• Aug 26, 2020
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments,

As privacy problems continue to pile up for DNA databases, Covid-19 introduces a major new risk

Two years ago, Privacy News Online warned that the growing number of large-scale DNA databases were likely to become a serious threat to people’s privacy. Sadly, things have not improved since then. The increasing police use of DNA sites to find suspects for serious crimes, as described in that post, led one of the leaders … Continue reading “As privacy problems continue to pile up for DNA databases, Covid-19 introduces a major new risk”

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Privacy News Online | Weekly Review: August 14, 2020

Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of August 14th, 2020 Chinese gamers will need to verify their real names on all games by September The Chinese government is rolling out a real name authentication and verification system to all online games in the country by the end of the month. Some of these verification systems … Continue reading “Privacy News Online | Weekly Review: August 14, 2020”

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  • Aug 10, 2020
  • Caleb Chen
  • Censorship, Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

China expands Great Firewall to block HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 and ESNI

The Great Firewall of China is getting longer. Chinese censors upgraded the GFW to be able to block HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 and ESNI. We know about this news thanks to a joint report by three long-time observers of the Chinese censorship machine: iYouPort, the Great Firewall Report, and the University of Maryland. … Continue reading “China expands Great Firewall to block HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 and ESNI”

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  • Aug 4, 2020
  • Caleb Chen
  • Censorship, General Privacy News, Surveillance,

Chinese gamers will need to verify their real names on all games by September

China is rolling out a real name authentication and verification system for all gamers in the country by September as a way to track gamers and make sure that they aren’t playing too much. Chinese gamers on popular games such as Honour of Kings (aka Arena of Valor) by Tencent have already been subject to … Continue reading “Chinese gamers will need to verify their real names on all games by September”

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Private Internet Access shuts down VPN servers in Hong Kong due to new national security law

The Hong Kong VPN exit node will return as a geo-located region. Denver, CO, July 14th 2020 — Effective immediately, Private Internet Access (PIA) is wiping and shutting down our VPN servers located in Hong Kong in response to the new Chinese national security law foisted by fiat on Hong Kong. Private Internet Access, the … Continue reading “Private Internet Access shuts down VPN servers in Hong Kong due to new national security law”

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  • Jul 2, 2020
  • Caleb Chen
  • Censorship, Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

HongKongers prepare for China and new national security law by scrubbing digital footprint

As China takes over Hong Kong with a new national security law, Hongkongers prepare by cleaning up their social media presence. Before, under the now demolished “one country, two systems” lie, people posted online with an expectation that freedom of expression would be respected. That may no longer be on the table now that China … Continue reading “HongKongers prepare for China and new national security law by scrubbing digital footprint”

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  • Jun 25, 2020
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Top suppliers halt sales of facial recognition technology to the police – how much of a win is that really?

As this blog has noted, police forces around the world have been pushing for the routine deployment of real-time facial recognition technologies. It’s an attractive option for politicians. It offers the hope that more criminals will be arrested and convicted, and for a price that is constantly falling. As a result, it’s hard to win … Continue reading “Top suppliers halt sales of facial recognition technology to the police – how much of a win is that really?”

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  • May 13, 2020
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Here’s how China has made mass surveillance a “killer application” for AI: will the US do the same?

It’s increasingly evident that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a radical re-shaping of many aspects of society, not least in the world of privacy. Many people are trying to discern the shape of that new world in the current evolving situation. An interesting analysis from Naomi Klein picks up on many themes that have appeared … Continue reading “Here’s how China has made mass surveillance a “killer application” for AI: will the US do the same?”

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  • Apr 8, 2020
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments,

OK Zoomer: avoiding a privacy disaster in the post-coronavirus world

It would be an understatement to say that Covid-19 has affected practically every aspect of our lives, given the scale of the transformation. Its impact on privacy, too, is evident. Last week, this blog wrote about a rush by governments around the world to use smartphones to help enforce quarantines and carry out contact tracing. … Continue reading “OK Zoomer: avoiding a privacy disaster in the post-coronavirus world”

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  • Apr 3, 2020
  • Caleb Chen
  • Censorship, General Privacy News, Governments,

China’s “New IP” proposal to replace TCP/IP has a built in “shut up command” for censorship

The Chinese government and the Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei under its control are proposing a “New IP” addressing system for the internet to replace TCP/IP. The New IP system includes top-down checks and balances and such features as a “shut up command” that would allow a central controller to stop packets from being … Continue reading “China’s “New IP” proposal to replace TCP/IP has a built in “shut up command” for censorship”

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