Privacy and data protection

Hack into Google Chrome, and you could win $60,000, at least if you do it through Google's Pwnium 2 competition.

That's just what happened to a hacker dubbed Pinkie Pie, who won the award on Tuesday by exploiting a security hole in Chrome.

In an effort to shore up its browser's defenses, Google holds the competition to challenge hackers to hack their way through Chrome's security to find previously unknown holes. Tuesday's Pwnium 2 contest was held at the Hack in the Box 2012 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"We're happy to … Read more

Anonymous is typically a big fan of Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, but earlier today, several of its members sent out tweets calling for people to stop donating to the site until further notice.

A Twitter tit-for-tat ensued and finally ended in what looks like a success for Anonymous.

What got the online hacker group all riled up was an overlay donation page that was first seen when accessing Wikileaks' Global Intelligence Files, according to The Next Web. These files contain more than five million emails from the international intelligence company Stratfor.

Anonymous publicly labeled the donation page a &… Read more

The lovely thing about technology is that it helps you control children.

They need to be controlled. Otherwise, they will run amok and do all sorts of dreadful things, like go to the restroom, smoke cigarettes, or kiss each other.

Hanging IDs with RFID chips around students' necks isn't exactly new. Some Texas schools have been enjoying it for some time.

However, recently, the Northside Independent Schools District in San Antonio encountered a little consternation when it announced its foray into the idea -- one that is reportedly being instituted to combat truancy (and therefore make the schools more money).

Now that the IDs are in force, a counter-force has emerged: civil disobedience.

I would like to identify MySanAntonio.com as suggesting that most kids happily accept the new tags, as their path through school (if they show up) is made simpler and quicker. For example, in the lunch queue. … Read more

Internet users can now better manage their privacy settings across the Web, courtesy of a new browser extension.

Released just yesterday, PrivacyFix supports Firefox and Google Chrome. The extension can automatically check your privacy settings across specific Web sites, including Facebook and Google. It then displays and explains your settings, giving you the opportunity to manage them directly.

After you install PrivacyFix, a window pops up in your browser showing you the default settings for Facebook to start. Can non-friends see your posts? Is Facebook sharing your profile with other sites? Is your name being used to "like" … Read more

The Do Not Track proposal seems to be causing confusion and frustration among some W3C members charged with approving it.

Once ratified, the DNT policy would require advertisers and other third parties to turn off tracking for Internet users whose browser settings specifically restrict it.

The push for DNT has already created a chasm between advertisers, who naturally want the policy to be as lean as possible, and privacy advocates, who want tough standards.

Browser makers have also been caught in the furor. Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer already include DNT settings. But Microsoft has caused waves by … Read more

Huawei and ZTE, two of China's largest and most successful mobile companies, are once again under fire in the U.S.

Over the last couple of days, the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has received "dozens and dozens" of calls complaining about Huawei and ZTE, Reuters is reporting today, citing sources. Many of those calls reportedly came from current and former employees, as well as customers, who report odd behavior in the companies' equipment. It's not clear what sort of "odd" behavior they were witnessing.

Earlier this week, lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee issued a 52-page report … Read more

The long-standing warrantless spying case ended at the hands of the Supreme Court today. After six years of working its way up through the courts, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the National Security Agency -- which aimed to hold telecom companies liable for allowing government eavesdropping on U.S. residents -- was terminated.

The Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling on the case today, closing the door on further appeals. Its decision did not address the merits of the case.

Hepting v. AT&T was a class-action suit filed by the American Civil Liberties … Read more

Microsoft recently issued a takedown notice to Google, citing several sites that allegedly infringe its intellectual property. But there's just one problem: many of the URLs it cited have nothing to do with its business.

According to a document obtained by TorrentFreak, Microsoft pointed to several legitimate Web sites in its request for URL removals related to Windows 8 infringement. In addition to seemingly legitimate links featuring Windows 8 downloads, Microsoft lists a BBC URL linking to the 45th day of the Olympic torch relay. The company also asked Google to remove a Wikipedia entry on the 45th Fighter … Read more

Here we go again.

Three months after it first began warning users of state-sponsored cyber attacks, Google is saying that the assault has only intensified.

The New York Times reports that since it began warning users of state-sponsored attacks, "it has picked up thousands more instances of cyberattacks than it anticipated." Many of the attacks appear to be originating in the Middle East.

Starting on Tuesday, the company began inserting a message at the top of affected users' Gmail inboxes: "Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer.

The attacks affect … Read more