New Commission Will Try to Solve Encryption Debate
I don’t think I’ve ever written on the same subject three times in a row. When the situation changes on an almost daily basis, however, it becomes hard to ignore. There is no shortage of updates on the confrontation between Apple and the Justice Department, and this week is the intended time for two Congressmen… Read More
Presidential Candidates Stumble About in Apple Encryption Case
Although “Jeb!” has now reverted to “Jeb” as he withdraws from the presidential race, the narrowing field is still full of candidates who, even if they do have a somewhat decent grasp of the information when it comes to encryption, nevertheless try to straddle the fence instead of acknowledging the realities of the situation. During his… Read More
Apple Opposes FBI in the Encryption Debate
Donald Trump likes to paint himself as the ultimate Washington outsider. To be fair, he has a point. All his blustering and posturing has even his own party hating him. On certain issues, however, he seems to fit right in with the dominant administrative modus operandi; in this case, encrypted devices. The big news yesterday… Read More
New Survey Finds the Crippling Cost of a Data Breach: Priceless
The results are in, and word is out, from the US, UK, France, Germany, and a number of other European countries. 1,000 non-IT business managers were surveyed across these nations by NTT Com Security on the subject of cybersecurity, data protection, and organizational preparedness and cost. The most telling statistic reveals a trend that has… Read More
Securing Customer Data
The United States still lacks any centralized, formal legislation at the federal level regarding the security of the electronic transmission of personal data. Instead, companies rely on a sectoral approach, combining other means of regulation in addition to government policy, which often differs by state (see the nationwide patchwork that is the set of data… Read More
The National Cybersecurity Protection System is giving Einstein a bad rap
According to Panda Security’s PandaLabs, 2015 saw the highest number of recorded cyber attacks yet, confirming what everyone expects, virtually on a yearly basis. What, with the 230,000 new malware samples created daily, millions of Trojans and other viruses, is it any wonder that this trend only looks to increase this year? Reports like this,… Read More
Encryption not an issue for NSA
Any time a ranking member of a top intelligence group, like the National Security Agency, seems to be in agreement with the sentiments of privacy advocates, you can bet things aren’t as chummy as all that. Even if it’s a refreshing break from the usual governmental discourse. Ordinarily, on the subject of encryption, we get… Read More
Internet Service Providers and Your Privacy
Last year, a heated national debate came to a satisfactory end when the Federal Communications Commission reinstated net neutrality rules without destroying the Internet. When the rule was overturned the year before, one of the ways the agency could impose it again, according to the court, was to make net neutrality less like common-carrier regulations,… Read More
Retailers put profits ahead of security
When Target experienced its major data breach during the holiday 2013 season, it suffered extensive financial and reputational damage. Having firsthand experience like this tends to put things in perspective, which makes it unsurprising that, out of 48 major retailers surveyed by Consumer World, Target is one of the only 11 who have ubiquitously enabled… Read More
Passing the Data Security Act
When you have a Senate that in one fell swoop votes both to defund a women’s health clinic, and to allow terrorists of all walks of life to continue to murder American citizens with minimal obstruction, it’s nice to see a politician do something that’s actually in the interests of the people he represents. Cyber… Read More