Last month, we reported on Apple’s loss of yet another iPhone prototype misplaced in yet another bar. Apple apparently used location technology to trace the phone to the home of Sergio Calderon, who had been at the bar that evening. His home was searched and no prototype was found. READ MORE
A security hole affecting some of HTC’s most popular Android phones, including the Thunderbolt and EVO 4G, could give apps with Internet permissions access to key user data such as email address, location and even text messages. READ MORE
Most computer users believe that setting their browsers to not accept cookies will prevent websites from downloading these bits of tracking code to their hard drives. But that isn’t necessarily true. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported on a new breed of cookies, called “supercookies” that are downloaded to a different portion of users’ hard drives than traditional cookies are. Browser “no-cookie” settings won’t prevent them from being stored there, and removing them is a cumbersome and repetitive process. READ MORE
When it comes to the issue of privacy, recent attention has been focused on social networking sites—particularly on Facebook and Google. But consumers often overlook one other potential source of privacy breach: mobile phone records. READ MORE
You might’ve heard about the phone hacking scandal that’s enveloped Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. But have you thought about the business potential in that? Well, we mean the potential for designing, marketing, and selling mobile-security solutions. READ MORE
It works like this: Somebody trying to log into a PayPal account accidentally types “PatPal” instead. Up pops a page that looks exactly like PayPal, with a place to put in a username and password. Are users smart enough to double-check the URL at the top of the browser before they do so? READ MORE
When in-car safety and concierge service OnStar announced its revised terms and conditions–which allowed the company to keep open its two-way cellular connection even after a subscriber cancelled the service, and to share or sell in-car data such as seat belt use and vehicle location and speed–the new language created widespread controversy. Current OnStar subscribers, privacy advocates and legislators including Democratic senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Al Franken (MN) quickly and loudly denounced the new policies, which yesterday led to OnStar announcing it had reversed course. READ MORE
General Motors-supported in-car connectivity and safety service OnStar has revised its terms and conditions, effective December 1st, and the new language has raised serious privacy concerns among customers. READ MORE
As if they haven’t received enough attention this year, the hacker group Anonymous is planning to hold a special “Day of Vengeance” in several cities around the U.S. on Saturday, reports CNET. READ MORE
The press and public reaction to many high profile hacks–think Sony, or the Pentagon–is that the breaches are embarrassments at best or setbacks at worst. But hacks can have grievous real-world consequences for companies, as Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar proved this week when it filed for bankruptcy after finding itself unable to recover from the consequences of a massive hack it suffered this summer. READ MORE
