Facebook launches data portability tool to allow users to transfer photos and videos to Google Photos
Embracing the notion of data portability, Facebook has launched a new tool that lets users transfer their photos and videos from Facebook to other online services.
The social network is kicking things off by making it possible to transfer data from Facebook to Google Photos. It comes as part of Facebook's participation in the open-source Data Transfer Project and the ability to transfer to other services will be added soon.
Unencrypted SMS database found online, exposing millions of US text messages
A huge database of text messages and user data has been discovered online, completely unprotected and free for anyone to browse.
Found by researchers from vpnMentor, the database belongs to US communications company, TrueDialog. Among the exposed data are not only tens of millions of SMS messages, but also private information including usernames and passwords.
Google is under investigation over its data collection practices
The European Commission has started an investigation into "practices relating to Google's collection and use of data".
EU antirust regulators have already hit Google with record-breaking fines, but concern remains about how the company collects data about its users as well as how this data is then used. The regulator has contacted several companies to ask about agreements they have with Google to hand over user data and what -- if any -- money was involved.
Facebook Viewpoints will pay you money to complete surveys, but you shouldn't do it
I suppose there is nothing inherently wrong with handing over your data to big corporations -- as long as you do so willingly. Look, there are several "free" services online these days, such as Facebook, Gmail, and YouTube that many people use daily. These services aren't really free, however, as your data is largely the price of admission.
For those without actual disposable income, this data is a valuable commodity that they can use to trade for services -- it opens doors to some. With that said, it can be argued that this is essentially taking advantage of low income people. Similarly, this is one of the reasons it is illegal to sell your organs in the USA -- you'd have poor people transferring kidneys to the wealthy just to pay the rent.
OnePlus suffers data breach, exposing personal details of online store customers
OnePlus has issued a security notice to customers that have used its online store, informing them that their order information has been accessed by an unnamed third party in a security breach.
The company is giving away very little in the way of details about the incident. It is not clear when the data breach happened, who may be responsible, or how many customers are affected. OnePlus says that information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses and shipping addresses have been exposed.
Businesses need to get the data privacy balance right
With multiple privacy regulations and laws having gone into effect over the past year or so and more on the way affecting both consumers and business alike, it’s no wonder people are sometimes confused about how their personal data can be used.
Cisco is releasing the findings of its 2019 Consumer Privacy Survey, highlighting the top areas where consumers continue to struggle to understand how companies are handling their personal data, and how far data privacy trust has progressed.
DuckDuckGo launches Smarter Encryption feature in its extensions and apps
Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo announced the launch of a new feature today that it calls Smarter Encryption.
Smarter Encryption is designed to upgrade requests to HTTP sites automatically to HTTPS if the site in question supports HTTPS and if it is on DuckDuckGo's list of sites that can be upgraded.
Security companies and domestic violence organizations join in Coalition Against Stalkerware
Ten organizations including Avira, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes and NortonLifeLock, have joined in a global initiative called the Coalition Against Stalkerware.
Stalkerware programs carry the possibility for intrusion into a person’s private life and are being used as a tool for abuse in cases of domestic violence and stalking. By installing these apps, abusers can get access to their victim's messages, photos, social media, geolocation, audio or camera recordings, and in some cases, this can be done in real-time.
Microsoft lends its support to DNS over HTTPS to boost user privacy
Joining the likes of Mozilla and Google, Microsoft has announced that it will support DNS over HTTPS (DoH).
The company says that the adoption of encrypted DNS is important for the overall health of the internet ecosystem. It goes on to set out a number of principles that will be at the heart of adopting DoH in the Windows DNS client.
Old equipment leaves enterprises at risk of data breaches
New research launched today by data erasure and mobile device diagnostics specialist Blancco Technology Group finds end-of-life devices are leaving businesses at risk of data breaches.
The survey of 1,850 senior leaders from the world's largest enterprises in APAC, Europe and North America finds 73 percent agree that the large volume of different devices at end-of-life leaves their company vulnerable to a data security breach, while 68 percent say they are very concerned about the risk of data breach from this equipment.
Microsoft updates cloud contracts after EU privacy complaints
Microsoft has announced changes to its Online Services Terms for commercial cloud customers after an EU investigation raise concerns about existing policies' compliance with European regulation.
The company bills the changes as the introduction of "more privacy transparency" in the wake of a probe into potential violations of GDPR relating to telemetry data collected from Office 365 users. Microsoft says the new contractual terms will be offered to customers globally, not just within Europe.
Consumers worry about fraud risk from support desk calls
Almost a third of US consumers (31 percent) think they are at risk of fraud when contacting a brand's customer service department, with 47 percent saying it's because they have to share personal information with a customer service agent.
In another report released for International Fraud Awareness Week, the Sitel Group and CallMiner have looked at consumers' experience and concerns around customer service fraud, voice assistants and information security.
Poor security habits leave Americans vulnerable to fraud
Despite high profile data breaches in 2019 and 33 percent of respondents having been a victim of fraud or identity theft, when asked if they update or change passwords following a data breach at a firm they deal with, 28 percent say only sometimes and nine percent say they don't update their passwords at all.
This is one of the findings of a Shred-it report for International Fraud Awareness Week which highlights the need for improvements in both digital and physical security.
How synthetic data can unlock and help monetize information [Q&A]
Big data offers major opportunities for many industries. But in areas like finance where personal information is involved using the information raises worries about privacy.
One solution to that is to anonymize the information in some way. To discover more about how this works we spoke to Randy Koch the CEO of ARM Insight, a company pioneering the use of synthetic data and assisting more than 1,000 financial institutions to monetize their data safely.
Privacy-focused web browser Brave exits beta for mobile and desktop
Brave, the open-source web browser which focuses on speed, security and privacy, has officially hit version 1.0 and exited beta.
Available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, Brave boasts that it "blocks ads and trackers that slow you down and invade your privacy". The official launch comes three years after Brave first entered beta testing, and the browser has managed to amass millions of users.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.