delta members will be able to enter any of Delta’s 50 exclusive lounges for drinks, comfortably unaware of the encroaching dystopian biometric surveillance structure closing around travel. Thanks to a partnership with Clear, Read more about Great, Now Delta airlines Is Normalizing Casual Fingerprinting[…]

Facebook Acknowledges It Has Been Keeping Records of Android Users’ Calls, Texts

Last week, a user found that Facebook had a record of the date, time, duration, and recipient of calls he had made from the past few years. A couple days later, Ars Technica published an account of several others — all Android users — who found similar records. Now, Slate Magazine is reporting that Facebook Read more about Facebook Acknowledges It Has Been Keeping Records of Android Users’ Calls, Texts[…]

New Slack Tool Lets Your Boss Potentially Access Far More of Your Data Than Before, without notification

According to Slack’s new guidelines, however, Compliance Exports will be replaced by “a self-service export tool” on April 20th. Previously, an employer had to request a data dump of all communications to get access to private channels and direct messages. This new tool should streamline things so they can archive all your shit-talk and time-wasting Read more about New Slack Tool Lets Your Boss Potentially Access Far More of Your Data Than Before, without notification[…]

How to Find Out Everything Facebook Knows About You

If you can’t bring yourself to delete your Facebook account entirely, you’re probably thinking about sharing a lot less private information on the site. The company actually makes it pretty easy to find out how much data it’s collected from you, but the results might be a little scary. When software developer Dylan McKay went Read more about How to Find Out Everything Facebook Knows About You[…]

US cops go all Minority Report: Google told to cough up info on anyone near a crime scene

Efforts to track down criminals in the US state of North Carolina have laid bare a dangerous gap in the law over the use of location data. Raleigh police went to court at least three times last year and got a warrant requiring Google to share the details of any users that were close to Read more about US cops go all Minority Report: Google told to cough up info on anyone near a crime scene[…]

Telegram Loses Bid to Block Russia From Encryption Keys

Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that’s prized by those seeking privacy, lost a bid before Russia’s Supreme Court to block security services from getting access to users’ data, giving President Vladimir Putin a victory in his effort to keep tabs on electronic communications. Supreme Court Judge Alla Nazarova on Tuesday rejected Telegram’s appeal against the Read more about Telegram Loses Bid to Block Russia From Encryption Keys[…]

Booking Flights: Our Data Flies with Us – the huge dataset described

Every time you book a flight, you generate personal data that is ripe for harvesting: information like the details on an ID card, your address, your passport information and your travel itinerary, as well as your frequent-flyer number, method of payment and travel preferences (dietary restrictions, mobility restrictions, etc.). All that data becomes part of Read more about Booking Flights: Our Data Flies with Us – the huge dataset described[…]

Palantir has secretly been using New Orleans to test its predictive policing technology, was given huge access to lots of private data without oversight due to loophole

The program began in 2012 as a partnership between New Orleans Police and Palantir Technologies, a data-mining firm founded with seed money from the CIA’s venture capital firm. According to interviews and documents obtained by The Verge, the initiative was essentially a predictive policing program, similar to the “heat list” in Chicago that purports to Read more about Palantir has secretly been using New Orleans to test its predictive policing technology, was given huge access to lots of private data without oversight due to loophole[…]

119,000 Passports and Photo IDs of FedEx Customers Found on Unsecured Amazon Server

Thousands of FedEx customers were exposed after the company left scanned passports, drivers licenses, and other documentation on a publicly accessible Amazon S3 server. The scanned IDs originated from countries all over the world, including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, and several European countries. The IDs were attached to forms Read more about 119,000 Passports and Photo IDs of FedEx Customers Found on Unsecured Amazon Server[…]

2017: Dutch Military Intelligence 348 and Internal Intelligence 3205 taps placed. No idea how many the police did, but wow, that’s a lot!

De MIVD tapte vorig jaar in totaal 348 keer. De AIVD plaatste dat jaar 3.205 taps. Vandaag publiceerden beide diensten de tapstatistieken over de periode 2002 tot en met 2017 op hun website. Source: MIVD tapte vorig jaar 348 keer | Nieuwsbericht | Defensie.nl And of course we have no idea how many of these Read more about 2017: Dutch Military Intelligence 348 and Internal Intelligence 3205 taps placed. No idea how many the police did, but wow, that’s a lot![…]

The 600+ Companies PayPal Shares Your Data With – Schneier on Security

One of the effects of GDPR — the new EU General Data Protection Regulation — is that we’re all going to be learning a lot more about who collects our data and what they do with it. Consider PayPal, that just released a list of over 600 companies they share customer data with. Here’s a Read more about The 600+ Companies PayPal Shares Your Data With – Schneier on Security[…]

Madison Square Garden Has Used Face-Scanning Technology on Customers

Madison Square Garden has quietly used facial-recognition technology to bolster security and identify those entering the building, according to multiple people familiar with the arena’s security procedures. The technology uses cameras to capture images of people, and then an algorithm compares the images to a database of photographs to help identify the person and, when Read more about Madison Square Garden Has Used Face-Scanning Technology on Customers[…]

What is your personal info worth to criminals? There’s a dark web market price index for that

Your entire online identity could be worth little more than £800, according to brand new research into the illicit sale of stolen personal info on the dark web (or just $1,200 if you are in the United States, according to the US edition of the index). While it may be no surprise to learn that Read more about What is your personal info worth to criminals? There’s a dark web market price index for that[…]

Retina X ‘Stalkerware’ Shuts Down Apps ‘Indefinitely’ After Getting Hacked Again

A company that sells spyware to regular consumers is “immediately and indefinitely halting” all of its services, just a couple of weeks after a new damaging hack. Retina-X Studios, which sells several products marketed to parents and employers to keep tabs on their children and employees—but also used by jealous partners to spy on their Read more about Retina X ‘Stalkerware’ Shuts Down Apps ‘Indefinitely’ After Getting Hacked Again[…]

The Car of the Future Will Sell Your Data

Picture this: You’re driving home from work, contemplating what to make for dinner, and as you idle at a red light near your neighborhood pizzeria, an ad offering $5 off a pepperoni pie pops up on your dashboard screen. Are you annoyed that your car’s trying to sell you something, or pleasantly persuaded? Telenav Inc., Read more about The Car of the Future Will Sell Your Data[…]

Roses are red, Facebook is blue. Think private means private? More fool you

In a decision (PDF) handed down yesterday, chief judge Janet DiFiore said that a court could ask someone to hand over any relevant materials as part of discovery ahead of a trial – even if they are private. The threshold for disclosure in a court case “is not whether the materials sought are private but Read more about Roses are red, Facebook is blue. Think private means private? More fool you[…]

Thanks to “consent” buried deep in sales agreements, car manufacturers are tracking tens of millions of US and EU cars

Millions of new cars sold in the US and Europe are “connected,” having some mechanism for exchanging data with their manufacturers after the cars are sold; these cars stream or batch-upload location data and other telemetry to their manufacturers, who argue that they are allowed to do virtually anything they want with this data, thanks Read more about Thanks to “consent” buried deep in sales agreements, car manufacturers are tracking tens of millions of US and EU cars[…]

Microsoft whips out tool so you can measure Windows 10’s data-slurping creepiness

The software giant has produced a tool that’s claimed to show users how much personal information its Windows 10 operating system collects and sends back to Redmond for diagnostics.The application is dubbed Diagnostic Data Viewer, and is free from the Windows Store. It reveals that stuff like the computer’s device name, OS version, and serial Read more about Microsoft whips out tool so you can measure Windows 10’s data-slurping creepiness[…]

US House reps green-light Fourth Amendment busting spy program

The US House of Representatives has passed a six-year extension to the controversial Section 702 spying program, rejecting an amendment that would have required the authorities to get a warrant before searching for information on US citizens. The 256-164 vote effectively retains the status quo and undermines a multi-year effort to bring accountability to a Read more about US House reps green-light Fourth Amendment busting spy program[…]

OnePlus Android mobes’ clipboard app caught phoning home to China

OnePlus has admitted that the clipboard app in a beta build of its Android OS was beaming back mystery data to a cloud service in China. Someone running the latest test version of OnePlus’s Oreo-based operating system revealed in its support forums that unusual activity from the builtin clipboard manager had been detected by a Read more about OnePlus Android mobes’ clipboard app caught phoning home to China[…]