Category Archives: Tim Cook

Congress presses Tim Cook and Larry Page for answers on security and privacy

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Congressional Republicans sent letters Monday to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Larry Page asking for answers on the collection and use of location and audio data by iPhone and Android devices as well as third-party access to consumer data. The two letters came out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. They were signed by four members: Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Gregg Harper, R-Miss., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio. In response to reports that Google collected location data on Android devices even when location services were turned off, the committee cited Android users’ “reasonable expectation of privacy” and called the alleged tracking behavior “troubling.” “In June 2017, Google announced changes to Gmail that would halt scanning the contents of a user’s email to personalize advertisements to ‘keep privacy and security paramount,’” […]

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Congress wants answers on embargo of Spectre and Meltdown information

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Lawmakers on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have sent letters to various CEOs at top tech companies asking why information about massive computer chip vulnerabilities was held under embargo for months. The letters focus on the Spectre and Meltdown bugs, deep-rooted flaws in chips produced by leading computer hardware companies that could allow hackers to access steal sensitive data from machines created as far back as 1995. Co-authored by panel Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and members Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Gregg Harper, R-Miss., the letters request answers about why the bugs weren’t disclosed when the companies learned about them in June 2017. The committee has jurisdiction over technology issues. Information about the flaws was supposed to go public in late January, but security researchers tweeted proof-of-concept code before the companies were ready to make announcements. That tweet lead to wider public scrutiny, forcing the companies involved to […]

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FBI might have a way to unlock shooter’s iPhone without Apple’s help

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The government asked a judge to delay deciding whether Apple must build an iPhone backdoor while the FBI tests its own backdoor. Continue reading FBI might have a way to unlock shooter’s iPhone without Apple’s help→