Bye-Bye, DNA - Hello GSK (and others)
via The Outline's author, Paris Martineau, comes this tale of opt-in/opt-out, GlaxoSmithKline 23andMe. and of course, The Goods - , your DNA. Of which, results in a nagging question: Why would I (or you for that matter), agree to hand over my uniquely identifying DNA data to a commercial enterprise (that only answers to it's shareholders, and only has it's best interests in mind) to use as they see fit? Oh, and a couple of other questions: Do you trust a big-pharma corporation with your own personal Map of Life? What about the future use of that data, once it's in the slipstream of artificially intelligent genetic-testing-reliant health insurance companies? Food for Thought or just Paranoia? You be the judge; after all, it's your DNA, right?
"In short, most — if not all — of the information 23andMe has on its users has probably been shared with someone that isn’t 23andMe itself, and money might have even changed hands. Which is all perfectly within the company’s rights to do, since they agreed to it (probably blindly) when they signed up." - via The Outline author Paris Martineau in the well crafted post 'How To Sign Away The Rights To Your DNA'
EDPB To ICANN: No Can Do
In one of the more amusing (El Reg is more often than not, amusing...) article titles to date: Kieren McCarthy's 'ICANN't get no respect: Europe throws Whois privacy plan in the trash' let's us know - whilst mincing few words - of the apparent ineptitude of current ICANN efforts to align WHOIS with European privacy concerns (via a correspondence from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB)). I Say, it's timee to create another study ICANN! ICANN's repsonse? See ICANN 's General Counsel and Secretary John O. Jeffrey's blog post. Perhaps it's time for an ICANNexit...
'Despite existing solely to develop rules for the internet's underlying infrastructure and possessing a $100m annual budget, ICANN has put itself in the position where it has effectively outsourced decisions over the critical Whois service to a group of bureaucrats in Brussels.' - via Kieren McCarthy, writing at El Reg
Take Cover! EU Threatens Privacy War Against United States
Lucian Armasu, writing at Tom's Hardware, details actions under contemplation by European Lawmakers. Today's Must Read (maintain some composure when examining the rationale of the EU Parliament...).
California GDPR →
Jon Brodkin, writing at Ars Technica covers the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 - which was voted in unanimously by the State Legislature and is wending it's way to the GOvernor's office for the requisite signatory approval by the Chief Executive of the State of California, Jerry Brown.
A California GDPR? You be the judge, and importantly, here's the Bill's Summary Page.
TOR, Mozilla Cozy Up
via Lucian Armasu, writing at Tom's Hardware, comes news of Project Fusion, a partnership - if-you-will of the Tor Project and Mozilla, in an effort to provision enhanced privacy and security to the Open Source browser. Today's Must Read!
The Supremes, Warrants Required
via the prolific Cyrus Farivar (author of Habeas Data), whilst opining at our beloved Ars Technica, elaborates upon the 2018/06/22 decision by our United States Supreme Court. In which, Cyrus details the decision SCOTUS has come to, regarding the application of a warrant standard upon public law enforcement agencies whence those agencies are focused upon cell-site location data search. Certainly, more than most, Cyrus' piece on the decsision is a Monday Must Read and a victory of sorts for Privacy Advocates nationwide!
Artificial Intelligence, The Facial Recognition Debacle →
via Ben Coxworth, writing at NewAtlas, comes a fascinating discussion of an AI duel, of sorts. Squarely ensconced in the facial recognition arena, this is a story you won't want to miss. Today's Must Read!
'As concerns over privacy and data security on social networks grow, U of T Engineering researchers led by Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) and graduate student Avishek Bose (ECE MASc candidate) have created an algorithm to dynamically disrupt facial recognition systems.' posted by Marit Mitchell, University of Toronto, U of T Engineering News
EFF Releases New PrivacyBadger, Now at Version 2018.5.10 →
via Martin Brinkmann, writing at GHacks, comes a report detailing the release of the most recent version of PrivacyBadger crafted by developers at Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Now at Version 2018.5.10, PrivacyBadger will protect you from web tracking by (for example) the borderline-nefarious-link-shimmming operators at Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB). Enjoy the Protection!
Google, Apple, Linkedin, Amazon, Facebook Under EU Investigation, The GDPR Chronicles
Predictable news via ZDNet's David Meyer, of the big tech players (Google, Facebook) fall from privacy-grace has appeared, with word of Apple, Amazon and let's not forget LinkedIn added to the privacy-perp-walk now de rigueur on sur lé continent. Certainement le jour doit lire!
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint: We're Selling Your Location Data To Prison Tech Company. Nothing To See Here!
via Zack Whittaker, writing at ZDNet's Zero Day, exposes the selling of mobile device location data (for all customers) to a prison technology-focused organization monikered 'Securus. Where's the consent? H/T
Eurononsense: Hitchhikers Guide To The End Of Planet WHOIS →
Pending Evidence to the Contrary, the end of Planet WHOIS is slated for 2018/05/25 ostensibly due to nonsensical GPDR legislation, crafted by those Braniacs in Brussels. Better find that copy of Doug Adam's mantra to mankind - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, your towel, and perhaps some stout as it shall be a bumptious ride when traveling with Arthur Dent, Esq. ICANN attempted with amusing futility to fix things rightup, but failed to acquire consensus on WHOIS usage in the Wacky Age of EU Mandated Privacy. Via the outstanding reportage of Kieren McCarthy writing at El Reg. Discombobulated? You and me both, Pal!
The WHOIS Enfeeblement →
Brian Krebs, writing at his eponymous KrebsOnSecurity, reiterates the debacle of the new EU data privacy regulations, and the affect on legitmate utility in the information security space. Today's MustRead.
MoviePass Screws-the-Pooch →
Well - dammit - I was wrong... Early last week I made the error in a post on Monday 2018/03/05, in which I managed to scribble this diatribe: To Wit, "Easily the most egregiously moronic idea I've heard this month (and it's only 5 days in(!)" ...
Well, that declaration has been overshadowed in our highly-read Observed-Stupidity-In-Security-And-Privacy-News-Department by a bottom-of-the-sea-deeply-ignorant statement uttered by MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe regarding his extraordinary pleasure at tracking users within the company's MoviePass iPhone and Android apps (see below).
'The update comes after CEO Mitch Lowe made comments at the Entertainment Finance Forum in Los Angeles last week, claiming that the company was tracking users’ locations. “We watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards,” commented Lowe, according to a report from Media Play News. - via Chaim Gartenberg, writing at The Verge
Bravado? Misplaced Confidence? Hairplugs too-tight? Too Much Campari before dinner? I think not, just simple, unmitigated and blatant stupidity...
Perhaps a leadership change is in order, eh MoviePass? At least, the company did manage to (allegedly) remove the tracking-bits from the product and resissue the apps in the apropos app stores. Of course, there is always bad news with this type of mea culpa: In a statement made to Engadget, the company claimed they are still planning to use location data marketing to enhance their revenue stream. Ah, yes, the old Give It To 'Em, Then Take It Away gambit. Oh Joy!
Ubuntu, The Collector →
Martin Brinkmann, writing at gHacks, illuminates the questionable data gathering efforts by Canonical, producers of Ubuntu Linux. Read Martin's concise examination of the issue, of which - most certainly - is Today's Must Read.