Kirk was executive editor for security and technology for Information Security Media Group. Reporting from Sydney, Australia, he created "The Ransomware Files" podcast, which tells the harrowing stories of IT pros who have fought back against ransomware.
Italy's data protection regulator has slapped a $1 million fine on Facebook for mismanaging user data and precipitating the Cambridge Analytica debacle. But that pales by comparison to the the fine that's reportedly still being weighed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Facebook has set aside $3 billion from its first quarter profit to pay for what is likely to be a record-breaking fine from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. But will mega-fines lead to the reform of tech giants' questionable privacy and security practices?
Two security issues disclosed by Facebook over the past month are worse than first thought, adding to a harrowing series of data-handling mishaps by the social network. Millions of Instagram users had their plain-text passwords stored, and 1.5 million people had their email contact lists uploaded without consent.
Microsoft says intruders targeting its email services had access to email content for a single-digit percentage of the overall affected accounts, a more serious conclusion than first thought. But the company hasn't released many details, including the total number of accounts affected.
Why are we surprised about the amount and sensitivity of data that mobile apps collect? The online industry has never been forthright about it. That's why we're faced with a yawning gap between user expectations and true privacy. And it's why Facebook, Google, Apple and others have many questions to answer.
A security consultancy discovered Facebook user data exposed in two different places online without authentication or encryption. The data, which is now offline, came from an Android app that purported to offer statistical information to logged-in users.
Apple has revoked Facebook's enterprise certificate, leaving the social network's employees unable to access internal iOS apps, after Facebook used it to distribute an app that monitored smartphone activity, sometimes from minors, in exchange for monthly payments. Facebook says it did nothing wrong.
France has hit Google with a 50 million euro ($57 million) fine for violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. The country's data regulator says Google doesn't inform users in a clear way how their data is being collected and processed for targeted advertising.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is close to concluding its investigation into Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Washington Post reports, noting that the social network may face a record-setting fine, exceeding the $22.5 million fine the FTC in 2012 slammed on Google.
Airline booking system provider Amadeus - whose system is used by 500 airlines - is investigating a software vulnerability that exposed passenger name records, which is the bundle of personal and travel data that gets collected when booking a flight.
Facebook violated consumer protection law by failing to protect personal data that consumers thought they'd locked down, the District of Columbia alleges in a new lawsuit. Plus, Facebook is disputing a New York Times report that it ignored privacy settings and shared data with large companies without consent.
A batch of documents meant to be kept under court seal lays bare Facebook's strategic brokering of access to user data to reward partners and punish potential rivals. The material also demonstrates Facebook's views at the time on privacy and the risks of leaking data.
Marriott's mega-breach underscores the challenges companies face in securing systems that come from acquisitions as well as simply storing too much consumer data for too long, computer security experts say. Meanwhile, the hotel giant has yet to answer many pressing data breach questions.
Consumer organizations in seven countries plan to file complaints alleging that Google is violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation via its location, web and app activity tracking, in what could be a blow to the search giant's lucrative but data-hungry targeted advertising business.
Australian human resources software developer PageUp says it has found "no specific evidence" that attackers removed data after the company warned in May that it had been breached. But investigators have found that attackers installed all of the tools they would have needed to exfiltrate data.
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