GDPR and what it means for businesses
The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in just over a year's time, but what impact will it have on business data protection efforts?
GDPR is one of the toughest pieces of data protection legislation in the world and will impose heavy penalties for non-compliance for any business around the world that collects or processes EU resident data -- even if the company is based outside the EU.
Migrating data to safe havens to protect customers' privacy
The events of the past month have pushed data privacy firmly to the top of not just the technology industry agenda, but also the political agenda.
In the UK, the government has been in conflict with the technology industry ever since David Cameron’s ludicrous call for a "ban" on encryption. However, in the last month the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have doubled down on this objective, demanding back door access to social media services such as WhatsApp -- despite widespread doubts as to whether the policy is even practicable.
Employees in the dark about data retention policy
Enterprises are increasingly bound by legal and compliance requirements to retain information and communications.
Yet a new study reveals that over half of office-based employees say their companies don't have written policies on data retention or personal use of work devices, or if they do, they aren’t aware of them.
How to disable all of Microsoft's ads in Windows 10 Creators Update
Pretty much since the launch of Windows 10 there have been complaints about ads and usage tracking in various forms. You might think that Microsoft would listen to complaints and consider removing ads from its operating system, but in fact more and more have been added.
We've looked at the various ads (or app suggestions, app tips and so on to use Microsoft's phraseology) that have cropped up over the last couple of years, but the release of Windows 10 Creators Update seems like a good time to revisit the topic. So here, once and for all, is how to kill all the ads (or whatever you want to call them) in Windows 10.
Brits willing to trade privacy for safety
Two thirds of the UK’s general public would feel more safe if digital communications were unencrypted, according to a new report by Cable.co.uk. The argument?
If the government could access our communications, it would be able to intercept messaging between terrorists plotting new attacks.
Microsoft half-heartedly opens up about privacy, revealing more about the data Windows 10 Creators Update collects
Microsoft has had something of a checkered history when it comes to privacy, particularly with Windows 10. Telemetry concerns have blighted the latest version of the company's operating system for many people, but now it has finally decided to come clean.
Ahead of the release of Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft reveals full details of the data it collects about users who opt into providing basic-level telemetry information. The company also provides some details -- but not as much as many would like -- about what is collected when the full level of telemetry is selected. This is Microsoft's attempt to come clean about privacy in Windows 10, but is it too little too late?
Hide your ID online with Random User-Agent for Google Chrome
Whenever you visit a website your browser hands over a user agent, a text string which tells the site about your browser, operating system, plugins and more.
This scheme was designed to help sites customize themselves to different devices, but user agents can be misused to help fingerprint your computer and track you online.
Trump signs resolution permitting ISPs to share your web history without consent
Donald Trump has forged ahead and done what privacy advocates hoped would not happen. The US president has signed a resolution rolling back FCC privacy rules, meaning that ISPs are now free to share and sell customers' browsing histories without express permission.
The signing of the bill into law comes after the Senate and then the House voted to allow ISPs to share customer data without consent. The White House has confirmed that Trump has reversed the Obama-era rules, so closely targeted advertising is now not far away.
Virginia Tech's DIALDroid shows Android apps steal data through secret collusion
Researchers from Virginia Tech have found that Android apps can work together to mine personal information from smartphones. While users have long been aware of the need to check the privacy settings and permissions for individual apps, few people will have thought of the potential for collusion between apps that, individually, have innocuous-looking settings.
A team from the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering developed a tool called DIALDroid (Database powered ICC AnaLysis for anDroid) and used it to monitor the exchange of data between apps. Analysis of 110,150 apps over three years found that security and privacy is put at risk as information is shared between different, independent apps that users may have installed.
AT&T, Comcast and Verizon say they won’t sell customers' browsing histories
Concern has mounted in the US after the Senate and then the House voted to permit ISPs to sell customers' browsing histories and other data without consent. In response to these concerns, major ISPs have spoken out to say they will do no such thing.
AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have all published statement that aim to calm fears that may have arisen this week. All three insist they do not sell customer data and have no intention of doing so. Whether customers are convinced by the pleading, however, is a different matter entirely.
Top tips: How to protect your privacy against ISP snooping
We live in an age where privacy is valued incredibly highly, but at the same time there are more and more ways for our privacy to be encroached upon. One of the most recent concerns came after the US Senate voted last week to allow ISPs to sell customers' browsing histories without consent.
Things were turned up a notch a couple of days ago when the House agreed and voted to repeal FCC-approved privacy rules. Since the result of the vote was known, there have been reports of a huge surge in interest in VPN tools, private search engines and the like, and now VPN review site The Best VPN has come up with a series of tips to help internet users maintain their privacy, and stop ISPs from getting their hands on potentially sensitive information about browsing habits.
What your smartphone knows about you
Currently, many people unlock their phones by pressing their thumbs onto fingerprint sensor panels or using their fingers to draw patterns on the screens. Those authentication methods are certainly high-tech, but, before long, you’ll likely be unlocking a phone that knows more about you than you’d ever imagine.
Check out some of the smartphone security methods being tested and what they might mean for future users.
Verizon plans to install spyware on ALL its Android phones [Updated]
Two days ago, the US House voted to destroy the rights of American web users, essentially putting their privacy up for sale.
Now, as reported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Verizon has announced plans to install software on Android devices that will track which apps customers download and use. This data will be shared with other Verizon companies, including AOL, and used to push targeted ads on you across the internet. If that doesn’t sound all that bad, the EFF points out the ads could be based on things such as "which bank you use and whether you’ve downloaded a fertility app."
Calls for transparency as UK government meets technology firms to discuss encryption and privacy
The UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd is today meeting with technology firms to discuss how they can help to combat terrorism. The meeting comes just days after Rudd said that encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp should not be a "secret place to hide."
Calls for backdoors to be built into encrypted apps and services have been met with shock, derision and incredulity, but some have pointed out that the controversial Investigatory Powers Act (aka the snooper's charter) already grants the government the right to force the removal of encryption. Ahead of the Rudd's meeting, civil liberty organizations have written a letter demanding transparency.
US House votes to destroy the privacy rights of web users
Last week, the US Senate voted to permit ISPs to share -- or sell -- customers' browsing histories and other data without permission. Now the House has gone ahead and voted the same way, so internet users' privacy is now up for sale.
Just as the Senate vote to overturn privacy rules was close (50 votes to 48), so was yesterday's: 215 to 205. The repeal of the FCC-approved rules had President Trump's support, and the latest vote means that all manner of personal information is now able to be sold for marketing and advertising without individuals' consent.
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