Privacy

Customers' DNA Samples To Be Sold by Company?!🙄

#news #privacy #genetics #security

The famous American biotechnology company, 23andMe, may have to be sold because of its declining value. The company, which studies people's genetics to tell them about their ancestry or any possible disease, possesses DNA samples of 15 million customers. Although the company has always asked for consent for any experiments, it declares in its privacy policy that in case of a new owner, also the customer data can be sold to them.

Since the company is not subject to the health-privacy law, the new owner can ignore consumer consent and use their DNA data to find out certain information about their health condition, potential diseases, ethnicity, etc. Such information can be used for many purposes, whether good ones or evil ones. However, according to the company's current spokesperson, users can download their data and delete them on the website before the sale.

The fate of 23andMe and its DNA database is yet to be seen, but it is good to know that some states are passing laws that give users control over the privacy of their health-related data.

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🆔Privacy

Privacy... Reality or Illusion?

#news #privacy #dataprivacy #security

Nowadays, it is not unusual to hear strange news. Even then, we bet you would not expect this one. In recent days, several black residents of Wisconsin state of America received racist text messages from unknown sources📲😐

So, if someone got access to the contact information and skin color of so many people, it could mean potential leak or selling of more sensitive information as well, including name, address, ID, or other information provided by users to websites and apps. According to Chad Johnson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, estimates show that data brokers have at least 15 data sorts on every American. It includes age, precise contact info, and ethnicity.

So, what is next? Let's just wish these websites will not sell our very passwords to companies! Stay safe🌹

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🆔Privacy

Increased Cyber Activity During The US Elections!

#news #privacy #security #election

US elections have always had a great amount of buzz around it, and 2024's elections were no exception. Such attention comes with its risks and threats. In today's world, where political campaigns and polling stations have websites, cyber attacks can be one of those serious threats. So, let's find out how online activities changed during this year's elections. According to Cloudflare, the prominent online security service provider, election-related websites saw over 6 billion HTTP DDoS requests from November 1st to November 6th, which was more than the total requests during September and October.

One popular campaign website experienced 9 phases of DDoS attacks from October 29 to November 6. During each phase, the number of requests was anything between 200000 to 700000 per second in order to overwhelm the website and take it down. The attackers used various unique requests and geographical information to make the attack more effective. The peak bandwidth of one of the attacks was between 8 Gbps to 16 Gbps, which was sent to Cloudflare and prevented the site from going down.

Another attack happened on November 3, which targeted a large infrastructure website for a political party. It lasted two minutes and reached 260000 HTTP requests per second.

A US political party website was targeted on October 29. The website received a total of more than 2 billion requests over a 4-hour period, which were blocked.

In comparison, the number of blocked malicious HTTP requests during the 2020 elections was significantly lower. Total detected attacks during October and November of 2020 were almost 125 million, while 2024 elections saw billions of attacks. However, the attacks were blocked and had no major impact.

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🆔Privacy

Household Smart Devices from Hell!😱

#privacy #news #household #protection

Recently, a research done by "Which?", a consumer advocacy group, showed that we should be more careful with smart devices we use at home. The research found that three air fryer models request exact location data and permission to record audio on users' phones.

The Aigostar and the Xiaomi air fryers ask for users' exact personal data, and their apps connect to several trackers. Although it is optional to accept the requests, there is no transparency on what they will use the data for. So, it has raised some concerns.

Also, some digital speakers are full of trackers that connect to Facebook, Google, and Urbanairship. Moreover, some smart TVs ask for a postcode when setting up.

A Xiaomi spokesperson said that user privacy is a top priority to the company, and that they do not sell user data to third parties. However, we cannot take that saying for granted; we should still be careful what information we offer to the devices.

ICO, United Kingdom's data protection regulator, is stepping up to issue new instructions in the spring of 2025, for manufacturers of smart devices.

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🆔Privacy

Over 1 Billion Data Breaches in 2024!😮

#privacy #data #knowledge #security

So far, 2024 has been a very turbulent year for data privacy. On the one hand, many countries across the globe have passed laws regarding the protection of user personal data. On the other, over 1 billion records have been hacked and stolen. Here are some of the biggest data breaches in 2024:

🖱️AT&T Customers:
AT&T is a giant telecommunications company that has millions of customers around the world. In March, full records of 73 million customers was published on a cybercrime forum by a data breach broker. The data included names, phone numbers, and addresses. But at a deeper level, it contained encrypted passcodes to access a customer's AT&T account.
Another data breach at AT&T happened in July, where phone numbers and call records of almost all of its customers was stolen. The data did not include the content of calls, but it still showed who contacted who, how many times, and when.

🖱️Change Healthcare Medical Data:
The year of 2024 saw one of the biggest data breaches in history. A notorious ransomware group stole medical data of millions of American people from Change Healthcare's database. It affected the performance of hospitals and pharmacies for weeks. Change Healthcare claims that it paid the hackers for a copy of the stolen data. Although the situation has been resolved, the scale of its impacts may continue to expand.

⬇️Read on⬇️

LinkedIn to Pay $335 Million for Data Privacy Violation!

#privacy #news #data #linkedin

We all know LinkedIn; a kind platform that helps us find jobs from all around the globe, right? Well, there is a rather dark side as well.

Recently, Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which is the regulator to watch over LinkedIn in the EU, declared that the website has processed its users' data and online behavior for targeted advertising. This was done without transparency and user consent, which is why the Irish regulator found the action to be a serious violation of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The data that was processed by LinkedIn includes information the users themselves submitted to the website, as well as information that was obtained from third-party partners.

The Irish Commission required LinkedIn to comply with GDPR, and fined the platform $335 million for the violations.

Hope such actions help creating a safer online space for users🙏

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🆔Privacy

Data Protection Officers need these 5 skills

#privacy #knowledge #data

As the digital world is quickly becoming a significant part of people's daily lives (thanks, Captain Obvious!), data privacy protection needs to keep up with the latest standards. As a person who helps organizations with data privacy, a Data Protection Officer needs to master a number of skills.

🖱️Legal Knowledge:
Data Protection Officers need to be familiar with data protection regulations in different regions and countries, and stay updated on any changes. Consequently, they can provide much better consultation on data privacy protection.

🖱️Strong Communication Skills:
Knowing how to explain different concepts and laws of data privacy to various types of audiences, including managers, stakeholders, and employees, is a must-have ability for a Data Protection Officer. It helps all parts of an organization share the same understanding and act coherently. Listening to those audiences and their issues is another must-have aspect of good communication skills for this job.

🖱️Technical Proficiency:
A Data Protection Officer needs to be an expert in IT, risk management, and data management techniques. This helps them assess a situation or technology, and use tools and techniques to lower any potential risks and enhance data protection.

🖱️Negotiation Skills:
Possessing the ability to negotiate with different people or organizations in order to resolve issues is a very important skill for this job. The person needs to negotiate with them by finding common goals and intentions, but also keeping privacy protection laws in mind.

🖱️Independence and Credibility:
A Data Protection Officer needs to avoid any interest or benefit, which helps him/her be free of pressure and provide better answers for data protection issues. So, independence is essential. Moreover, the person needs to gain credibility among the organization's stakeholders and external lawmakers so that any cooperation or negotiation in the future will be easier.

That's it for today's post. Hope this helped. Have a great day🌹

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🆔Privacy

Best Password Managers to Use in 2024🔑

#privacy #knowledge #password #app #software

In the age of computers, the 21st century, a person's online accounts are of high importance and often include personal data, business data, and other important information. To keep those accounts safe, you need complicated passwords. So, remembering passwords for multiple accounts can be problematic. That is the reason for the existence of password manager apps, which also provide you with many more features such as password generation and secure encryption.

🔺According to experts at CNET, the following are the best password managers in 2024:

🖱️Bitwarden:
+ It is transparent
+ Open-source
+ Easy to use
+ Economic
+ Compatible with most platforms and browsers

🖱️1Password:
+ Good User Interface
+ Easy password sharing
+ Travel Mode (to hide sensitive information when traveling)
+ Compatible with most platforms and browsers

🖱️Keeper:
+ Large storage vault
+ Offline Access
+ 30-day free trial

🖱️NordPass:
+ "30-day free trial of Premium"
+ Advanced multi-factor authentication
+ Automatic Sync
+ Data breach scanner
+ Emergency access

🖱️Dashlane:
+ Various customization options
+ Suitable for large families (up to 10 users)
+ 30-day free trial
+ Access to a virtual private network from Hotspot Shield VPN

That's it for today's post. Wish you the best, and may your passwords never be conquered😁

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🆔Privacy

Brains Chased by Companies!🧠

#privacy #news #security #data

We have all seen those sci-fi movies in which people's brains are monitored or controlled by microchips. Now guess what?! Exactly, neurotechnology has become very real! Unsurprisingly, as the name suggests, it is a kind of technology that interacts with the user's brain and nervous system😐

Two kinds of neurotechnology exist: Invasive and non-invasive. The first is like implants, the latter is like wearable devices and gadgets. The invasive technology is often used for medical purposes, and the non-invasive devices have more general functions. Large companies such as Meta and Apple are trying to be pioneers in this, and Neuralink (a company owned by Elon Musk) has already produced a brain chip which you can use to literally play games in your mind! Somebody fetch me a glass of water, will you?🤯

Anyway, these technologies collect data about your mood, physical conditions, diseases, etc. Some experts are concerned that people's physical and mental data may be at risk here. Well, you know and I know, that they should not be blamed. A team of Canadian privacy experts reviewed the privacy terms and conditions of 30 companies that sell neurotechnology products. Believe it or not, all of those companies except one could access the data collected by their devices and sell them to third-parties. Imagine business owners knowing about your darkest interests💀 Nope, kidding! Or... maybe not?!

However, it is good to know that some countries, including Canada, USA, and Chile, are already taking action to pass data privacy laws for neurotechnology products.

My friends, wish you the privacy of mind and body! Yeah, weird times require weird wishes😁🌹

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Google is releasing three data security features to protect devices that use 10+ android. These features protect your data locally, in case your phone is stolen.

After enabling them, go to the Settings app of your device and search "Theft Protection", or open Google services/All services tab/Personal & device safety.

🖱️Theft Detection Lock: Uses your device's Wi-Fi, sensors, and connections to recognize if someone takes your phone and escapes while you are using it. If it happens, the device automatically locks the screen to prevent their access to personal data.

🖱️Offline Device Lock: If someone steals your phone when you are using it, the device automatically locks the screen. It can be locked up to twice a day.

🖱️Remote Lock: If your device has been stolen, you can visit android.com/lock to call a number. You confirm the number of the stolen device and complete a security challenge. Then, you can lock your device remotely.

These features are currently available on Google Play beta.

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🆔Privacy

California, Privacy, Cars, and Domestic Abuse!

#news #privacy #usa

Cars have computers these days, so they can be tracked much easier. In recent months, there have been reports of some people abusing the tracking system for finding and harassing their partners who were already subject to domestic abuse. These reports concerned the officials of the US🚨

The governor of California has signed a bill that requires carmakers to create a simple process that allows the owner of a car to disable tracking from inside the car. They are also required to make it clear if a car has remote access, and how to disable it, before the customers make their purchase.

Hopefully, such data privacy laws are going to make it a bit safer in an era where everything can be disclosed if left unattended.

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🆔Privacy

Windows Recall with Increased Privacy and Security🔐

#privacy #news #windows #microsoft

PCs that are powered by Microsoft's Copilot, an AI assistant, use a feature called Windows Recall. This feature helps users take snapshots of their recent activity on PC, so that they can quickly get back to what they were doing. This saves a lot of time. However, some were worried about private or sensitive data that could be found in the screenshots.

Now, in its new update, Windows Recall stores data only locally on the PC; nothing goes to the cloud space anymore. Moreover, all data is heavily encrypted, then stored in "...isolated sections of the system not in contact with the operating system or network to ensure that sensitive information is protected from unauthorized access, even if the user’s machine is compromised".

Another new feature is that now users can choose if they want to turn Recall off, or even delete it. There are also options to make the snapshot ignore some websites or apps, and set an auto-delete time period for the data.

By releasing these updates, Microsoft showed its commitment to protecting user privacy. Now the other side of the bargain, which are users, should be deciding if they are comfortable using Microsoft's Windows Recall.

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🆔Privacy