Visits to high risk apps and websites increase 161 percent
There's been a huge shift to remote working this year, but new data shows that there has also been a 161 percent increase in visits to high-risk apps and websites as personal use of managed devices has nearly doubled.
The study from cloud security company Netskope finds that 64 percent of workers are now remote. Along with this increase in remote work has come an 80 percent increase in the use of collaboration apps as remote workers seek to remain connected with their colleagues
Using the HOSTS file to block Windows 10 telemetry? Microsoft now flags it as a severe security risk
The telemetry features that are built into Windows 10 have people falling into one of a few camps. There are those who don't even know what telemetry is, those who know but don’t care that Microsoft is gathering data from their computer, and those who know what it is and consider it to be a massive invasion of privacy.
For anyone who counts themselves in this last group, there are numerous settings, tools and techniques that can be used to block telemetry in Windows 10. One of the more ingenious is making use of the HOSTS file (used to resolve hostnames), but now Microsoft has updated its Defender tool so this is detected as a "severe" risk, specifically "SettingsModifier:Win32/HostsFileHijack".
COVID-19 apps: Social responsibility vs. privacy
The growth of coronavirus cases in a number of countries has led to talk about a second wave of the pandemic. According to WHO, disturbing news is coming from China, the US, Israel, South Korea, Iran and other countries. At the same time, privacy problems are arising with new force in COVID mobile apps.
It is a common opinion that Android app users don’t know how exactly their personal data and the information transmitted by the apps are actually used. Alarm signals of privacy breaking are coming from different places around the world. If you add to that the shortcomings and even errors on the part of developers -- the threat of unauthorized access to personal information increases even more.
10 billion exposed credentials and where to find them
Researchers at password manager NordPass have identified a total of 9,517 unsecured databases containing 10,463,315,645 entries with such data as emails, passwords, and phone numbers.
The databases are found across 20 different countries, with China being at the top of the list -- the country has nearly 4,000 exposed databases. This means that potentially more than 2.6 billion users could have had their accounts breached.
New store provides a one-stop-shop for privacy apps
When choosing data privacy applications in the past businesses have had to choose between a broad spectrum of capabilities of a focus on particular issues.
Now though SAP-backed data discovery and intelligence company BigID is launching a new Application Marketplace that allows organizations to build their optimum data solution, choosing specific capabilities that best fit their needs.
Microsoft previews new tool to control Windows 10 telemetry
For many people, the telemetry data collected by Windows 10 is an unacceptable invasion of privacy, and numerous tools have sprung up to give users control of just what information is collected and sent back to Microsoft. Now the Windows maker has a preview of a new tool for controlling Windows 10 telemetry data -- or diagnostic data as the company prefers to call it.
While Microsoft is eager for everyone to leave telemetry settings alone, its new tool gives some users a greater degree of control over things.
We're too boring to be hacked say millennials
Research into changing 'digital comfort zones' during the pandemic shows that 37 percent of millennials think they're too boring to be a victim of cybercrime.
The study from Kaspersky finds that millennials are now spending almost two extra hours online every day and almost half say this has made them more aware of their digital security, with 36 percent saying that they should be doing more to strengthen it.
iOS 14 privacy labels are not enough
Apple pays more attention to privacy protection issues than its competitors. Well-defined privacy policies and rather severe restrictions on what user information an app or extension can get make Apple products more secure for users.
However, from the perspective of transparency, everything was not so obvious for Apple. The latest announcement shows that the corporation is ready to take a few more steps towards increasing transparency in the field of privacy protection.
Poor privacy practices increase the chances of a data breach
Companies with the worst privacy practices are 80 percent more likely to experience a data breach according to a new study.
Data privacy platform Osano used its evaluation framework to measure the privacy practices of the top 10,000 websites against 163 different factors to develop an Osano Privacy Score.
CCPA is not enough say businesses
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into effect six months ago, granting California residents increased rights over how their personal data is gathered and shared by companies.
But despite the skepticism expressed by many companies ahead of CCPA's enactment, new data from security specialist Akamai shows only five percent now think that the current legislation is enough.
How to securely comply with rising CCPA rights requests amid COVID-19
As California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) enforcement officially started July 1, affected enterprises (based on size, California customer base and business type) can no longer delay complying with the new law. CCPA grants California residents an array of new rights, starting with the right to be informed about what kinds of personal data companies have collected and why it was collected.
A June 2020 survey found that more than 20 percent of organizations were either somewhat unlikely to be, very unlikely to be, or didn't know if they would be fully compliant with CCPA by July 1. With only 14 percent of respondents CCPA compliant and nearly one-third of organizations just starting to plan for CCPA, enterprises need to be prepared for enforcement sooner than later to uphold the rights of California consumers and avoid non-compliance penalties, which can reach up to $7,500 per violation.
Facebook admits to yet another shocking example of leaking user data
Facebook has sneakily used a blog post purportedly about "protecting people's data" to reveal that it has failed to do precisely that. In a post in its almost ironically titled Privacy Matters series, Facebook admits that it shared private user data with thousands of app developers when it should not have. Two years ago, Facebook implemented a privacy policy that stopped apps that had not been used for 90 days from sharing data with developers, but it turns out that data was in fact still shared.
The social media giant shamelessly tries to save face in saying that while the way in which this user data was shared ran counter to its own privacy policy, the "issues" didn't result in the sharing of personal information which people had not previously given permission to be shared. This is either deliberately missing the point, or treating users with a callous off-handedness, sharing little in the way of meaningful information about the incident.
Microsoft Edge caught importing data from other browsers without permission
Microsoft may be eager for everyone to switch to the new Chromium-based version of Edge, but there are a few issues that may put people off. There have been reports that the update that adds the browser to Windows 10 is causing computers to slow down, but there are also more worrying privacy-related reports.
Eagle-eyed folk installing the browser have noticed that Edge is grabbing data such as bookmarks from other installed browsers before permission has been granted to import such data.
Data privacy and identity in the age of COVID-19
With governments around the world rolling out contact tracing in order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, access management company Okta has commissioned a survey of 12,000 people across six counties to discover how consumers feel about data privacy and identity.
It finds that 84 percent of Americans are worried that data collection for COVID-19 containment will sacrifice too much of their privacy. A majority say they are uncomfortable with personally identifiable information (67 percent), bluetooth data (57 percent), medical data (53 percent), and location data (52 percent) being collected for COVID-19 purposes.
What's your data worth on the Dark Web?
We all know that information stolen in data breaches is often put up for sale on Dark Web marketplaces. But how much is it actually worth?
The PrivacyAffairs website has been researching Dark Web forums and market places and has found that for less than $1500 criminals can obtain genuine information and forged documents allowing them to almost completely take over someone's identity.
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