Security

Google on Tuesday rebuffed a request by a European Union privacy body to delay implementation of changes in the search giant's privacy policies set to take effect on March 1. "[W]e have notified over 350 million authenticated Google users and provided highly visible notifications on our homepage and...

Attorneys General from 36 states have written to Google CEO Larry Page expressing deep concerns over the company's privacy terms. Google's new privacy policy, which permits greater information sharing among its products, should allow consumers to opt in, the attorneys general maintain. Besides lacki...

Top mobile app providers like Apple and Google have sided with California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris to increase privacy protections on mobile apps by providing consumers with more information about the personal data the apps collect. The effort was spearheaded by the California AG in an effo...

These days, cybercriminals are successfully circumventing advanced security controls with the precision of a sniper. In the crosshairs are banks, financial institutions, governments and enterprises. In a recent Gartner survey, 76 U.S. banks indicated that malware-based attacks were a growing problem...

The fallout from changes Google plans to make to its privacy policies and terms of service continues, with consumer advocacy group the Electronic Privacy Information Center suing the Federal Trade Commission over the issue. EPIC is seeking injunctive and other relief to force the FTC to enforce a co...

Verisign has alarmed the online security industry with its reluctant disclosure of repeated hack attacks on its network in 2010. The infrastructure company supports key servers of the Internet's backbone, serving as Top Level Domain host for .com, .org and .gov. That it was repeatedly penetrated in ...

Facebook and Washington state filed federal lawsuits on Thursday against Adscend Media for "clickjacking," a form of spamming that fools users into visiting advertising sites and divulging personal information. "Likejacking" is similar. Users believe links to spam sites are being sent to them by fri...

Both privacy advocates and representatives of businesses that handle consumer data are flocking to Brussels. Why? The EU has proposed a strict set of new data privacy rules that would restrict companies such as Facebook even more than they currently do. Facebook, et al., have descended on the city...

Thieves have made off with personally identifying data on 24 million customers of online shoe and apparel retailer Zappos. Announcing the hack on Sunday, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said that the thieves broke into the company's system through one of its servers in Kentucky. Although customers' personal d...

If there were ever a mobile device that could not handle another blow, it would be Research In Motion's tablet device, the PlayBook. News has emerged of a vulnerability in the way the Playbook connects to corporate emails. Essentially, the flaw allows hackers to tap into the Bluetooth connection tha...

As essential as open systems and mobile applications are for doing business, they also put significant strain on an organization's security systems and, in particular, the key line of defense: identity and access management systems. Allowing a broad spectrum of users -- from employees to partners, t...

In a response to privacy concerns over controversial software made by Carrier IQ, wireless provider Sprint has announced it will disable the data collection tool on its handsets. Carrier IQ software is designed to be installed in handsets to give wireless carriers information about how their network...

In May 2011, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a report based on a consultation process for online tracking, profiling and targeting of advertisers, and cloud computing. The goal was to engage the public on recent technological advancements and privacy complications in behavioral advertisi...

It seems that every day a new crisis hits the news about our privacy, but not many news stories are as astonishing as the recent revelation by a 25-year-old researcher about the Carrier IQ software that is installed on most modern Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones. Carrier IQ software collects m...

Online retailers considering selling their goods overseas need to know the expectations of consumers in the countries in which they want to do business. This is particularly important at the checkout -- with payment methods becoming an increasingly sensitive issue, consumer trust will help determin...