Google+ To Shut Down After Coverup Of Data-Exposing Bug | TechCrunch

Google is about to have its Cambridge Analytica moment. A security bug allowed third-party developers to access Google+ user profile data since 2015 until Google discovered and patched it in March, but decided not to inform the world. When a user gave permission to an app to access their public profile data, the bug also let those developers pull their and their friends’ non-public profile fields. Indeed, 496,951 users’ full names, email addresses, birth dates, gender, profile photos, places lived, occupation and relationship status were potentially exposed, though Google says it…

Read More

83 Percent Of Routers Are Open To A High-Risk Vulnerability | Digital Trends

A new study out by the American Consumer Institute shows that 83 percent of routers in the United States are vulnerable to cyberattacks.  The group finds that a majority of those routers have critical security vulnerabilities, primarily due to the lack of firmware updates. In testing a total of 186 routers from leading manufacturers like Netgear and Linksys, the study found that over 155 were vulnerable to potential cyberattacks. Individually, there were 172 vulnerabilities per router, and 32,003 vulnerabilities in total. Read full story here: 83 Percent Of Routers Are Open To…

Read More

‘It’s Terrifying’: Marketplace’s Smart Home Hacking Tests Reveal Major Privacy Concerns | CBC News

All it took was a white van, a team of three hackers and a phishing email to remotely unlock Johanna Kenwood and Peter Yarema’s front door. The couple’s home in Oakville, Ont., is automated with a number of smart devices, including their lights, thermostat, security cameras and the deadbolt on their door. “I like the security and knowing what’s going on in my house when I’m away,” said Kenwood. And the couple enjoys the “convenience” of an automated home, said Yarema, for “some of the simpler things,” like when your…

Read More

Can Canadian Border Agents Search Your Phone Or Laptop? A New Guide Explains | CTV News

A civil liberties group has published a new guide for people concerned about Canadian border agents searching their electronic devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Although there are unsettled legal questions about how these searches should work, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says “the bottom line is that the CBSA can and does search electronic devices at the border” without a warrant and sometimes randomly. That means border agents could end up seeing private emails and text messages, photos, web browser histories and sensitive documents, even if you’ve done nothing…

Read More

Will Canada Become The Next Country To Offer Mobile Passports? Feds Studying Idea Despite Privacy Fears – National | Globalnews.ca

Immigration officials are exploring the idea of allowing Canadians to renew or potentially use their passports via mobile apps on their phones. If you have a Canadian passport, you know the deal. Every five to 10 years, you go through the process of filling out forms, gathering photos and references and mailing it all in to Passport Canada, all in the name of renewing the little blue booklet that lets Canadians travel abroad. Once at the airport, you take it out for check-in, during security screenings, to show the gate…

Read More

Blockchain And Cryptocurrency: Everything You Need To Know – CNET

Here’s everything you need to know about the technology powering the bitcoin cryptocurrency today and, soon, a myriad of services that will change your life. This is part of “Blockchain Decoded,” a series looking at the impact of blockchain, bitcoin and cryptocurrency on our lives. These days, we’re having a harder and harder time trusting each other. Trust is an essential part of ordinary living, whether it’s picking mechanics based on Yelp reviews, sliding credit cards into gas station fuel pumps or heeding our doctor’s advice. But our trust has…

Read More

Updating ‘Briefcase Law’: Defence Lawyers Try To End Warrantless Smartphone Searches At Border – Technology & Science – CBC News

Imagine losing your smartphone or leaving your laptop behind on a train or bus. How much could someone learn about you — your interests, your lifestyle, your habits — based on what they could access on the device? What conclusions could someone make when the photos you’ve taken, the apps you’ve installed and the websites you’ve visited are laid bare? According to the Supreme Court of Canada: quite a few. Unlike a briefcase or a filing cabinet, judges have found, a smartphone can contain “immense amounts of information” that touch a person’s “biographical core.” Read…

Read More

Free Wi-Fi Has Driven 88% Of Canadians To Put Their Personal Info At Risk: Report – National | Globalnews.ca

A strong Wi-Fi signal is one major factor that helps Canadians decide where they want to stay when they go away for long weekends, said a risk report released by Norton last month. And while a hefty majority of Canadians believe their information is safe while using public Wi-Fi networks at hotels, restaurants and elsewhere, the report reveals that these services aren’t as secure as users might like to believe they are. “The most common misconception about public Wi-Fi is that it’s secure,” Kevin Haley, Norton’s director of security response, said…

Read More

U.S.-Bound Travellers To Face ‘Enhanced Security Measures’ At All Canadian Airports – Toronto – CBC News

Airline passengers travelling from Canada to the United States will face a new battery of “enhanced security measures” now required by the Department of Homeland Security. The new measures will be enforced starting July 19 and include: WestJet and Air Canada are advising passengers to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their scheduled departure to accommodate the enhanced screening process. Faster airport security? New automated checkpoints may have you sailing through Enhanced airport security could end U.S. laptop ban. Read full story here:  U.S.-Bound Travellers To Face ‘Enhanced…

Read More