Electronic Frontier Foundation – Page 2 – Computer Security Articles

Who Owns Your Wireless Service? Crooks Do.

August 7, 2019 admin A Little Sunshine, Aaron Mackey, Andy Greenberg, AT&T, eff, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, Google Voice, Nicholas Truglia, robocalls, SIM swapping, The Coming Storm, wired

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2019 22:43:58 +0000

Incessantly annoying and fraudulent robocalls. Corrupt wireless company employees taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to unlock and hijack mobile phone service. Wireless providers selling real-time customer location data, despite repeated promises to the contrary. A noticeable uptick in SIM-swapping attacks that lead to multi-million dollar cyberheists. If you are somehow under the impression that you — the customer — are in control over the security, privacy and integrity of your mobile phone service, think again. And you’d be forgiven if you assumed the major wireless carriers or federal regulators had their hands firmly on the wheel.

MalwareBytes Security

Helping survivors of domestic abuse: What to do when you find stalkerware

July 1, 2019 admin burner, burner phone, Cerberus, domestic abuse, domestic violence, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FlexiSpy, Highster Mobile, Hoverwatch, kaspersky, MobiStealth, mspy, national domestic violence hotline, National Network to End Domestic Violence, Operation Safe Escape, Safety Net, Snap Maps, Snapchat Maps, spyware, stalkerware, StealthGenie, surveillanceware, Teensafe, TheTruthSpy, Tile, W.O.M.A.N., W.O.M.A.N. Inc, Woman INc

Credit to Author: David Ruiz| Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2019 16:51:59 +0000

Starting today, we’re doing more to protect stalkerware victims than improve our detection capabilities. We’re helping survivors understand how to tell if they’re being watched on their devices—and how to safely get out of the situation.

Categories:

Stalkerware

Tags: burner burner phone Cerberus domestic abuse domestic violence Electronic Frontier Foundation FlexiSpy Highster Mobile Hoverwatch kaspersky MobiStealth mspy national domestic violence hotline National Network to End Domestic Violence Operation Safe Escape Safety Net Snap Maps Snapchat Maps spyware stalkerware StealthGenie surveillanceware TeenSafe TheTruthSpy Tile W.O.M.A.N.W.O.M.A.N. Inc Woman INc

MalwareBytes Security

Apple iOS 13 will better protect user privacy, but more could be done

June 12, 2019 admin "just once", apple, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Facebook, google, iOS 13, Location tracking, Online privacy, privacy, Privacy International, Ranking Digital Rights, relay email address, Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Facebook, Sign in with Google, sign-on, single-sign on, sso, user privacy, WWDC, WWDC 19, WWDC 2019, WWDC19

Credit to Author: David Ruiz| Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2019 16:42:41 +0000

Apple’s newest iOS features provide simple, easy-to-use options that can leave users more informed and more in control of their online privacy. But privacy experts agreed: Apple can—and should—go further.

Categories:

Privacy

Tags: “just once”Apple Electronic Frontier Foundation facebook Google iOS 13 location tracking online privacy privacy Privacy International Ranking Digital Rights relay email address Sign in with Apple Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google sign-on single sign-on sso user privacy WWDC WWDC 19 WWDC 2019 WWDC19

MalwareBytes Security

Google’s Nest fiasco harms user trust and invades their privacy

March 13, 2019 admin alarm, Amazon Alexa, assistant, Data Collection, Data Privacy, eff, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Epic, Federal Trade Commission, google, Google Assistant, keypad, microphone, motion sensor, Nest, Nest Guard, Nest Secure, privacy, Security world, Senate Select Committee on Commerce, smart assistant, Sonos, Sonos One, transparency, transparent, trust, user trust, voice assistant

Credit to Author: davidruiz| Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2019 16:30:29 +0000

Last month, Google announced that its Nest Secure would be updated to work with Google Assistant software. The problem? Google never told users its product had a microphone to begin with. Simple oversight or invasion of privacy? We break it down.

Categories:

Tags: alarm Amazon Alexa assistant data collection Data privacy EFF Electronic Frontier Foundation Electronic Privacy Information Center Epic Federal Trade Commission Google Google Assistant keypad microphone motion sensor Nest Nest Guard Nest Secure privacy Senate Select Committee on Commerce smart assistant Sonos Sonos One transparency transparent trust user trust voice assistant

Independent Krebs

Supreme Court: Police Need Warrant for Mobile Location Data

June 22, 2018 admin 3Cinteractive, 4th Amendment, A Little Sunshine, Amy Howe, AT&T, Carpenter v. United States, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Jennifer Lynch, LocationSmart, SCOTUSblog.com, Securus Technologies, Sprint, T-Mobile, The Coming Storm, The New York Times, U.S. Supreme Court, Verizon

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2018 20:30:13 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the government needs to obtain a court-ordered warrant to gather location data on mobile device users. The decision is a major development for privacy rights, but experts say it may have limited bearing on the selling of real-time customer location data by the wireless carriers to third-party companies.

Independent Krebs

New EU Privacy Law May Weaken Security

February 15, 2018 admin A Little Sunshine, Andrew Sullivan, eff, Electronic Frontier Foundation, GDPR, General Data Protection Regulation, GoDaddy, Göran Marby, ICANN, Internet of Things, IoT, Jeremy Malcolm, The Coming Storm, WHOIS privacy

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 17:11:30 +0000

Companies around the globe are scrambling to comply with new European privacy regulations that take effect a little more than three months from now. But many security experts are worried that the changes being ushered in by the rush to adhere to the law may make it more difficult to track down cybercriminals and less likely that organizations will be willing to share data about new online threats. On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect. The law, enacted by the European Parliament, requires technology companies to get affirmative consent for any information they collect on people within the European Union. Organizations that violate the GDPR could face fines of up to four percent of global annual revenues.

Independent Krebs

Is it Time to Can the CAN-SPAM Act?

July 2, 2017 admin CAN-SPAM, Dan Balsam, eff, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FTC, Joe Jerome, Other, Ron Guilmette

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sun, 02 Jul 2017 16:14:42 +0000

Regulators at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are asking for public comment on the effectiveness of the CAN-SPAM Act, a 14-year-old federal law that seeks to crack down on unsolicited commercial email. Judging from an unscientific survey by this author, the FTC is bound to get an earful.

Independent Krebs

Dual-Use Software Criminal Case Not So Novel

April 4, 2017 admin Aeonhack, Allison Nixon, Blackshades RAT, Blackshades trojan, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, Flashpoint, Hackforums, justice department, Kevin Poulsen, Limitless Keylogger, Mark Rumold, Mephobia, NanoCore, Net Seal, Other, Rat, remote access trojan, remote administration tool, Taylor Huddleston, TeamViewer and VNC, The Daily Beast, wired, Zachary Shames

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2017 18:41:33 +0000

“He built a piece of software. That tool was pirated and abused by hackers. Now the feds want him to pay for the computer crooks’ crimes.” The above snippet is the subhead of a story published last month by the Daily Beast titled “FBI Arrests Hacker Who Hacked No One.” The subject of that piece — a 26-year-old American named Taylor Huddleston — faces felony hacking charges connected to two computer programs he authored and sold: An anti-piracy product called Net Seal, and a Remote Administration Tool (RAT) called NanoCore that he says was a benign program designed to help users remotely administer their computers. The author of the Daily Beast story, former black hat hacker and Wired.com editor Kevin Poulsen, argues that Huddelston’s case “raises a novel question: When is a programmer criminally responsible for the actions of his users? Some experts say [the case] could have far reaching implications for developers, particularly those working on new technologies that criminals might adopt in unforeseeable ways.” But a closer look at the government’s side of the story — as well as public postings left behind by the accused and his alleged accomplices — paints a more complex and nuanced picture that suggests this may not be the case to raise that legal question in a meaningful way.