Problems with Georgia’s Voter Registration Portal

It’s possible to cancel other people’s voter registrations:

On Friday, four days after Georgia Democrats began warning that bad actors could abuse the state’s new online portal for canceling voter registrations, the Secretary of State’s Office acknowledged to ProPublica that it had identified multiple such attempts…

…the portal suffered at least two security glitches that briefly exposed voters’ dates of birth, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers and their full driver’s license numbers—the exact information needed to cancel others’ voter registrations…

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Is electronic signature a proper/sufficient mean for identification/authentication?

We have received an electronically signed GDPR data request from a person who has only provided his name and surname. We wanted to be sure that this person is who he claims he is, so we have asked to additionally provide his national ID nu… Continue reading Is electronic signature a proper/sufficient mean for identification/authentication?

Air conditioners may help catch criminals, by snagging their DNA

Even if a criminal wears gloves, their cast-off DNA may still be present in a room’s air after they leave. A new study suggests that if such telltale material gets sucked up by an air conditioner, it could let forensic investigators know if a suspect h… Continue reading Air conditioners may help catch criminals, by snagging their DNA

Surveillance through Push Notifications

The Washington Post is reporting on the FBI’s increasing use of push notification data—”push tokens”—to identify people. The police can request this data from companies like Apple and Google without a warrant.

The investigative technique goes back years. Court orders that were issued in 2019 to Apple and Google demanded that the companies hand over information on accounts identified by push tokens linked to alleged supporters of the Islamic State terrorist group.

But the practice was not widely understood until December, when Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), in a …

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Tamper-proof glueprints distinguish real from fake at over 99% accuracy

ID verification tags aren’t much use if someone can just peel them off and stick them to a fake product. MIT scientists have now designed ID tags that use the glue itself as a kind of fingerprint, and will scramble the barcode if someone peels it off.C… Continue reading Tamper-proof glueprints distinguish real from fake at over 99% accuracy

Facial recognition app helps scientists identify rabies-vaccinated dogs

In regions where dogs often run loose, don’t wear tags and aren’t microchipped, it can be difficult for authorities to keep track of which ones have already been vaccinated against rabies. A new app could help, by identifying individual dogs via facial… Continue reading Facial recognition app helps scientists identify rabies-vaccinated dogs

Microneedle patches could soon be used to tattoo our pets

While it’s important for your dog or cat to have a form of ID in case they get lost, tags can fall off, and microchips can migrate out of place. Japanese scientists are developing an alternative, in the form of quick and painless tattoos.Continue Readi… Continue reading Microneedle patches could soon be used to tattoo our pets

Premium smart binoculars can identify thousands of birds and animals

You can paw through books or search online to try an identify the strange bird visiting your garden feeder, or tap into the power of the Merlin Bird ID app. Now sports optics manufacturer Swarovski Optik has cooked Merlin smarts into a pair of high-end… Continue reading Premium smart binoculars can identify thousands of birds and animals