Tag: Apple

Governments can spy via smartphone push notifications, Apple and Google confirm | Mashable

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Well, here’s something you might have never considered: Your iPhone and Android device push notifications can be used by law enforcement or governments to spy on you. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice with a concern that his office was attempting to investigate. According to Senator Wyden’s letter as first reported by Reuters, his office received a tip in the Spring of last year about how foreign governments were requesting push notification data from companies like Apple and Google. Read full story here:…

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Apple Says It Will Refuse Gov’t Demands To Expand Photo-scanning Beyond CSAM | Arstechnica

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Apple today said it will refuse any government demands to expand its new photo-scanning technology beyond the current plan of using it only to detect CSAM (child sexual abuse material). Apple has faced days of criticism from security experts, privacy advocates, and privacy-minded users over the plan it announced Thursday, in which iPhones and other Apple devices will scan photos before they are uploaded to iCloud. Many critics pointed out that once the technology is on consumer devices, it won’t be difficult for Apple to expand it beyond the detection…

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Google And Apple Are Banning Technology For Sharing Users’ Location Data | The Verge

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You may have never heard of the company X-Mode Social, but its code may be in some of the apps on your phone, tracking and selling your location data. Now, Google and Apple are trying to put a stop to it. According to a Wall Street Journal article, the tech companies have told developers to remove X-Mode’s code from their apps, or risk getting them pulled from their respective app stores. X-Mode works by giving developers code to put into their apps, known as an SDK, which tracks users’ location and then…

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What Is Contact Tracing? Here’s What You Need To Know About How It Could Affect Your Privacy | CBC News

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For weeks, Canadians have been hearing public health officials talk about the importance of testing and tracing: Test to know who has COVID-19; trace to know who might be infected so you can test them, too. There have been significant efforts on both fronts to improve capacity. And part of that effort has taken contact tracing into the digital age. What does that involve and what does it mean for your privacy? Read full story here: What Is Contact Tracing? Here’s What You Need To Know About How It Could…

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COVID-19: What Is Digital Contact Tracing And Is Canada Using It? | CTV News

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TORONTO — Canadian officials are turning their attention to digital contact tracing to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a strategy experts warn may come with significant privacy concerns. Officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are the latest in Canada to suggest the use of voluntary contact tracing apps that would use cellphone data to monitor people’s movements and warn them of any contact with COVID-19 positive patients, eliminating an arduous task usually performed manually by public health departments. Citing examples from Singapore and South Korea — two countries actively engaged in…

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ACLU Outlines Privacy Concerns For Contact Tracing Tech | Engadget

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As Google and Apple prepare to team up on surveillance tech to help track the spread of Covid-19, privacy watchdogs at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are urging the government and tech companies to take a tougher stance on privacy. The ACLU published a lengthy white paper outlining privacy concerns they say need to be taken into account in order for contact tracing tech to be effective. Apple and Google’s proposal would use bluetooth data to detect phone owners’ potential exposure to people who have tested positive for Covid-19.…

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Apple And Google Are Building Coronavirus Tracking Tech Into iOS And Android | CNET

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The two companies are working together, representing most of the phones used around the world. Two of the tech industry’s biggest players are working together to fight the coronavirus, announcing a new set of tools that could come to a majority of smartphones around the world. The new technology, outlined in white papers published by Apple and Google Friday, relies on Bluetooth wireless radio technology to help phones communicate with one another, ultimately warning people about people they’d come in contact with who are infected with the coronavirus. Apple and Google plan to…

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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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Apple Tells App Developers To Disclose Or Remove Screen Recording Code | TechCrunch

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Apple is telling app developers to remove or properly disclose their use of analytics code that allows them to record how a user interacts with their iPhone apps — or face removal from the app store, TechCrunch can confirm. In an email, an Apple spokesperson said: “Protecting user privacy is paramount in the Apple ecosystem. Our App Store Review Guidelines require that apps request explicit user consent and provide a clear visual indication when recording, logging, or otherwise making a record of user activity.” Read full story here: Apple Tells App…

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