Tag: data privacy
US blocks sales of citizens’ data to hostile powers
In what is being seen by some on the Hill as a case of too little too late, Washington has this week finally blocked the sale of US citizens’ personal sensitive data to four hostile foreign powers: North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran. Sensitive data includes ordinary people’s social security numbers, financial account numbers, biometric information, genetic information, precise geolocation information, and most of their private communications. Washington’s Energy and Commerce Committee top Democrat, Congressman Frank Pallone Jr, simultaneously issued a statement highlighting the massive threat foreign data sales present to ordinary people.
Rise in Tax-Related Phishing Scams Detected – March 22nd
Microsoft's Threat Intelligence arm issued a warning on the rise of new, sophisticated tax phishing scams that could lead to stolen personal and financial data. These tax-related phishing scams are initiated by impersonating trusted employers, tax agencies, and payment processors. Victims click on a malicious attachment, which leads to a believable landing page designed to capture sensitive information.
Google’s Improvements to Chrome’s ‘Safe Browsing’ Mode – March 18th
Google announced major security-focused revamps to Chrome's 'Safe Browsing' mode, which enables the service to work while checking against a server-side malware-site list in real-time. The added safety feature to Google Chrome's 'Safe Browsing' mode is a massive improvement compared to the browsing mode cross-checking against lists of malware-infected sites that were manually added every two hours.
27,000 Private Data Stolen from Stanford Ransomware Attack – March 12th
Stanford University announced that the personal information of 27,000 individuals was stolen as a result of a September 2023 ransomware attack. The University also disclosed that only one system was breached, namely the "Department of Public Safety" network. The data included biometric data, dates of birth, social security numbers, government IDs, passport numbers, and driver's license numbers.
Public AI opens doors to cybercrime
Companies using public artificial intelligence (AI) services such as Microsoft-backed ChatGPT are at increasing risk of allowing cybercriminals to access confidential data. According to cybersecurity firm Group-IB’s Hi-Tech Crime Trends Report 2023/2024, between June and October of 2023, over 130,000 unique hosts with access to OpenAI were compromised, representing a 36 percent rise over the first five months of the year. Companies currently take one of two main approaches to integrating AI into workflows. One is to use public AI models and the second is to create bespoke proprietary AI systems based on pre-trained and available models. The second approach is by far the safest as it helps control data exchange with AI systems at every stage, guaranteeing confidentiality. But this is far more expensive and labor-intensive than using more insecure publicly available AI services.
Joe Biden to cripple China’s car industry
US President Joe Biden has dealt a potentially devastating blow to China’s tottering economy by accusing China’s auto industry of posing a serious cyber risk to US national security. An impassioned speech from the President concerning the cyber threat posed by China comes only weeks after a similar warning from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning China’s plans to launch a cyber-attack on US national infrastructure. “China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch,” promises the President.
Gen Z’ers ditch smartphone services
Silicon Valley has a new problem - a generation that is turning off its digital lifestyle and ditching its smartphones. Gen Z, young people born between 1997 and 2012, have given Silicon Valley’s meticulously planned digital future for humanity a firm thumbs down. Fifty percent of Gen Z’ers are interested in taking a break from their smartphones, while only 20 percent of Boomers, people born from 1946 to 1964, want a break, according to a survey from web-hosting company Squarespace. Last year, smartphone sales shipments dipped by around 70 million units, hitting the lowest shipment level in a decade, driven by falling sales in North America and China. At the same time, the new generation is buying old-school flip phones, nicknamed ‘dumbphones’, in preference to the latest Apple smartphones. According to market researcher Counterpoint Research: “Feature phones in the US market have made a resurgence as Gen Z and millennials are advocating for digital detoxes due to the mental health concerns brought on by smartphones and social media…Given the relatively cheap price point of feature phones ($20-$50 with a prepaid carrier and $50-$100 unlocked), more people are trying out these devices and sharing their experiences on social media.”.
JP Morgan Chase Combats 45 Billion Cyber Attacks Daily – January 18th
On Wednesday, January 17th, JPMorgan Chase's asset and wealth management division head, Mary Callahan Erdoes, said during the World Economic Forum in Davos that the firm faces a staggering 45 billion breach attempts daily. Mary explained on a panel session that they have more security engineers than Google and Amazon, out of necessity, as threat actors increasingly get "smarter, savvier, quicker, more devious and mischievous."
Google to Test Third-Party Cookies Restrictions by End of 2024 – January 5th
As part of Google's "Privacy Sandbox" initiative, Google Chrome plans to test removing third-party cookies for 1% of its users by the end of 2024. Going against the pleas of Google-focused advertisers, Google's move to remove these third-party cookies used to track user data to build targeted advertiser profiles aims to enhance the web browser's data privacy.
Plastic surgeons and patients targeted in extortion rackets
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns that cybercriminals and online blackmailers are targeting plastic surgeons to harvest electronically protected health information (ePHI) on their patients. Personal ePHI includes sensitive information and photographs, enabling the cybercriminals to extort money from the patients themselves as well as from plastic surgery practices, something that could prove lucrative to blackmailers targeting wealthy celebrities who are in the public eye.