https://www.nrk.no/norge/dataangrep-mot-norkart_-3_3-millioner-kan-vaere-berort-1.15962268

Selskapet Norkart, som leverer IT-systemer for kart- og eiendomsinformasjon, er utsatt for et dataangrep. Persondata for opp mot 3,3 millioner innbyggere er på avveier.

Selskapet varslet om dataangrepet tirsdag. Alle som eier eiendom i Norge kan være berørt.

[…]

– Det vi ønsker nå er at alle som er eiere eller festere er ekstra årvåkne når det gjelder forsøk på svindel. Et godt råd er å sperre seg for sjekk av kredittopplysninger og følge med på hva som skjer i postkassen din.

https://nrkbeta.no/2022/05/11/ny-eu-lov-mot-overgrepsmateriale-kan-fore-til-omfattende-overvakning/

Onsdag la EU-kommisjonen frem et forslag til en ny lov som kan få store konsekvenser for nordmenns digitale liv. Lovforslaget er ment å bedre beskytte barn mot overgrep, men rettighetsgrupper har lenge vært bekymret for at det kan undergrave retten til privatliv og sikker kommunikasjon.

[…]

– Dette forslaget legger opp til en overvåkningsmaskin som vi aldri har sett maken til i demokratiske land, og er det nærmeste vi kommer autoritær kontroll over digitalt innhold på samme måte som de gjør i Kina, sier stipendiat Tjerand Silde ved NTNU.

Den profilerte teknologen Alec Muffett lekket tirsdag et utkast til lovforslaget. Han er svært kritisk:
– I dag er dagen EU erklærer krig mot ende-til-ende kryptering, skriver Alec Muffett på Twitter.

[…]

En rekke høyt respekterte akademikere og teknologer advarte i fjor høst mot å innføre denne typen teknologi. De mente at skanning av innhold lokalt på en digital enhet, gjerne forkortet til CSS, i ytterste konsekvens kan svekke demokratiet.

– Introduksjonen av skanning på våre personlige enheter – enheter som lagrer informasjon fra våre gjørelister, tekstmeldinger og bilder – går midt imot enkeltborgeres behov for personvern. Denne formen for masseinnsamling kan føre til omfattende nedkjølingseffekter på ytringsfriheten og faktisk på selve demokratiet, skrev ekspertene i en artikkel publisert på forskningsnettstedet arXiv.

– Vi mener at CSS verken garanterer effektiv kriminalitetsbekjempelse eller forhindrer overvåkning. Faktisk er effekten det motsatte. CSS vil skape alvorlige sikkerhets- og personvernsrisikoer for hele samfunnet, men hjelpen det kan gi politimyndigheter i beste fall er problematisk, skrev de.

[…]

Leder for IT-politiskforening i Danmark, Jesper Lund, er svært kritisk til det endelige lovforslaget. Hans organisasjon samarbeider med EDRi.
– Forslaget er et åpenbart angrep på kryptering selv om EU-kommisjonen påstår noe annet, skriver han til NRK.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/28/23047026/amazon-alexa-voice-data-targeted-ads-research-report

A report released last week contends that Amazon uses voice data from its Echo devices to serve targeted ads on its own platforms and the web. The report, produced by researchers affiliated with the University of Washington, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Northeastern University, said the ways Amazon does this is inconsistent with its privacy policies.

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/03/28/proposed-digital-markets-act-to-require-sideloading/

• sideloading
• alternative stores
• can’t force any payment system
• NFC must be accessible
• must be able to set all default apps

Yup. Apple lost on all fronts.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/21/22989339/protestware-attacks-russia-sberbank-open-source

The move comes after an anti-war developer sabotaged a popular open-source code library

https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/21/google_messages_gdpr/

Google’s Messages and Dialer apps for Android devices have been collecting and sending data to Google without specific notice and consent, and without offering the opportunity to opt-out, potentially in violation of Europe’s data protection law.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/16/22981806/facebook-removes-deepfake-ukraine-zelenskyy-meta-instagram

In the fake video, Zelenskyy surrenders to Russian invasion

…

The deepfake appears to have been first broadcasted on a Ukrainian news website for TV24 after an alleged hack

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/03/researcher-uses-dirty-pipe-exploit-to-fully-root-a-pixel-6-pro-and-samsung-s22/

It was bound to happen. Worst Linux vulnerability in 6 years fells two popular handsets.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/03/attackers-can-force-amazon-echos-to-hack-themselves-with-self-issued-commands/

Popular “smart” device follows commands issued by its own speaker. What could go wrong?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/21/journalist-beijing-winter-olympics-foreign-correspondents-club

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China says reporters tailed and manhandled by security despite assurances from Games officials

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/02/new-preview-build-adds-microsoft-account-requirement-to-windows-11-pro/

While most devices do require a sign-in to fully enable app stores, cloud storage, and cross-device sharing and syncing, Windows 11 will soon stand alone as the only major consumer OS that requires account sign-in to enable even basic functionality.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/15/eu-data-watchdog-calls-for-pegasus-spyware-ban

The use of Pegasus spyware should be banned in the EU, the bloc’s data watchdog has advised, as it is a “gamechanger” offering unprecedented powers to intrude into targets’ lives.

The European data protection supervisor (EDPS) said a prohibition was necessary as the software, developed by the Israeli NSO Group, was able to secretly turn a mobile phone into a surveillance device.

Able to send or receive encrypted messages, download stored photographs, hear voice calls, access messages and secretly film through a phone’s camera, the spyware had the capacity to interfere “with the most intimate aspects of our daily lives”, the authority said.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22924225/apple-ios-15-bug-recorded-interactions-siri

Apple says it’s deleting any inadvertently collected recordings

https://www.nrk.no/sport/helseopplysninger-om-norske-utovere-pa-avveie-i-ol_-_-helt-texas-1.15839426

Olympiatoppens sjef, Tore Øvrebø, er kraftig oppgitt over OL-arrangørens håndtering av norske helseopplysninger. Direktøren på et av hotellene som huser norsk støttepersonell visste om smitte før den norske leiren.

– Han er en grei kar, men han skulle ikke hatt disse opplysningene før oss, sier Tore Øvrebø da han møter pressen i Zhangjikou – et par timer unna Beijing.

– Det er helt Texas, konkluderer Øvrebø.

Hotelldirektøren på Eagle Nest, der flere medlemmer av det norske støtteapparatet bor, er stadig i forkant når det kommer til koronastatus på utøverne.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/01/2fa-app-with-10000-google-play-downloads-loaded-well-known-banking-trojan/

A fake two-factor-authentication app that has been downloaded some 10,000 times from Google Play surreptitiously installed a known banking-fraud trojan that scoured infected phones for financial data and other personal information, security firm Pradeo said.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/23/22897574/european-parliament-eu-digital-services-act-big-tech

The Digital Services Act, which was first introduced in 2020, will prevent platforms, like Google, Amazon, and the Meta-owned Facebook, from using sensitive information, such as sexual orientation, race, and religion for targeted ads. It will require services to give users the ability to easily opt out of tracking, and pressures platforms to remove illegal content and products online, including hate speech or counterfeit goods.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/24/google-location-data-ags-lawsuit/

Attorneys general from D.C. and three states sued Google on Monday, arguing that the search giant deceived consumers to gain access to their location data.

The lawsuits, filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, allege the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating from at least 2014. The suits seek to stop Google from engaging in these practices and to fine the company.

The complaints also allege the company has deployed “dark patterns,” or design tricks that can subtly influence users’ decisions in ways that are advantageous for a business. The lawsuits say Google has designed its products to repeatedly nudge or pressure people to provide more and more location data, “inadvertently or out of frustration.” The suits allege this violates various state and D.C. consumer protection laws.

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073828708/israel-spyware-citizens-nso-group

Israeli police have used spyware from controversial Israeli company NSO Group to hack the cell phones of Israeli citizens without judicial oversight, including activists protesting former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Israeli spyware company faces mounting global scrutiny and recent U.S. sanctions for equipping regimes with powerful surveillance tools used to target human rights activists, journalists and politicians. Recently, Palestinian activists said their phones were infected with NSO spyware.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/15/will-blockchain-fulfil-its-democratic-promise-or-will-it-become-a-tool-of-big-tech

Engineers are focused on reducing its carbon footprint, ignoring the governance issues raised by the technology

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/rohingya-refugees-sue-facebook-150-billion-over-myanmar-violence-2021-12-07/

over allegations that the social media company did not take action against anti-Rohingya hate speech that contributed to violence.

In 2018, U.N. human rights investigators said the use of Facebook had played a key role in spreading hate speech that fueled the violence.