Collaborate Disseminate
I was quoted in BuzzFeed: "My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value," Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News. "I’m not even talking about the privacy concerns, I mean the efficacy. Does anybody think this will do something useful?… Continue reading Me on COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps
New data showing the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on online fraud in the first quarter of 2020 shows that 26.5% of all transactions were fraud and abuse attempts, which is a 20% increase over the previous quarter. And with new fraud campaigns driven b… Continue reading New Research Shows 20% Spike in Fraud as Digital Behavior Shifts Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Instacart is taking legal action against bots that automatically place orders: Before it closed, to use Cartdash users first selected what items they want from Instacart as normal. Once that was done, they had to provide Cartdash with their Instacart email address, password, mobile number, tip amount, and whether they prefer the first available delivery slot or are more flexible…. Continue reading Automatic Instacart Bots
OneZero is tracking thirty countries around the world who are implementing surveillance programs in the wake of COVID-19: The most common form of surveillance implemented to battle the pandemic is the use of smartphone location data, which can track population-level movement down to enforcing individual quarantines. Some governments are making apps that offer coronavirus health information, while also sharing location… Continue reading Global Surveillance in the Wake of COVID-19
The New York Times is reporting on state-sponsored disinformation campaigns coming out of China: Since that wave of panic, United States intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the… Continue reading Chinese COVID-19 Disinformation Campaign
This one isn’t even related to contact tracing: On March 17, 2020, the federal government relaxed a number of telehealth-related regulatory requirements due to COVID-19. On April 3, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-43-20 (the Order), which relaxes various telehealth reporting requirements, penalties, and enforcements otherwise imposed under state laws, including those associated with unauthorized access and… Continue reading California Needlessly Reduces Privacy During COVID-19 Pandemic
Google and Apple have announced a joint project to create a privacy-preserving COVID-19 contact tracing app. (Details, such as we have them, are here.) It’s similar to the app being developed at MIT, and similar to others being described and developed … Continue reading Contact Tracing COVID-19 Infections via Smartphone Apps
Google and Apple have announced a joint project to create a privacy-preserving COVID-19 contact tracing app. (Details, such as we have them, are here.) It’s similar to the app being developed at MIT, and similar to others being described and developed elsewhere. It’s nice seeing the privacy protections; they’re well thought out. I was going to write a long essay… Continue reading Contact Tracing COVID-19 Infections via Smartphone Apps
It’s sad to think criminals are hard at work taking advantage of the extraordinary stress the world’s population is currently experiencing. But they are. New phishing scams exploiting anxiety about COVID-19 are trending upward. Akamai’s Carrier Data Science and Threat… Continue reading COVID-19 Phishing: Exploiting a Global Pandemic
Attempts to defraud consumers are on the rise, as scammers exploit the surge in online activity during the COVID-19 lockdown. Merchants are starting to suffer dramatic increases in COVID-19-related phishing activities, with stolen credentials released … Continue reading Surge in Online Shopping Drives Major Increase in Coronavirus-Themed Fraud Attempts