Month: July 2019

What’s In Your File? Federal Political Parties Don’t Have To Tell You | CBC News

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Federal political parties are collecting and compiling reams of personal information about Canadians, but unlike businesses and governments, there is no oversight, no requirement they seek consent and no limits on what they can do with it. Federal parties are exempt from privacy laws in Canada, something privacy advocates, as well as federal, provincial and territorial privacy commissioners, have unsuccessfully urged the government to change. Read full story here: What’s In Your File? Federal Political Parties Don’t Have To Tell You | CBC News

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US Issues Final Rules Halting Increase Of Fuel Efficiency Penalties | Engadget

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The Trump administration isn’t deterred by legal attempts to preserve a once-planned increase in fuel efficiency penalties. The NHTSA has issued final rules freezing the fine at $5.50 for every tenth of a mile per gallon a new vehicle consumes above required standards, halting an Obama-era plan that would have gradually raised the penalty to $14. The NHTSA said it was just following Congress’ desire to ensure the rate stayed at the statute’s requirement. Read full story here: US Issues Final Rules Halting Increase Of Fuel Efficiency Penalties | Engadget

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Facebook Will Reportedly Be Fined A Record $5 Billion Over Privacy Mishaps | CNET

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The Federal Trade Commission is expected to hit Facebook with a record-setting $5 billion fine for its alleged privacy mishaps, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported that commissioners voted this week to approve the settlement with the social network. The Republican majority favored the settlement, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. The commission voted 3-2 to settle, the Journal reported. Read full story here: Facebook Will Reportedly Be Fined A Record $5 Billion Over Privacy Mishaps | CNET

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Border Officials To Start Sharing Data About U.S., Canadian Travellers | CBC News

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Border agents will be able to share information about U.S. and Canadian citizens more freely as the third phase of a 2011 border agreement meant to make it easier for trade and travel across the Canada-U.S. border comes into effect. It was announced on Thursday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency will exchange biographic data, travel documents, and other information related to border crossings of U.S. and Canadian citizens. Read full story here: Border Officials To Start Sharing Data About U.S., Canadian Travellers | CBC News

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Fighting Climate Change May Be Cheaper And More Beneficial Than We Think | CBC News

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Ten years after U.S. cartoonist Joel Pett penned that cartoon, there is stronger scientific consensus than ever that climate change is real, and more and more evidence that fighting climate change has positive side effects or “co-benefits.” Environmental researchers and policy advisers now say it’s crucial to take those into account when making decisions about climate change mitigation and adaptation. Read full story here: Fighting Climate Change May Be Cheaper And More Beneficial Than We Think | CBC News

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Google Confirms Apple iPhone Bricking iMessage Bomb | Forbes

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Google’s Project Zero exists to hunt down zero-day vulnerabilities such as the yet to be fixed Windows 10 security bomb I wrote about recently. But it’s not just Microsoft that comes under scrutiny from the Google security researchers: a vulnerability in Apple’s iMessage has been found that “bricks” an iPhone and survives hard resets, leaving users having to wipe the device and start factory fresh again. Read full story here: Google Confirms Apple iPhone Bricking iMessage Bomb | Forbes

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More Than 1,000 Android Apps Harvest Data Even After You Deny Permissions | CNET

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Permissions on Android apps are intended to be gatekeepers for how much data your device gives up. If you don’t want a flashlight app to be able to read through your call logs, you should be able to deny that access. But even when you say no, many apps find a way around: Researchers discovered more than 1,000 apps that skirted restrictions, allowing them to gather precise geolocation data and phone identifiers behind your back. Read full story here: More Than 1,000 Android Apps Harvest Data Even After You Deny…

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Citizenship Question Causing An Uproar In U.S. Has Been Part Of Canada’s Census Since 1901 | CBC News

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A politically divisive debate continues to rage over U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to add a citizenship question to the U.S. census. That same question has been part of Canada’s census form for over a century without a ripple. Trump has been waging a fierce fight to add the controversial query to the 2020 census, and said Friday he’s now considering an executive order to get it done after a Supreme Court ruling blocked his efforts. Read full story here: Citizenship Question Causing An Uproar In U.S. Has Been Part…

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Passport Power: How Does Canada Stack Up Against The World? | Lifestyle From CTV News

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Some Asian passports are becoming the most valuable for travellers seeking easy access to as many countries as possible, while Canadian passports are a little more powerful than they used to be. The newest update to the Henley Passport Index, which ranks passports based on their ability to facilitate visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to as many countries as possible, places Canada in a seven-way tie for 16th place. Although the index lists the seven countries as being ranked sixth, there are 15 countries ahead of them. Read full story here:…

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The Pentagon Can Now Identify People By Measuring Their HeartBeats | Digital Trends

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As if facial recognition and digital fingerprinting weren’t scary enough, the Pentagon has reportedly developed a method for remotely identifying and tracking people through their heartbeat. Heartbeats are as unique and distinctive as fingerprints, but are distinct in that they can be read from a distance. And it’s this that the Pentagon is taking advantage of, according to a report in the MIT Technology Review. Developed to identify combatants in war zones, the idea is to listen in to those unique cardiac signatures using an infrared laser. Unlike other identification methods like…

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