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…
Category: Breaches
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…
Is There a Breach in the Dam Holding Back Damage Actions for Alleged Privacy Breaches?
Christopher Wolf writes: Two recent federal cases alleging privacy violations in the mobile context have been allowed to proceed based on novel damages allegations. While neither cases recognized a property interest in personal information per se, the courts allowed cases involving mobile devices and alleged privacy violations to proceed, finding allegations sufficient that (a) the plaintiffs paid more for their…