My Way News - Massive year-end spending bill includes cybersecurity act
My Way News reports: "A massive year-end spending measure moving through Congress includes a provision that will encourage companies to share cyber threat information with the government while providing them with liability protections for not acting on information received. [...] The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 largely hews to the Senate version of the bill, which passed despite concerns about privacy and transparency from some senators and technology companies, such as Apple and Yelp."

My Way News - Wal-Mart to launch own mobile pay system
My Way News reports: "The mobile payment wars are heating up. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said it's launching its own mobile payment system that will allow shoppers to pay with any major credit or debit card or its own store gift card through its existing smartphone app at the cash register."

U.S. government reveals breadth of requests for Internet records | Reuters
Reuters reports: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has used a secretive authority to compel Internet and telecommunications firms to hand over customer data including an individual’s complete web browsing history and records of all online purchases, a court filing released Monday shows. The documents are believed to be the first time the government has provided details of its so-called national security letters, which are used by the FBI to conduct electronic surveillance without the need for court approval."

My Way News - Trump says he would 'absolutely' implement Muslim database
My Way News reports: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced support Thursday evening for creating a mandatory database to track Muslims in the United States — the latest in an escalating series of responses following the deadly attacks in Paris. [...] Asked whether registering would be mandatory, Trump responded: 'They have to be.'"

My Way News - Here we go again: Paris attacks may renew encryption debate
My Way News reports: "The deadly attacks in Paris may soon reopen the debate over whether — and how — tech companies should let governments bypass the data scrambling that shields everyday commerce and daily digital life. So far, there's no hard evidence that the Paris extremists relied on encrypted communications — essentially, encoded digital messages that can't be read without the proper digital 'keys' — to plan the shooting and bombing attacks that left 129 dead on Friday."

My Way News - Paying your pals with digital options from Venmo to Facebook
My Way News reports: "Cash is passe, say digital mavens. If you really want to pay your friends back for that pizza party, use an app to shoot money to their mobile-phone number — or their Facebook account. Such technology-enabled peer-to-peer payments are growing quickly. Forrester Research predicts mobile peer-to-peer payments will hit $17 billion by 2019, growing an average of 26 percent annually. That compares with expectations of total U.S. mobile payments of $142 billion by that year."

FCC: We Can't Force Google and Facebook to Stop Tracking You Online - NBC News
NBC News reports: "The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it can't force Internet companies like Google, Facebook and ad providers from tracking users online. The commission had been petitioned by the privacy advocacy group Consumer Watchdog to make the "Do Not Track" setting in many browsers illegal to ignore."

My Way News - Britain seeks greater access to citizens' online activity
My Way News reports: "The British government plans to make telecommunications firms keep records of customers' Web histories and help spies hack into computers and phones under a new cyber-snooping law unveiled Wednesday. [...] If approved by Parliament, the bill will let police and spies access Internet connection records — a list of websites, apps and messaging services someone has visited, though not the individual pages they looked at or the messages they sent."

My Way News - Cybersecurity: Senate takes initial step to bill's passage
My Way News reports: "The Senate is set to pass a bill aimed at improving cybersecurity by encouraging the sharing of threat information among companies and the U.S. government. An 83-14 procedural vote Thursday represented a healthy endorsement of a bill opposed by companies such as Apple and Dropbox, who said it lacks key privacy protections and may result in personal information ending up in the government's hands. [...] The Senate's vote on final passage is expected next week. The House passed its version of the bill earlier this year with strong bipartisan support. If the Senate were to pass the bill on Tuesday, the two versions would need to be reconciled before being sent to the White House for the president's signature."

My Way News - New California law extends privacy rights to electronic data
My Way News reports: "California will require police to get a court order before they can search messages, photos and other digital data stored on phones or company servers in the nation's most-populous state. [...] Advocates have tried to pass legislation at the national level for years without any success. The Email Privacy Act, a proposed update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, has 300 sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, but its future remains unclear."

My Way News - New federal requirements on cellphone surveillance
My Way News reports: "Federal law enforcement officials will be routinely required to get a search warrant before using secretive and intrusive cellphone-tracking technology under a new Justice Department policy announced Thursday. [...] It comes amid concerns from privacy groups and lawmakers that the technology, which is now widely used by local police departments, is infringing on privacy rights and is being used without proper accountability."

My Way News - More ID, bag checks on Europe's trains after foiled attack
My Way News reports: "European countries will increase identity checks and baggage controls on trains after American passengers thwarted an attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, France's interior minister said Saturday. [...] The security officials said there's no way to monitor each passenger and bag without choking the continental train system, which Europeans rely upon heavily. [...] EU officials were expected to press for the increased use of closed circuit cameras in trains and stations and more metal detectors at entrances. The European Commission was also to raise the idea of using full-body scanners for people who try to board at the last minute."

My Way News - Q&A: A look at Samsung Pay, other mobile payments
My Way News reports: "Samsung Pay will debut in South Korea on Aug. 20. It will start in the U.S. on Sept. 28, with a test period beginning Aug. 25. Samsung plans to expand to the U.K., Spain and China as well. Android Pay will come out later this year in the U.S., while Apple Pay launched in the U.S. last October and expanded to the U.K. last month."

My Way News - FBI, Justice Dept. take encryption concerns to Congress
My Way News reports: "Federal law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that data encryption is making it harder to hunt for pedophiles and terror suspects, telling senators that consumers' right to privacy is not absolute and must be weighed against public-safety interests. [...] But they face fierce opposition from Silicon Valley companies who say encryption safeguards customers' privacy rights and offers protections from hackers, corporate spies and other breaches. The companies in recent months have written to the Obama administration and used public speeches to argue for the value of strong encryption."

CNN - MasterCard will approve purchases by scanning your face
CNN reports: "This fall, MasterCard will start experimenting with a new program: approving online purchases with a facial scan. At checkout, you'll be asked to hold up your phone and snap a photo. MasterCard's thinking? It's easier than remembering a password."

Comment: This is an interesting convergence of biometrics and purchase approval, it will be interesting to see if this catches on. 

My Way News - Need reason to pay by phone? Apple, Google add new features
My Way News reports: "The tech industry has been saying for years that smartphones would make traditional wallets obsolete. But most people still use cash or plastic when they shop in stores. That could change later this year when three leading tech companies are promising to give shoppers more reasons to use 'digital wallets.'"

My Way News - US officials: Encryption hinders monitoring extremists
My Way News reports: "The growing use of encrypted communications and private messaging by supporters of the Islamic State group is complicating efforts to monitor terror suspects and extremists, U.S. law enforcement officials said  [...] evolving technologies were outpacing laws that allow law enforcement to intercept communications by suspects."

My Way News - Congress sends NSA phone-records bill to president
My Way News reports: "Congress approved sweeping changes Tuesday to surveillance laws enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, eliminating the National Security Agency's disputed bulk phone-records collection program and replacing it with a more restrictive measure to keep the records in phone companies' hands. [...] The legislation will revive most of the programs the Senate had allowed to lapse in a dizzying collision of presidential politics and national security policy."

My Way News - FBI behind mysterious surveillance aircraft over US cities
My Way News reports: "Scores of low-flying planes circling American cities are part of a civilian air force operated by the FBI and obscured behind fictitious companies, The Associated Press has learned. The AP traced at least 50 aircraft back to the FBI, and identified more than 100 flights in 11 states over a 30-day period since late April, orbiting both major cities and rural areas. At least 115 planes, including 90 Cessna aircraft, were mentioned in a federal budget document from 2009. "

My Way News - Either way, no more NSA collection of US phone records
My Way News reports: "The NSA had stopped gathering the records from phone companies hours before the deadline. And other post-9/11 surveillance provisions considered more effective than the phone-call collection program also lapsed, leading intelligence officials to warn of critical gaps. The legislation now before the Senate, known as the USA Freedom Act, would reauthorize the surveillance but would phase out NSA phone records collection over time."

My Way News - NSA winds down once-secret phone-records collection program
My Way News reports: "The National Security Agency has begun winding down its collection and storage of American phone records after the Senate failed to agree on a path forward to change or extend the once-secret program ahead of its expiration at the end of the month. Barring an 11th hour compromise when the Senate returns to session May 31, a much-debated provision of the Patriot Act — and some other lesser known surveillance tools — will sunset at midnight that day."

My Way News - Senate under pressure after House votes to end NSA program
My Way News reports: "After the House's lopsided bipartisan vote to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records, the Senate is under considerable pressure to pass a similar measure. If it doesn't, lawmakers risk letting the authority to collect the records expire June 1, along with other important counterterrorism provisions. The House bill, known as the USA Freedom Act, would replace bulk collection with a system to search the data held by telephone companies on a case-by-case basis. It passed 338-88. In the Senate, however, the legislation faces a 60-vote hurdle to begin debate."

The Telegraph - An office block in Sweden is micro-chipping its employees
The Telegraph reports: "Epicenter, a new hi-tech office block in Sweden, is ditching swipe cards and implanting chips in its employees. People working at Epicenter, a new hi-tech office block in Sweden, simply have to hold their hands against the front door to gain entry. They can also wave their hand to operate the photocopier, the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones reports. In time, they will also be able to pay for coffee and sandwiches in the cafe with a touch of a hand. It's because some employees have a tiny RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip, about the size of a grain of rice, implanted. A handful of staff currently have the chip, but soon others among the 400 workers will be given the chance."

Comment: "The Borg? Sounds Swedish." But seriously, it's an interesting development that may or may not be MOTB related and although I can't see this becoming a trend, it's worth keeping an eye on.