Privacy is a growing concern in today’s world. Follow along with all our coverage related to privacy, security, what Apple and other companies are doing to keep your information safe, and what steps you can take to keep your information private.
Just about a year ago, it came to light just how easy it was to buy the real-time location data of US wireless customers via lax carrier standards, shady third-parties, and bounty hunters. Now after an “extensive investigation” the FCC has declared that “one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law.”
There’s an emerging health crisis at the moment, besides coronavirus: the head injuries caused by techies banging their heads on their desks at each piece of evidence that governments don’t understand how end-to-end encryption works.
The latest example of this, reported in the Guardian, was the head of Britain’s domestic counterintelligence and security agency, MI5, calling on tech companies like Apple and Facebook to continue to offer end-to-end encryption, but to provide MI5 access “on an exceptional basis”…
Firefox is rolling out a new privacy feature designed to stop ISPs from tracking the websites you visit. Known as DNS over HTTPS, it will plug a privacy hole when surfing the web …
A new demo from researchers at Mysk shines a light on the free, unrestricted, access all apps have to the iOS clipboard.
In the video, the developers create a dummy app that simply prints out the information gleaned from the clipboard. When the user copies an image, the app can immediately see the image content and the metadata like the location of where the photo was taken. This becomes a little more sinister when the demo shows that installed widgets can also silently collect all data copied to the clipboard, without user knowledge.
An absurdly named bill is set to form the latest attempt to create legislation requiring tech giants to provide a backdoor to encryption.
The Eliminating Abuse and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2019 (EARN IT Act) is co-sponsored by Lindsey Graham (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)…
Cybersecurity company Wandera found that some 23 iOS file-conversion apps used by three million people fail to use encryption, potentially putting the documents at risk.
All the apps in question were created by a single developer, Cometdocs, but Wandera says that the discovery raises a broader security issue…
A coronavirus app created by the Chinese government lets people check whether they have been in close contact with someone confirmed or suspected to have the virus.
The app is made possible because of close government monitoring of Chinese citizens…
A search warrant issued on behalf of Homeland Security Investigations provides a glimpse into how Apple detects and reports child abuse images uploaded to iCloud or sent via its email servers, while protecting the privacy of innocent customers.
The first stage of detection is automated, using a system common to most tech companies…
A new report from Motherboard today dives into a few iOS and Mac email apps/services that aren’t being very transparent about selling users’ personal data. Notably, one of them is even in Apple’s App Store ranked in the top 100 for productivity apps.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has acknowledged using databases that track millions of smartphone users, despite a court ruling intended to limit its powers to do so.
The data has reportedly been used for border and immigration enforcement, and there is some evidence to suggest that the DHS has not wanted to admit to having access to it…
A software engineer has discovered that Wacom tablets log every Mac app you open, and sends that data to a Google Analytics server…
Well-intentioned charities and academics have urged Facebook to halt encryption plans for its messaging apps, citing concerns about child exploitation.
The call was made in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in response to the company’s intention to adopt end-to-end encryption to protect user privacy…
A college has caused controversy after using a smartphone app to track student attendance in classes.
The app has so far been used to check up on athletes, but its use is now being expanded to include all new students…
Apple’s decision to be much more proactive in alerting users to background location tracking in iOS 13 has resulted in a 68% drop in the location data collected by apps. The issue has also seen greater media attention, with many people now learning about the existence of commercial location-tracking databases.
iOS has long offered users control over whether and when an app can track your location, but iOS 13 introduced two changes that have made users much more aware of the issue…
US President Donald Trump has again demanded that Apple compromise the security of iOS to unlock iPhones seized in criminal cases, saying that the company “holds the keys to many criminal minds.” His attack on Apple’s privacy measures were made in an interview with CNBC.
‘Frankly I’ve helped them a lot. I’ve given them waivers, because it’s a great company, but it made a big difference,’ Trump told Squawk Box co-host Joe Kernen, referring to tariff waivers in US-China trade war.
‘They could have given us that information. It would have been very helpful. Apple has to help us. And I’m very strong on it. They have the keys to so many criminals and criminal minds’ …
Kicking off 2020, security and privacy is a hot topic between the latest standoff between Apple and the FBI over the Pensacola incident as well as Apple reportedly abandoning its plan to bring end-to-end encryption to iCloud backups. With an in-depth report on what a robust iPhone cracking operation looks like from the inside, Fast Company shares some fascinating details and photos of NYC’s $10 million cyber lab.
There’s always been one major problem with Apple’s privacy claim that ‘What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone‘: it isn’t true of iCloud backups.
Although Apple uses end-to-end encryption for both iMessage and FaceTime, it doesn’t do the same for iCloud backups. They are encrypted, but Apple holds the key, meaning that the company has access to a copy of almost everything on your phone – and that includes stored messages.
I’d long expected Apple to fix this, but a report today claims that the company has decided not to…
The police service in Scotland has posted a video showing a Cellebrite device in action, accessing text messages, photos, and calendar entries from a smartphone. The same device is used by many US law enforcement agencies…
After a little privacy snafu last month around the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro still tracking location data even when users had turned off location services, Apple has added a toggle specifically for the UWB chip in the latest iOS 13.3.1 beta.
If you’re looking for a secure external drive that meets both US military and government security standards, there are a number of encrypted external SSD options around. I reviewed one approach a couple of years ago, the iStorage diskAshur 2, which has a built-in PIN pad for entering a seven- to 15-digit code to unlock the drive.
The SecureDrive BT is a similar idea, but instead of a PIN pad, you unlock it via Bluetooth. Specifically, when you plug the drive into your Mac, you can use Face ID on your iPhone to unlock it…
We reported yesterday that there’s a new FBI iPhone case — the bureau again asking Apple to unlock two iPhones belonging to a suspected shooter.
There are obvious similarities between the San Bernardino and Pensacola cases. Not just that both relate to shootings and involve two iPhones, but also the fact that the FBI has decided to go public with its request for Apple to help…
Apple made its first formal appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) since 1992 today. Apple’s senior director of privacy Jane Horvath joined a “Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable” discussion to talk the state of user privacy, Apple’s privacy standards, and more.
The FBI is again asking Apple to unlock two iPhones belonging to a suspected shooter.
The last time this happened, in the San Bernardino case, Apple refused. The current case relates to last month’s shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, where three people were killed…
Need to share some photos or videos but want to retain a bit more privacy than normal? Follow along for how to remove location data from photos and videos on iPhone before sharing.