Tag: Privacy

U.S. customs searched a record number of electronic devices last year | CBC News

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United States customs officers conducted a record number of searches of electronic devices last year of people travelling to the U.S., and a recent update to its directives adds new devices such as smart watches, SIM cards and flash drives to the list of things subject to search. Officers searched 55,318 computers, cellphones and other devices in 2025, up 17.6 per cent from the 47,047 devices searched in 2024 and up 32.4 per cent from the 41,767 devices searched in 2023, according to statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection…

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Homeland Security has reportedly sent out hundreds of subpoenas to identify ICE critics online | Engadget

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly been asking tech companies for information on accounts posting anti-ICE sentiments. According to The New York Times, DHS has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta over the past few months. Homeland Security asked the companies for names, email addresses, telephone numbers and any other identifying detail for accounts that have criticized the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or have reported the location of its agents. Google, Meta and Reddit have complied with some of the requests Read…

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Data breach at Canada Computers & Electronics leaks personal customer information | CBC News

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Canada Computers & Electronics says a data breach has leaked information about some of its customers, though several say they are unhappy with the scant details the retailer has provided — including how many of them were affected, and when the breach occurred. The company became aware of the breach — which included personal information of its website customers “including credit card information” — on Friday, it told CBC News in a statement. Canada Computers & Electronics said the affected customers were informed on Monday, given recommendations about steps to…

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What are your rights as a Canadian if asked by a U.S. border agent to see your social media? | CTV News

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The news that some travelers visiting the U.S. might soon be asked to share personal things like social media and email accounts has left many Canadians unsettled about what could happen at the border. A notice published Wednesday in the U.S. Federal Register said U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises collecting five years’ worth of social media information from travellers from several countries that don’t need to get visas to come to the U.S., including Canada. It’s the latest move by the Trump administration when it comes to monitoring international…

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U.S. to photograph Canadian travellers when they enter and exit at all land borders, airports | CBC News

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Warren Shepell had an unsettling experience this month when boarding his flight from Cleveland heading home to Toronto. Just before getting on the plane, he says two uniformed officers approached him on the boarding ramp (Jetway), and one took his photo. “I was aghast. I felt ambushed,” said Shepell, a noted Canadian psychologist. Read full story here: U.S. to photograph Canadian travellers when they enter and exit at all land borders, airports | CBC News

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Man Alarmed to Discover His Smart Vacuum Was Broadcasting a Secret Map of His House | Futurism

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Forget your phone spying on you — maybe it’s your vacuum you should really be worried about. In a post on his blog Small World, the computer programmer and electronics enthusiast Harishankar Narayanan detailed a startling find he made about his $300 smart vacuum: it was transmitting intimate data out of his home. Narayanan had been letting his iLife A11 smart vacuum — a popular gadget that’s gained mainstream media coverage — do its thing for about a year, before he became curious about its inner workings. Read full story…

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Canadians’ health data at risk of being handed over to U.S. authorities, experts warn | CBC News

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Canadians’ electronic health records need more protections to prevent foreign entities from accessing patient data, according to commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “Canadian privacy law is badly outdated,” said Michael Geist, law professor and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa and co-author of the commentary. “We’re now talking about decades since the last major change.” Geist says electronic medical records systems from clinics and hospitals — containing patients’ personal health information — are often controlled by U.S. companies. The data is…

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Scientists develop method to identify people by how their bodies disrupt Wi-Fi | TechSpot

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A hot potato: As Wi-Fi spreads everywhere, a new technology could identify you just by how your body disturbs wireless signals – no cameras, no devices needed. This breakthrough raises urgent questions about privacy in a world where invisible tracking might soon become routine. Researchers at La Sapienza University of Rome have developed a method they say can re-identify individuals based solely on how their bodies disrupt Wi-Fi signals – a breakthrough likely to reignite debates over privacy and surveillance. The technique is more powerful and less invasive than biometric…

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What’s going on with Nova Scotia Power’s billing in wake of ransomware attack | CBC News

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Nova Scotia Power is sending workers out to manually check power meters at homes to ensure accurate billing, as some customers complain of receiving higher than expected bills. It’s the latest development since a ransomware attack breached the company’s computer systems on March 19 and brought some of its systems to a halt. More than half of the utility’s customers in Nova Scotia — about 280,000 — were informed by letter that their personal information may have been compromised. Read full story here: What’s going on with Nova Scotia Power’s…

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U.S. college student pleads guilty in data breach that affected North American schools | CBC News

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A Massachusetts college student has agreed to plead guilty to hacking cloud-based education software provider PowerSchool and stealing data pertaining to millions of North American students and teachers that hackers used to extort the company and school districts into paying ransoms. Matthew Lane, 19, entered into a plea deal on Tuesday to resolve charges filed in federal court in Worcester, Mass., related to the hacking of two companies, which were then extorted for ransoms. Court papers did not identify the affected companies by name, but a person familiar with the…

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