The not-so-definitive guide to cybersecurity and data privacy laws

US cybersecurity and data privacy laws are, to put it lightly, a mess. Years of piecemeal legislation, Supreme Court decisions, and government surveillance crises, along with repeated corporate failures to protect user data, have created a legal landscape that is, for the American public and...

RSA Conference 2019: NIST's Privacy Framework Starts to Take Shape

Data privacy has been thrust into the limelight with the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe last year and a string of high-profile consumer privacy snafus. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has plans to help companies address data privacy with the...

RSA Conference 2019: Microsoft, Google, Twitter on Federal Privacy Regs

SAN FRANCISCO – With the advent of General Data Protection Regulation in Europe and state measures like the California Consumer Privacy Act CCPA of 2018 talk about a comprehensive U.S. privacy law has grown louder. However, some privacy advocates fear that any such federal legislation will be a...

FreeBSD : slixmpp -- improper access control (526d9642-3ae7-11e9-a669-8c164582fbac)

NVD reports : slixmpp version before commit 7cd73b594e8122dddf847953fcfc85ab4d316416 contains an incorrect Access Control vulnerability in XEP-0223 plugin Persistent Storage of Private Data via PubSub options profile, used for the configuration of default access model that can result in all of th...

RSAC 2019: Most Consumers Say ‘No’ to Cumbersome Data Privacy Practices

Despite high-profile headlines about companies such as Facebook and Google abusing consumers’ personal information, it turns out that the average American is still not implementing a full cadre of best practices for keeping data safe. According to survey findings from research released at the RSA...

Labs survey finds privacy concerns, distrust of social media rampant with all age groups

Before Cambridge Analytica made Facebook an unwilling accomplice to a scandal by appropriating and misusing more than 50 million users’ data, the public was already living in relative unease over the privacy of their information online. The Cambridge Analytica incident, along with other, seemingl...

This Week in Security News: Instagram Hackers and Enterprise Threats

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn how a group of hackers is stealing popular Instagram profiles. Also, learn about old and new cybersecurity issues inundated enterprise...

What K–12 schools need to shore up cybersecurity

Crumbling infrastructure. Gaps in curriculum. Antiquated devices. Difficult COPPA laws. Lack of funding. Those are just a few of the obstacles facing K–12 schools looking to adopt technology into their 21st century learning initiatives. Now add security concerns to the list, and you can see why...

This Week in Security News: Malware and Machine Learning

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about an infectious miner-malware and how malware can hide form AV Solutions. Also, understand how to use machine learning to detect...

Google Play Cracks Down on Malicious Apps

Google Play is ramping up its offensive against malicious apps, which have continued to plague the official app store for Android devices over the years. In a Wednesday post, Andrew Ahn, product manager at Google Play, said that the number of app submissions that were rejected on the app...

U.S. Senators Urge VPN Ban for Federal Workers Over Spying

UPDATE Two U.S. senators are taking bipartisan aim at foreign-owned virtual private networks VPNs, which they say are often headquartered “in countries that do not share American interests or values” – specifically, China and Russia. Sens. Ron Wyden D-Ore. and Marco Rubio R-Fla. have signed a joi...

Exposed: Instagram, OKCupid, Mumsnet All Face Data Concerns

It has once again been busy on the data privacy/exposure front as the week kicks off, with Instagram, dating site OKCupid and the UK’s powerhouse discussion site, Mumsnet, all making recent news. A report on GDPR breach notifications rounds out the latest. First up, Instagram users are apparently...

This Week in Security News: Consumer Data and Malware

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn what security issues and critical threats will impact consumer data this year. Also, learn about a malicious Adobe app targeting macOS...

These iOS apps have been secretly recording your screen activities

By Waqas Apple has vowed to remove iOS apps that record screen data. User data recording has become an issue of concern among the cyber-security community as the data is used to launch a variety of scams, identify customer demographics, and targeted marketing gimmicks. Mobile phone manufacturers...

Threatpost News Wrap Podcast For Feb. 1

Data privacy dominated the week of news ending Feb. 1. News headlines included both Facebook and Google finding themselves in hot water over distributing data-sucking apps on iOS devices. A severe flaw was also found in kid-tracking IoT smartwatches that could expose sensitive information for...

Apple Blasts Facebook Over Data-Sucking 'Research' App

Apple has revoked Facebook’s enterprise iOS developer certificate on the heels of a “Facebook Research” VPN app that was being distributed to consumers; the app paid teens and Millennial users in exchange for being able to track their phone and web activity, and has been available since 2016. App...

Facebook Paid Teens $20 to Install 'Research' App That Collects Private Data

If you are thinking that Facebook is sitting quietly after being forced to remove its Onavo VPN app from Apple's App Store, then you are mistaken. It turns out that Facebook is paying teenagers around $20 a month to use its VPN app that aggressively monitors their smartphone and web activity and...

What If Your VPN Keeps Logs and Why You Should Care

By David Balaban Have you ever asked yourself the question: “So what if my VPN keeps logs?" Don't worry. It's a good question to ask. It means you're actually curious about the nuances of data collection, management and how they affect you. In order to answer this question, we first have to delve...

This Week in Security News: Ransomware and Cyber Threats

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about new routines for encryption of JobCrypter ransomware. Also, understand how Emotet has managed to evolve into one of the most...

Google Fined $57M in Largest GDPR Slap Yet

France’s National Data Protection Commission CNIL has fined Google $57 million €50 million for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation GDPR – the largest fine yet issued under the EU’s new data privacy law. In investigating group complaints from privacy advocacy groups None Of Your...