Category: Privacy (Page 1 of 3)

Microsoft Recall AI screenshots credit cards and Social Security numbers, even with the “sensitive information” filter enabled

2024-12-13 / Downshift

Still a privacy nightmare.

Avram Piltch, writing in Tom’s Hardware »

Microsoft’s Recall feature recently made its way back to Windows Insiders after having been pulled from test builds back in June, due to security and privacy concerns. The new version of Recall encrypts the screens it captures and, by default, it has a “Filter sensitive information,” setting enabled, which is supposed to prevent it from recording any app or website that is showing credit card numbers, social security numbers, or other important financial / personal info. In my tests, however, this filter only worked in some situations (on two e-commerce sites), leaving a gaping hole in the protection it promises.

Mozilla ditching Do Not Track privacy setting from the Firefox browser

2024-12-12 / Downshift

Few websites honour the Do Not Track setting.

The Register »

When Firefox 135 is released in February, it’ll ship with one less feature: Mozilla plans to remove the Do Not Track toggle from its Privacy and Security settings.

The DNT toggle is already gone in the nightly developer release of Firefox 135, and Mozilla recently updated its Firefox support page for the privacy feature to indicate it’ll be gone for good once 135 is generally available, which is planned for February 4, 2025.

Elsewhere » Windows Report | Hot Hardware | TechSpot

Researchers uncover Chinese spyware EagleMsgSpy used to target Android devices

2024-12-11 / Downshift

Ravie Lakshmanan, writing for The Hacker News »

“EagleMsgSpy collects extensive data from the user: third-party chat messages, screen recording and screenshot capture, audio recordings, call logs, device contacts, SMS messages, location data, [and] network activity.”

EagleMsgSpy has been described by its developers as a “comprehensive mobile phone judicial monitoring product” that can obtain “real-time mobile phone information of suspects through network control without the suspect’s knowledge, monitor all mobile phone activities of criminals, and summarize them.”

Elsewhere » TechCrunch | Recorded Future | BleepingComputer

Should you allow your auto insurance company track your driving for cheaper rates?

2024-12-09 / Downshift

Hunter Stuart, writing in the HuffPost »

“There’s not always much public information on the algorithms that the insurance companies use to create your score,” said Thorin Klosowski with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“We might know that a full start or a slam brake or a too-fast acceleration is a certain number, but we don’t always know how that affects your overall score,” Klosowski said. “It can be hard to suss out how individual behaviors like this actually affect you, other than just opting into the program and looking at how your premiums change or don’t change over the course of a certain number of months.”

Privacy experts also say insurance companies lack the full, real-world context required to know whether a driver is behaving safely or not in a given moment.

“It’s all based on probabilities,” said Helen Nissenbaum, a professor of information science at Cornell Tech who’s authored research on digital privacy, location tracking and similar topics. “The insurance companies are talking as if they can reliably infer safe driving from whatever the sensors in our phones happen to generate without consideration for context. In many cases, fast acceleration is a sign of a good driver. Needing to accelerate quickly to avoid getting rear-ended is exactly a case of that.”

What is the Dark Web? A Guide to the Dark Side of the Internet

2024-12-09 / Downshift

For most, the dark web is a mysterious and misunderstood part of the internet, shrouded in secrecy and intrigue. It’s that seedy part of the town that has a bad reputation for crime.

IBM security guy, Jeff Crume, explains what the dark web is, how it works, what kinds of things go on there, and some of the risks about going there. Be warned, the dark web is not for the faint of heart and could increase your exposure to cyber attacks. This neighbourhood is popular with whistleblowers, journalists looking for hot tips, criminal marketplaces, and hackers.

Watch this video on YouTube

Note: Clicking the above image will load and play the video from YouTube.

Germany shuts down ‘Crimenetwork’ the country’s largest online cybercrime marketplace

2024-12-04 / Downshift

Crimenetwork facilitated a vast underground network of illegal activities, dealing in drugs, stolen data, and counterfeit documents.

The Register »

The BKA said it recently had more than 100 registered sellers serving more than 100,000 mainly German-speaking users.

The platform was used to buy illegal goods and services, such as stolen data, narcotics, weapons, botnets, and forged documents, the BKA said – again similar to its darkweb counterparts. Buyers also paid using cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin but mainly Monero.

Between 2018 and 2024, the platform facilitated sales exceeding €90 million ($94.5 million), with admins scooping up a cut of each sale, thought to be in the region of 1-5 percent. Admins also received monthly payments from sellers for the right to list and advertise their illicit wares on the platform.

Cybercriminals often use cryptocurrencies for their anonymity and difficulty in tracing.

Elsewhere » BKA Press Release | Bitdefender | BleepingComputer | SecurityWeek | Security Affairs

FTC bans Mobilewalla data broker from selling ‘sensitive’ location data

2024-12-04 / Downshift

FTC »

The Federal Trade Commission will prohibit data broker Mobilewalla, Inc. from selling sensitive location data, including data that reveals the identity of an individual’s private home, to settle allegations the data broker sold such information without taking reasonable steps to verify consumers’ consent.

Under the FTC’s proposed settlement order (PDF), Mobilewalla will also be banned from collecting consumer data from online advertising auctions for purposes other than participating in those auctions, marking the first time the agency has alleged such a practice was an unfair act or practice.

The FTC alleges in a complaint (PDF) that Georgia-based Mobilewalla collected data from real-time bidding exchanges and third-party aggregators. Often consumers had no knowledge that Chamblee-Georgia-based Mobilewalla had obtained their data.

“Mobilewalla collected massive amounts of sensitive consumer data – including visits to health clinics and places of worship – and sold this data in a way that exposed consumers to harm,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC is acting today to stop these invasive practices and protect the public from always-on surveillance.”

Category: Privacy (Page 1 of 3)

Microsoft Recall AI screenshots credit cards and Social Security numbers, even with the “sensitive information” filter enabled

Mozilla ditching Do Not Track privacy setting from the Firefox browser

Researchers uncover Chinese spyware EagleMsgSpy used to target Android devices

Should you allow your auto insurance company track your driving for cheaper rates?

What is the Dark Web? A Guide to the Dark Side of the Internet

Germany shuts down ‘Crimenetwork’ the country’s largest online cybercrime marketplace

FTC bans Mobilewalla data broker from selling ‘sensitive’ location data

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