Brian Womack reports: Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, is nearing an agreement to pay $22.5 million to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission probe over claims it violated user privacy on Apple Inc.’s Internet browser, a person familiar with the matter said. The settlement would resolve an investigation over how Google used…
Category: Breaches
Forgetting to log off gives “tacit authorization” for snooping – NJ court
Timothy B. Lee writes: When Wayne Rogers, a New Jersey teacher, sat down in his school’s computer lab to check his e-mail, he bumped the mouse of the computer next to him. The screen on the adjacent computer came on, and Rogers saw that one of his colleagues, Linda Marcus, had left herself logged into…
Privacy risk from ads in apps rising: security firm
Tarmo Virki reports: Some advertising networks have over the last year started to secretly collect app users contacts or whereabouts, and could now have access to 80 million smartphones globally, U.S.-based mobile security firm LookOut said. Over 80 million apps have been downloaded which carry aggressive ads and the problem was rising, LookOut said as…
Cn: Personal data crimes set to be defined
Zhang Yan reports: Crimes involving the theft of personal data will be regulated and clearly defined, a senior officer from the Ministry of Public Security said. “We’re negotiating with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Supreme People’s Court to push forward the legislation to protect personal data,” Liao Jinrong, deputy director of the criminal investigation…