• Feb 5, 2018 |
• Glyn Moody |
• Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments,

The real Strava heatmap story is not threats to national security, but about privacy and de-anonymization

At the end of January, Nathan Ruser posted a tweet about Strava, a Website and mobile app used to track athletic activity via GPS coordinates. It concerned Strava’s global heatmap: “the largest, richest, and most beautiful dataset of its kind. It is a visualization of Strava’s global network of athletes,” as the company puts it. … Continue reading “The real Strava heatmap story is not threats to national security, but about privacy and de-anonymization”

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• Nov 21, 2017 |
• David Meyer |
• General Privacy News, Surveillance,

Germany is dealing with children’s surveillance watches in the right way

The internet of things comes with all kinds of privacy worries, and one country in particular is keen to address them. Having earlier this year banned an internet-connected talking doll for its lack of proper security, Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency, or BNA), has now turned its attention to smartwatches that are marketed for use … Continue reading “Germany is dealing with children’s surveillance watches in the right way”

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• Aug 31, 2017 |
• Glyn Moody |
• Cybersecurity, Encryption, General Privacy News, Surveillance,

Even encrypted data streams from the Internet of Things are leaking sensitive information; here’s what we can do

As the Internet of Things (IoT) begins to enter the mainstream, concerns about the impact such “smart” devices will have on users’ privacy are growing. Many of the problems are obvious, but so far largely anecdotal. That makes a new paper from four researchers at Princeton University particularly valuable, because they analyze in detail how … Continue reading “Even encrypted data streams from the Internet of Things are leaking sensitive information; here’s what we can do”

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• Aug 25, 2017 |
• Glyn Moody |
• Copyright, Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Welcome to the Internet of listening, eavesdropping, spying things

There’s a new frontier for digital privacy: home devices that understand spoken commands. That’s impressive and convenient, but it comes with definite risks, as Rick Falkvinge pointed out earlier this week. The product sites of the main players in the so-called “smart speaker” sector – Amazon, Apple, and Google – offer plenty of upbeat advertising … Continue reading “Welcome to the Internet of listening, eavesdropping, spying things”

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• Jun 20, 2016 |
• Caleb Chen |
• Cybersecurity, General Privacy News,

Can the previous owner of your security camera spy on you? Webcam privacy scare highlights Internet of Things security difficulties

Over the weekend, the security community heard rumors about a potential issue with the NETGEAR Internet of Things wireless security camera. A user reported to the privacy subreddit that after returning the device and not uninstalling the app or deleting an account, the user was still able to see camera footage from the new owner’s … Continue reading “Can the previous owner of your security camera spy on you? Webcam privacy scare highlights Internet of Things security difficulties”

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