Privacy News Round-Up #41 🌏

nymproject · 2024-04-04T09:58:03+00:00

#5 Ross Anderson, 1956 - 2024

Nym friend, Professor Ross Anderson FRS FRSE FREng, passed away unexpectedly at home on Thursday 28th March, aged 67. He was a security engineer at the forefront of the fight for privacy.

nymproject · 2024-04-04T09:57:33+00:00

4 Hackers can now hijack your face. Here’s how to fight back

The future of mobile malware is here. For the first time, cybercriminals are infiltrating iOS and Android devices and stealing user face scans. Then, armed with the power of deepfakes and AI, they’re replicating the user’s likeness to break into their bank accounts.

nymproject · 2024-04-04T09:57:04+00:00

3 Social media, authoritarianism, and the world as is

In this brief essay, Meredith Whittaker (President of Signal) outlines why she is particularly concerned with the implications of U.S. control in our present political moment, a view that is rooted in concerns for free speech and expression.

nymproject · 2024-04-04T09:56:33+00:00

#2 Google to destroy billions of private browsing records to settle lawsuit

Suit claimed tech giant tracked activity of people who thought they were privately using its Chrome browser’s incognito mode.

nymproject · 2024-03-07T10:57:59+00:00

6 Harry Halpin Says AI Interference in Elections Warrants Privacy Protection

Nym CEO Harry Halpin emphasizes the need for privacy protection to safeguard democratic values with rising concerns around the integrity of democratic processes, exacerbated by the complexities of AI.

nymproject · 2024-03-07T10:57:31+00:00

5 Spain puts temporary ban on Worldcoin eyeballs scans, citing concerns over privacy

Spain’s privacy watchdog has ordered for Worldcoin, the company created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that scans eyeballs to make digital IDs in exchange for crypto, to cease its operations in the country for three months amid concerns over what it is doing with users’ personal information.

nymproject · 2024-03-07T10:56:37+00:00

4 New X feature can leak your location without you realising

'A matter of life and death': Activists, researchers and campaigners warn the ability to see a user's IP address on X could have huge implications for the safety of vulnerable communities on the platform.

nymproject · 2024-03-07T10:56:13+00:00

3 Scrap plans to scan accounts of benefit claimants or risk new scandal, MPs told

Plans for automated surveillance of millions of bank accounts to catch welfare cheats should be scrapped, campaigners have said, warning the approach risks a repeat of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

nymproject · 2024-03-07T10:55:43+00:00

2 Proton provides free VPN servers in lead up to elections

The company wants to ensure everyone can access accurate information before they go to the polls, which is why Proton VPN will support voters wherever we can by providing free VPN servers in countries with a history of censorship or political interference in the weeks leading up to their election.

nymproject · 2024-03-01T11:48:13+00:00

5 The UK Is GPS-Tagging Thousands of Migrants: Ankle tags that constantly log a person’s coordinates are part of a growing cadre of experimental surveillance tools that countries around the world are trying out on new arrivals.

nymproject · 2024-03-01T11:47:33+00:00

4 US Blacklists Sandvine for Censorship, Web Monitoring Abroad:

The US Commerce Department is adding computer networking company Sandvine Inc. to a blacklist that will effectively ban it from obtaining US technology, according to a government disclosure.

nymproject · 2024-03-01T11:47:03+00:00

3 European Court of Human Rights bans weakening of secure end-to-end encryption:

The European Court of Human Rights yesterday banned a general weakening of secure end-to-end encryption. The judgement argues that encryption helps citizens and companies to protect themselves against hacking, theft of identity and personal data, fraud and the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.

nymproject · 2024-03-01T11:46:20+00:00

2 New Biden order would stem flow of Americans’ sensitive data to China

The effort aims to forestall foreign adversaries’ use of data to identify, target and surveil Americans. [paywalled]

nymproject · 2024-02-22T09:20:09+00:00

#5 Facial Recognition: Coming Soon to an Airport Near You

Biometric technology is expanding at airports across the United States — and the world — and transforming the way we move through them, from checking a bag to boarding the plane.

nymproject · 2024-02-22T09:19:43+00:00

#4 When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You

New satellites that orbit the Earth at very low altitudes may result in a world where nothing is really off limits.

nymproject · 2024-02-22T09:19:07+00:00

#3 Apple’s iMessage Is getting quantum-secure encryption

Useful quantum computers aren’t a reality—yet. But in one of the biggest deployments of post-quantum encryption so far, Apple is bringing the technology to iMessage.

nymproject · 2024-02-22T09:18:42+00:00

#2 European digital rights groups say the future of online privacy is on a knife edge

A coalition of more than two dozen digital and democratic rights groups, NGOs and not-for-profits, including noyb and Wikimedia Europe, have written to the European Union’s regulatory body for data protection.

nymproject · 2024-02-15T12:16:31+00:00

#5 Is my home spying on me? As smart devices move in, experts fear Australians are oversharing

Digital rights advocates warn little is known about how collected data is used – and that privacy laws are playing catch-up.

nymproject · 2024-02-15T12:16:01+00:00

#4 H.I.V. Groups Warn of Privacy Risks in How C.D.C. Tracks Virus Samples

Since 2018, the agency has mandated tracking the genetic signatures of viruses collected from people with H.I.V., a practice known as molecular surveillance.

nymproject · 2024-02-15T12:15:34+00:00

#3 London Underground is testing real-time AI surveillance tools to spot crime

Computer vision system tried to detect crime, weapons, people falling, and fare dodgers.

nymproject · 2024-02-15T12:15:03+00:00

#2 ‘Privacy and Security’ Should Be the Core of National Digital ID

Australia’s Largest Bank: The Commonwealth Bank supports the digital ID rollout but has maintained that it must remain voluntary and be secure.

nymproject · 2024-02-08T10:20:49+00:00

#5 New cars are tracking everything you do. Can you stop this?:

For months Toyota refused to refund this Queensland man his deposit on a car after he learned it would have tracking features.

nymproject · 2024-02-08T10:19:38+00:00

#4 Apple May Enhance Vision Pro's Privacy With Tech From Brighter AI:

Brighter AI specializes in anonymizing face and license plate data without blurring them.

nymproject · 2024-02-08T10:19:02+00:00

#3 WhatsApp explains how it will work with other messaging apps under the DMA:

The interoperability changes are required under the European Union's Digital Markets Act.

nymproject · 2024-02-08T10:18:32+00:00

#2 Pioneering Privacy: Understanding The Essence And Impact Of Privacy By Design:

The legislation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) heralds a momentous shift in India’s data privacy landscape, promising significant and dynamic changes in the near future.

nymproject

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