Privacy Blog

"Friends don’t let friends get spied on.' – Richard Stallman, President of the Free Software Foundation and longtime advocate of privacy in technology.

Leave a comment

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Admitted There Is No Practical Way for Americans to Avoid Having Their Movements Tracked by Its License Plate Readers

CBP published its new assessment — three years after its first — to notify the public that it plans to tap into a commercial database, which aggregates license plate data from both private and public sources, as part of its border enforcement efforts. The U.S. has a massive network of license plate readers, typically found on the roadside, to collect and record the license plates of vehicles passing by. License […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

EFF Launches Searchable Database of Police Agencies and the Tech Tools They Use to Spy on Communities

The following announcement was written by the Electronic Frontier Foundation: San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), in partnership with the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, today launched the largest-ever collection of searchable data on police use of surveillance technologies, created as a tool for the public to learn about facial recognition, drones, license plate readers, and other devices law enforcement agencies are acquiring to spy on […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

How to Apply for Australian Citizenship

With all the political upheavals in the world, along with various economic sanctions amongst countries, many people are finding the idea of obtaining citizenship in a different country can be enticing. Australia is certainly one of the more appealing countries, especially for anyone who speaks English either as their native tongue or else is already fluent in English as a second language. Australia is one of the safest countries in […]

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

Syncthing

Do you use two or more computers? Perhaps you have a desktop system and a laptop computer. Perhaps you use one computer at the office and a different one at home. Then again, perhaps you have two homes; a summer cottage or perhaps one home in the sunbelt and another “up north.” Do you keep separate computers in each location? Perhaps you and a relative who is also working on […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Backdoor Accounts Discovered in 29 FTTH Devices from Chinese Vendor C-Data

Here is another argument in favor of encryption without any “back doors”: In a report published this week, security researchers Pierre Kim and Alexandre Torres said they discovered seven vulnerabilities in the firmware of FTTH OLT devices manufactured by Chinese equipment vendor C-Data. Kim and Torres said they confirmed the vulnerabilities by analyzing the latest firmware running on two devices, but they believe that the same vulnerabilities impact 27 other […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Kinda Sorta Weakened Version of EARN IT Act Creeps Closer

The EARN It Act currently being debated in the US Senate promises to combat the scourge of online child sex abuse materials. But is it really just a thinly-veiled attack by government on privacy and end-to-end encryption? Most privacy experts believe the second possibility is the true intent of the proposed piece of legislation. The true purpose of the  EARN It Act is an attack by the U.S. government on […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Federal Judge Rejects Much of Legal Challenge to Maine Internet Privacy Law

A federal judge has rejected much of a legal challenge to Maine’s internet privacy law. The law, which just took effect on July 1, requires internet service providers to get consumers’ consent before using or sharing their internet-use data. Four internet industry groups representing internet service providers and led by a Pennsylvania-based trade group called ACA Connects sued in February seeking to block the law, which sets some of the […]

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

Florida Becomes First State to Enact DNA Privacy Law, Blocking Insurers From Genetic Data

Florida on Wednesday became the nation’s first state to enact a DNA privacy law, prohibiting life, disability and long-term care insurance companies from using genetic tests for coverage purposes. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1189, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor. It <strong>extends federal prohibitions</strong> against health insurance providers accessing results from DNA tests, such as those offered by 23andMe or AncestryDNA, to the three other insurers. Sprowls, […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

New ThiefQuest Ransomware Discovered Targeting macOS Users

Macs seem to have fewer problems with viruses, ransomware, and other forms of malware. However, the new ThiefQuest ransomware seems to be very bad and also very difficult to remove. You can read more in an article by Lily Hay Newman in the Wired web site at: https://www.wired.com/story/new-mac-ransomware-thiefquest-evilquest/. In the article, please note the statement “Though ThiefQuest is packed with menacing features, it’s unlikely to infect your Mac anytime soon […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Detroit Police Chief admits Facial Recognition Software Misidentifies 96% of the Time

Detroit police have used highly unreliable facial recognition technology almost exclusively against Black people so far in 2020, according to the Detroit Police Department’s own statistics. Detroit Police Chief James Craig admitted: “If we would use the software only [to identify subjects], we would not solve the case 95-97 percent of the time,” Craig said. “That’s if we relied totally on the software, which would be against our current policy … […]

Continue Reading →