Category: GDPR

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Lancaster University Was Hit By “Sophisticated and Malicious Phishing Attack”

Lancaster University, which offers a GCHQ accredited cyber-security course and has its own Cyber Security Research Centre was recently hit by what it has described as a “sophisticated and malicious phishing attack”, resulting in the leak of the personal data of new university applicants. 12,000+ Affected? On the University’s website, even though it states that…
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£80,000 Fine For London Estate Agency Highlights Importance of Due Diligence in Data Protection

The issuing of an £80,000 fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to London-based estate agency Parliament View Ltd (LPVL) highlights the importance of due diligence when keeping customer data safe. What Happened? Prior to the introduction of GDPR, between March 2015 and February 2017, LPVL left their customer data exposed online after transferring the…
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MPs Call To Stop Police Facial Recognition

Following criticism of the Police use of facial recognition technology in terms of privacy, accuracy, bias, and management of the image database, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has called for a temporary halt in the use of the facial recognition system. Database Concerns Some of the key concerns of the committee were…
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Scientists Discover How To Store Data On Matter Smaller Than DNA

Scientists from Brown University are reported to have discovered how to store data on metabolic molecules, which are pieces of matter that are even smaller than DNA. Storage In Artificial Metabolomes   The results of the recent research announced on the Brown University website and published in the PLOS ONE journal describe how researchers have…
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Microsoft Criticised By UK’s Cyber Security Agency Over Dmarc

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has complained that it has been unable to compile meaningful statistics and draw meaningful conclusions about email security in its latest report because Microsoft stopped sending Dmarc reports two years ago. What Is Dmarc? Domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance (Dmarc) is a protocol, developed by the Trusted Domain Project, to…
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Facebook Launches Martin Lewis Anti-Scam Service

Facebook has launched a new anti-scam service using the £3m that it agreed to donate to the development of the programme in return for TV consumer money champion Martin Lewis dropping his legal action over scam ads. What Legal Action? Back in September 2018, MoneySavingExpert’s (MSE) founder Martin Lewis (OBE) took Facebook to the UK…
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Googlemail’s Tracking of Your Purchase History

CNBC research has highlighted how Googlemail creates a (difficult to delete) page of your purchase history by tracking your purchase receipt emails, and perhaps details stored in locations other than the inbox. Not Obvious Back in May, CNBC researchers highlighted how your Googlemail account creates a page of your purchases, which it was believed was…
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1000+Android Apps Harvest Our Data Without Our Permission

Researchers from the International Computer Science Institute have reported that up to 1,325 Android apps are gathering data from devices after people have denied them permission, and Google claims that it will address the problem with the introduction of the new Android “Q” Operating System. Apps Finding Way Around Privacy Restrictions According to the ICSI…
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£183 Million Fine (Biggest Ever) For BA Data Breach

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed a £183 million fine on British Airways, the biggest fine to date under GDPR, for a data breach where the personal details of 500,000 customers were accessed by hackers. The Breach The breach, which involved criminals using what is known as a ‘supply chain hack’ took place between…
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Google’s reCAPTCHA v3 System Prompts Privacy Criticism

The widely used Google  reCaptcha V3 bot-detecting login system has come in for some criticism after two security researchers claimed that one of the ways that Google determines whether you’re a malicious user depends on whether you have a Google cookie installed on your browser, which could also mean that the privacy of your browsing…
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