When is a VPN not private? When you’re not paying for it
A complaint to the FTC alleges that the free Hotspot Shield VPN isn’t as private as you might think Continue reading When is a VPN not private? When you’re not paying for it
Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission
Former FTC lawyer: Expect fewer data breach and privacy cases under Ohlhausen
The Federal Trade Commission’s new chairwoman will focus the agency on economic harm to consumers, meaning there will be fewer cybersecurity and privacy enforcement actions, a former FTC official says. “I think you’ll see a drop off in cases,” former FTC attorney Whitney Merrill told CyberScoop after a presentation she co-hosted at the DEF CON hacker convention in Las Vegas last week. “We can’t deny that’s true.” New Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, told a lawyers at conference earlier this year that under her leadership the agency will focus on “objective, concrete harms such as monetary injury” and eschew “speculative injury, or … subjective types of harm.” Most data breaches fall into that latter category. The agency pursues those cases as part of its mission to fight identity theft. “It’s hard to show economic harm,” in data security and privacy breaches, and there hasn’t been much research into it, said Merrill, now an attorney for video game publishers Electronic Arts. […]
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Got Robocalled? Don’t Get Mad; Get Busy.
Several times a week my cell phone receives the telephonic equivalent of spam: A robocall. On each occasion the call seems to come from a local number, but when I answer there is that telltale pause followed by an automated voice pitching some product or service. So when I heard from a reader who chose to hang on the line and see where one of these robocalls led him, I decided to dig deeper. This is the story of that investigation. Hopefully, it will inspire readers to do their own digging and help bury this annoying and intrusive practice. Continue reading Got Robocalled? Don’t Get Mad; Get Busy.
FTC pushed from Hill on hacking of smart toys, kids’ privacy
Federal cybersecurity and privacy protections for children are not keeping up with the burgeoning data collection engaged in by “smart” toys and online games, Sen. Mark Warner said Monday, asking the Federal Trade Commission if the law needs to be changed. In a letter to acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen, the senator says he’s concerned the agency is soft-pedaling the dangers the Internet of Things might pose for children, citing a speech she gave earlier this year. “Reports of your statements casting these risks as merely speculative — and dismissing consumer harms that don’t pose “monetary injury or unwarranted health and safety risks” — only deepen my concerns,” the Virginia Democrat wrote. He cites the recent example of CloudPets, a product from Spiral Toys that’s marketed as “a message you can hug.” The company turned out to be storing users’ personal data in an insecure, public-facing online database — reportedly exposing over 800,000 customer logins and passwords and more than 2 million voice recordings […]
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Trump Signs Repeal of ISP Privacy Rules
President Trump signed a resolution to complete the overturning of internet privacy protections that would of prevented ISPs from tracking you online without first asking users to opt-in. Continue reading Trump Signs Repeal of ISP Privacy Rules
Threatpost News Wrap, February 13, 2017
RSA 2017 is previewed and last week’s report on iOS apps being vulnerable to interception attacks, macro malware coming to MacOS, and new Uber open source module are discussed. Continue reading Threatpost News Wrap, February 13, 2017
Smart TV Manufacturer Vizio Fined $2.2M for Tracking Customers
Smart TV manufacturer Vizio settled with the FTC on Monday over charges the company collected data on 11 million consumer TVs. Continue reading Smart TV Manufacturer Vizio Fined $2.2M for Tracking Customers
Smart TV Maker Fined $2.2 Million For Spying on Its 11 Million Users
Your government is spying on you! Businesses are spying on you! Your phone and browser are constantly spying on you! Even your TV is spying on you!
Yes, you should also worry about your “smart” TV, as one of the world’s biggest smart TV makers Vizio h… Continue reading Smart TV Maker Fined $2.2 Million For Spying on Its 11 Million Users
Shopping for W2s, Tax Data on the Dark Web
The 2016 tax season is now in full swing in the United States, which means scammers are once again assembling vast dossiers of personal data and preparing to file fraudulent tax refund requests on behalf of millions of Americans. But for those lazy identity thieves who can’t be bothered to phish or steal the needed data, there is now another option: Buying stolen W-2 tax forms from other crooks who have phished the documents wholesale from corporations. Continue reading Shopping for W2s, Tax Data on the Dark Web
FTC: D-Link Failed to Secure Routers, IP Cameras
The FTC alleged Thursday that D-Link neglected to adequately secure its wireless routers and IP cameras, putting its consumers at risk. Continue reading FTC: D-Link Failed to Secure Routers, IP Cameras