Formulated by the White House, Federal Trade Commission and the Digital Advertising Alliance, Do Not Track will allow Internet users to add a Do Not Track header from browsers such as Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This will tell Websites not to track them across the Web. Continue reading
None of us want to become a victims of personal information disclosure or cyber crime but most of us don’t want to hear about it. We just want someone else to fix it for us and restore trust that our our personal and private information is kept private. As I said in my earlier article Social Networks Siphon Personal Information there’s no doubt about it. Also note the information in Facebook Connections and Reputation Management. This brief synopsis of articles constitutes an update I’d like to refer to my readers.
Government investigation into online advertising and privacy issues results in regulatory filing. In a regulatory filing this afternoon, Google disclosed that it was taking a $500 million charge in the first quarter, apparently to potentially settle charges related to a Department of Justice investigation of the company. — Google Discloses DOJ Ad Probe
A security vulnerability on Facebook gave advertisers and other third parties a way to access users’ accounts and personal information, for years, according to security firm Symantec Corp. … As of April, Symantec estimated that the flaw affected close to 100,000 Facebook apps—and that since Facebook introduced apps in 2007 potentially hundreds of thousands of applications may have inadvertently leaked millions of access tokens to third parties. Facebook has fixed the leak, but it’s recommended you change your Facebook password to render any leaked tokens useless . — Facebook Security Flaw Exposed User Accounts
I wrote a very long examination of the issues that Facebook employed a PR firm to publicize, about how Facebook feels Google may be violating privacy with its Google Social Search product. Here’s a shorter look, especially from the angle of how Facebook itself has enabled Google to do what Facebook is now complaining about. — How Facebook Enables The Google Social “Scraping” It’s Upset About
Privacy groups and consumer rights advocates have enthusiastically endorsed the Do Not Track bill introduced by U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) introduced an online “do not track” privacy bill that would give consumers the ability to block Internet companies from tracking their online activity. The proposed law already has the endorsement of several major consumer advocacy and privacy groups. The framework would allow the Federal Trade Commission to define the rules within a year of the bill being signed into law. -- Privacy Groups Applaud Rockefeller’s Do Not Track Bill
For the past three years, the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) has published an annual online safety report that examines the adoption of proven countermeasures against deception and identity theft that help protect online brands and consumers. … The report underscores measures that mitigate account takeovers, breaches, email spoofing, and phishing attacks. The adoption of Extended Validation SSL (EV SSL) Certificates was one of the solutions highlighted by the report. 2011 Online Trust Alliance Trust Scorecard Highlights Increase in EV SSL Adoption
The American online-security company Websense found that Canada’s reputation as a law abiding country is making it a preferred location from which to launch cyber attacks, with Canada ranking No. 6 worldwide among countries hosting cybercrime, up from 13th place last year. Patrik Runald, Websense senior security researcher, said that while the United States still ranks No. 1 among the top 10 countries in hosting phishing sites -used by cyber criminals to trick computer users into downloading malicious software or divulging passwords, financial information and other confidential data. — Canada new breeding ground for cybercrime
