Did anybody see the US Republican debate a few nights ago? The main issues were terrorism and national security. Technology encryption is a big part of this debate.
Encryption is a way to communicate online messages so only the sender and recipient can interpret it. This method has been controversial since the 1990s. But this year, with the rise if ISIS and terrorist attacks from Paris, France to San Bernardino, CA, the issue has become a matter of life and death. Where does your favorite candidate stand? Democrat front-runner Hilary Clinton talked loosely about encryption. But earlier this year with Silicon Valley leaders, she called on them to have serious conversations with legislation about encryption. Rival Bernie Sanders hasn’t said much about encryption. In an interview, Sanders expresses fear we’re moving toward a Big Brother society and vows to fight for privacy rights. On the Republican side, front-runner Donald Trump vows to shut out ISIS’s internet connection by any means necessary. Ted Cruz said the USA Freedom Act and giving data collection from the NSA to phone companies could help track terror threats. Marco Rubio wants the Feds and private corporations to share more information to prevent terrorism. The most interesting candidate in this issue is Dr. Ben Carson. His website has high level encryption to process donations, he’s open to surveillance on schools and religious institutions.
Of all these stances on encryption, Dr. Carson’s worries me the most. On one hand, he uses encryption to protect his donors. I’m glad he is. He knows how easy it is for hackers to break into his website. But yet Dr. Carson seems to have little problems with infringing on people’s freedom of religion or education in the name of fighting terrorism. That’s my problem. I know it’s a dangerous, evil world out there. I don’t expect it to get any better in 2016. But we need to fight terrorism without turning into the Big Brother society Bernie Sanders warns about. So far, none of these candidates have a good answer. Do you?
Data protection and privacy rights?are critical issues for both sides of the Atlantic. The European Union passed some of the strongest legislation ever to protect the dignity and integrity of data collection and management.
Such laws already exist in some European nations or sections of these nations. But effective January 2017, these laws that are expected to ensure privacy rights and protect freedoms will be enforced in all 28 EU nations. European Union Parliament passed these laws Tuesday. One law stiffens fines on companies who use and exploit their customerss data without customers’ knowledge or approval. This legislation will enforce the right to be forgotten law. Another law will require corporations to report any security breaches within 72 hours after the breach took place. Children under 16 will need parents’ permission to use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat. This law is enforced only in nations that don’t have a minimum age limit of 13. This new legislation will apply to any company doing business within the EU, whether they’re based in the EU or not (hint hint, Silicon Valley, USA). Not everybody likes these policies. Google and Facebook has been at odds with the EU for years, which collect data for advertising purposes (as far as we know).
Here is one thing Americans as well as Europeans agree on: Europe is doing more to protect online privacy than the US is. The fact the US doesn’t require corporations to report security breaches immediately is beyond my comprehension. Look at the security branches we’ve had just over the last two years. Then you have the age limit factor. I like all of this legislation, but I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. I understand why they want to put age limits on social media, sort of like we do for R-rated movies or TV-MA rated shows. There’s a lot of adult content on social media (that’s putting it mildly) that should not be watched by children under a certain age. But is it really for the European Union to decide what kids can and can’t download? Shouldn’t parents have priority in that decision?
Over the last week or so, Twitter has been warning some of a potential attack. This won’t come from your typical cyber thieves or hackers. This could come from international governments.
An investigation is still ongoing. The investigation reveals this impact can only impact IP addresses, email addresses, and possibly phone numbers, especially if phone numbers are linked to their Twitter accounts. Twitter didn’t say which country is behind the threat. But according to tech news website Motherboard, some of those targeted are involved in some sort of online activism. Some are part of the Tor Project. That’s a project that gives free software to help with anonymous communication. But despite these clues, no common factor could be determined. This threat makes Twitter history. This is the first time Twitter sent out notices warning people about a potential hacking threat. The first warning came from user @coldhacka, a self-proclaimed Canadian based privacy/freedom of speech organization. It was revealed one of their leaders is a contractor for Tor Project. A Tor Project security researcher also got the warning. Not only that, this researcher trains rouge journalist who advocate for privacy and other freedom based issues. Could a pattern be forming here?
The first thing that strikes me is which national government is behind the threat? Is it China? Is it Turkey? Is it Russia? Is it even the US? The world is becoming more and more unstable by the minute. They’re a lot of powerful leaders of a lot of powerful nations that don’t want their secrets revealed. I am thankful no critical information: credit card, bank accounts, Social Security numbers aren’t at risk this time. Twitter may not determine the factor, but I think I can. From what I can see, civil liberty groups, privacy rights advocates, and ‘anonymous’ style groups are the ones being warned. These are the kind of online groups world governments are at odds with. Is it any coincidence they’re the ones being targeted?
What do Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Cher, Carlos Santana, Miley Cyrus, Hugh Hefner, and Paul McCartney have in common? They were all subjected to a celebrity death hoax. Someone announced on social media a famous person passed away when they’re just as above ground as we are. Now there’s another celebrity death hoax.
Are you familiar with Jim “Good ol’ JR” Ross? He’s one of the greatest pro wrestling commentator of all-time. Someone hacked into his Twitter account and reported Jim Ross passed away peacefully in his sleep. Good ol’ JR himself confirmed this tweet was a lie and that he’s “…healthy but not happy”. While Ross works to get his Twitter account right again,it’s obvious Ross isn’t happy with someone hacking into his account and posting such a big, blatant lie. Ross warns the culprits karma is crazy and whoever put his family and friends through this kind of emotional grief will have to pay for their lies. The hackers’ twitter account has been taken down and so has the false tweet. Nobody knows how they got into JR’s Twitter account, but there is a lesson to be learned here. It’s advised you make your password as complicated as you can. It’s also advised you configure Twitter to send a login confirmation request for your smart devices.
Here we go again. You see why Jim Ross is so angry? What if someone puts a death hoax on you and you’re alive and well? How would your family and friends react? So yes, I understand why Jim Ross is ticked. Why would anyone lie about a celebrity dying? Is it financially motivated? I wonder how. Are celebrity death hoaxes meant to be funny or a practical joke? I always thought jokes were meant to be funny. Nobody is laughing here, especially not the Ross family. What would another motive be to create such unnecessary grief?
Is there someone on your Christmas list that wants a Hello Barbie? This is a consumer alert. The Hello Barbie could be a major technological security risk.
It’s not me saying so. Some of the greatest cyber-security minds in America found major security flaws in the popular Hello Barbie doll. She’s the first Barbie to use the Internet and artificial intelligence to communicate with her consumers. According to Bluebox Security, Hello Barbie’s cloud storage and mobile app are venerable. The deficiencies can allow hackers to listen in during playtime with Barbie. Barbie’s creators at Mattel are already on it. So is Toy Talk. Toy Talk is the toy tech company behind Hello Barbie’s voice. A Mattel spokesperson issued this statement:?”We are aware of the Bluebox Security Report and are working closely with ToyTalk to ensure the safety and security of Hello Barbie.” Toy Talk’s co-founder Martin Reddy released a statement assuring the public that many of these hacking threats were already fixed. But consumer advocates and privacy rights?groups raised concerns even before this disturbing Bluebox Security report. The report just backs up their claims. Here’s how the talking part works: The user presses a button. The user is recorded, then sent to an online audio file where it’s processed. Hello Barbie responds to the child’s comment with one of thousands of Barbie’s pre-recorded messages. Parents must express consent and set it up through a mobile app before the child can use it.
My question is: Why would someone want to hack a child’s conversation with a doll? How lowdown does one have to be? Maybe, at best, parents and guardians can use it to see what their child is really up to or analyse their child. But we didn’t need to go this far when I was growing up. And most of us turned out okay. But something tells me hackers could use these deficiencies for something far, far more sinister. And who says it’s just hackers? Could the NSA and other agencies use Hello Barbie for their own spying and surveillance purposes?
Digital company and online store V Tech specializes in children’s technology products and learning tools. Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, V Tech faces a security crisis.
There’s been a massive breach at V Tech. It’s so massive that investigators and security experts believe up to 200,000 children and 4.8 million parents have been hacked. The only good thing about this cyber attack in no credit card numbers were affected, because V Tech’s database doesn’t contain them. But it’s believed adult names, email accounts, IP addresses and online histories have been compromised. What’s more disturbing is the information of child customers: their names, birthdays and genders were compromised as well. According to news site Motherboard, they stole photos and online chat information. V Tech insists affected customers were contacted. Some accounts were even shut down as a precaution. Security experts are warning more attacks against digital toys are likely. One reason is these toys lack security expertise and software development that most adult devices now have. One such expert believes V Tech missed the mark in securing data and allowed unscrambling the data to be too easy. V Tech is based out of Hong Kong, China. According to Motherboard, an anonymous hacker has claimed responsibility. This hacker says he will do nothing with the data.
Then why did he hack the data to start with? Why did he put millions of livelihoods on the line, including the privacy of over 200,000 children? Couldn’t there had been a better way to prove a point? But I will admit, there’s a point that needs to be made. We need to do a better job securing children’s toys and technology. If we fail to secure our kids’ toys, then we fail our kids. It’s that simple. There’s no telling what kind of predators would take advantage of this. That’s the scariest part of all. What can be done to keep digital toys safe?
