2016/02/19

DOJ trying to force Apple's cooperation in terror case - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The U.S. Department of Justice is taking the gloves off in its fight with Apple to access a cellphone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terror suspects. The federal law enforcement agency filed a court motion Friday in an attempt to force Apple, the phone's manufacturer, to help the FBI break into the smartphone used by suspected gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. [...] The problem, as seen by Apple, is that the FBI's request requires the company to create software that would facilitate the siphoning of personal data from the locked iPhone -- which is exactly the type of activity the security features were designed to prevent."

2016/01/22

AFP reports: Syrian refugees in Jordan will get faster access to United Nations cash aid through an iris-scanning ATM network, removing the need for bank accounts and cards.  [...]  Under the project dubbed 'EyeCloud, the refugees receive cash in less than 30 seconds from machines equipped with biometric technology. Around 50 specially-adapted ATMs have been set up across Jordan, in cooperation with a local bank, to provide refugees quicker access to money."

2015/12/16

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."

2015/12/10

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."

2015/12/01

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."

2015/11/19

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.'"

2015/11/17

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."

2015/11/12

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."

2015/11/07

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."

2015/11/04

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."