19 Million Canadians Have Had Their Data Breached In Eight Months | CTV News

An estimated 19 million Canadians have been affected by data breaches between November 2018 and June 2019, according to numbers obtained by “Attention Control with Kevin Newman,” a new podcast that launched Monday. The numbers come from 446 breaches that were reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). Victims of these kinds of data breaches are vulnerable to identity theft, financial crime, even violence in some cases. Read full story here: 19 Million Canadians Have Had Their Data Breached In Eight Months | CTV News

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The FBI Wants To Collect Social Media Data From Instagram, Facebook, And Twitter | Digital Trends

The FBI is looking for a partner to collect data from your social media profiles, which could pit it against new privacy policies Facebook agreed to as part of its $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A request for proposal posted on Aug. 8 reveals that the FBI wants to hire a third party contractor to help it scrape to social media data “to proactively identify and reactively monitor threats to the United States and its interests.” The document was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.…

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

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

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

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

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

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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Amazon’s Helping Police Build A Surveillance Network With Ring Doorbells | CNET

If you’re walking in Bloomfield, New Jersey, there’s a good chance you’re being recorded. But it’s not a corporate office or warehouse security camera capturing the footage — it’s likely a Ring doorbell made by Amazon. While residential neighborhoods aren’t usually lined with security cameras, the smart doorbell’s popularity has essentially created private surveillance networks powered by Amazon and promoted by police departments. Read full story here: Amazon’s Helping Police Build A Surveillance Network With Ring Doorbells | CNET

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US Now Requires Social Media Info For Visa Applications | Engadget

If you want to stay in the US, you’ll likely have to share your internet presence. As proposed in March 2018 (and to some extent in 2015), the country now requires virtually all visa applicants to provide their social media account names for the past five years. The mandate only covers a list of selected services, although potential visitors and residents can volunteer info if they belong to social sites that aren’t mentioned in the form. Read full story here: US Now Requires Social Media Info For Visa Applications |…

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DHS Gave Border Agents Free Rein Over Thousands Of Warrantless Device Searches | CNET

Border agents conducted more than 33,000 device searches in 2018. Court records show they were allowed to share what they found with other government agencies. Police are required to get a warrant to search through your devices, but the Department of Homeland Security’s border patrol agents haven’t been following those rules, documents show. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed evidence in court on Tuesday detailing testimony and documents on how the DHS has allowed its agents to search through people’s phones and laptops without a…

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