The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update.
By R. Prescott Stearns Jr.
Your investment of between 20 and 30 minutes a week will bring up to speed on a dozen current stories from around the world.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update.Dec 09, 2020
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Hits the Launderette for the Week Ending May 21st., 2024
Episode 190. This week we start with a tale that will bring happiness to every University Students’ mother.
We follow with another that has one woman fuming while everyone involved claims it was a coincidence.
There is an update on the tattletale car story and the short, sharp, slap that lawmakers gave automakers recently.
We find out the name of the company whose employee was tricked into a $25 million transfer.
Then a story that will make the blood boil of anyone who’s been let go during the ongoing waves of tech layoffs.
A Cyber security giant tells us why large language models can never be secure.
And we end with what we would almost call an obscene invasion of privacy from a collaboration tool that we all used to trust.
We won’t promise you that this weeks update will get your socks clean, but at least there’s no pre-soaking required. Come on! Let’s wash!
Tagging along with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week Ending May 14th., 2024
Episode 189. Ever feel like you are being followed? This week we have both Apple and Google making efforts to quell that effect.
We have leak updates from two sources that should be among the last to ever have to send out breach notices. One a computer manufacturer and the other a US Government agency.
From there, its on to the latest craze in extortion and what you can do to secure against it.
We get what we think could be an AI version of Mad Cow disease. The first round of Mad Cow was scary, but this one includes hallucinations.
There’s the rushed US extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Wait what? What’s that? It’s an NSA undertaking that could effect almost anyone globally.
And finally we get some insight into what happens when your company’s Cloud Service Provider (CSP) hiccoughs, and deletes all your company infrastructure. Could it be time for CSP specific Disaster recovery plans?
This week’s updates might leave you feeling a little uncomfortable, but ...better the devil you know.
A Shot in the Bot with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week Ending May 7th., 2024
Episode 188
This week we blast off with a couple of stories that would make movies like Top Gun and Armageddon appear tame in comparison. This just might be where reality surpasses fiction.
From there we move to a couple of US healthcare providers that are doing their utmost to help other nation states get familiar with your particulars. One was an actual breach but the other was just dumb.
Then we learn about sharing... or… we learn we are sharing, as it seems that almost 50% of Internet traffic is not even of human origin…. and the growing pain of proving we are human!
Google updates two factor authentication (2FA) so that you don’t have to worry about sim swaps compromising you and finally things to do to lessen the probability that you might have spyware running on your iPhone.
This week’s update is a shot in the bot, but you know what? You’re going to love it!
Burn, Burn, Burn with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week Ending April 30th., 2024
Episode 187
Flames leap from the IT Privacy and Security news this week... from trick TVs to leaky telephones.
We flare up with a story about US Senator Ron Wyden chasing a Google TV “quirk” that could grant access to your Gmail.
Then from the embers we hear scraping noises. This time Discord is the target and you are the payload.
From there it’s insecure Chinese keyboard apps. And the millions of users that could be easily smoked out.
Next is a story about how Microsoft threw cold water on a hot vulnerability that was being actively exploited in businesses across the world.
A recent court ruling agrees that yes, you can get burned by your thumbs…
And finally a roasting for the US’ largest wireless carriers over their exploitation of your location data.
This week’s temps are up, but you’ll stay cool as we share it with you! Let’s go!
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week Ending April 9th., 2024
Episode 186 Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s... your insurance company!?!?
This week we have stats and stories that will leave you gasping, and that’s good because you’ll have a chance to catch your breath during our spring break over the next couple weeks.
We start this update up there, in the sky, and the novel new way insurance companies are finding to lower risk and increase profits.
From there we move on to a US privacy bill that we never thought we would see get as far as it has, and just how many people are potentially lining up to stop it.
It’s not 007, but SS7 and it involves spies and use by adversaries for so long that the Federal Communications Commission is calling for accountability.
There’s a ransomware attack that hasn’t hit healthcare but a coffee loyalty program that has raised the profile of ransomware to new heights.
From a Canadian listener an update on Microsoft’s Security Chickens.
And finally the most amazing, incredible, unbelievable identity theft story we have ever heard.
They removed the last public phone box in Metropolis in 2022, so there’s no chance to change, but that’s fine because by the time we get to the end of this week’s update we’ll only need one identity and it will be secure.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update and the Hole in the Bucket for the Week Ending April 2nd., 2024
Episode 185 This week’s update starts out leaking like an old bucket, but gets patched up pretty good.
We start with our friends at AT&T and yet more mobile phone subscriber detail launched out onto the dark web. Is it playing catch up with another mobile service provider?
An almost shocking update from the Department of Homeland Security that they are halting the purchase of your location data and phone records from data brokers. Could this be the DHS realizing they were doing wrong or is it simply down to budget cuts?
Then there’s news from President Joe that all agencies should appoint a chief AI officer. In the acronym laden US government that would mean adding a CAIO to the C-suite. Not to be outdone, the VP announced some new AI standards introducing the novel new word “fairness” to some of the use cases that are popping up like spring flowers across the US.
The US taxpayers on are the hook in a new reward for the capture of the BlackCat hackers, before we move on to Google pledging to destroy the truckloads of data it collected on you (and others) while you used their browser in incognito mode.
We finish the update with that look in your eye that has given yet another country the impetus to pause retina scanning by a man called Sam.
If there’s a hole in the bucket, we’d better get to fixing it. Grab some straw and let’s go!
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update “in Like a Lamb out like a Lion” for the Week Ending March 26th., 2024
Episode 184. It’s the last last episode this month, and if “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” then we have the wild in these updates running backwards.
We start with an absolutely stupid way to save five bucks. Cut coupons, buy off-brands but don’t try to save money with Telegram’s new money saving offer.
Next we move onto a story about how the YouTube algorithm could get you added to a very special list of people who end up with way more attention than they bargained for.
From there we get some unexpected protection from a name we thought had left the room.
Then, from the realms of “They will mine on anything” If your AI sessions are returning nonsense, you may want to blame it on Bitcoin.
Florida goes further than any other to protect kids with a new law, braces for the inevitable onslaught of lawsuits and then…. Nothing happens.
And we finish this week with a story from last spring that has just hit the courts as hard as these uninvited guests hit her front door. You will be shocked and amazed at just how much damage a pair of AirPods could cause, and not to your hearing.
Wild is as wild does. Come on, let’s go!
Sweet Like Chocolate. The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending March 19th., 2024
Episode 183
In our sweetest update yet, we go from “Jam” to chocolate as we cover all subtle flavors and nuances of IT Privacy and Security.
Then for our second story we have an EU member in trouble with GDPR with what some would call complete disregard for the regulation they helped create.
In the third story of our update we explain the two things you should be aware of as you scroll through TikTok videos.
General Motors has a new lawsuit driven at it after one customer discovered he couldn’t get car insurance because his Cadillac was tattling on him.
In our fifth segment we spill “Top Secret” detail with you that is, frankly, a little over our heads.
And finally we round the update off with a bittersweet story that will have you running out to corner the market after you read it.
This week’s update is sweet like chocolate.
“Makth the Stable Dore Fast” with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending March 12th., 2024
Episode 182
This week we take you from credential stuffing to whistle-blowing by way of a bolted horse.
We start with the compromise of your beloved Roku account and no more vivid a lesson on the value of unique passwords.
From there it’s on to closing the barn doors after the horse has bolted with the US’ new report on controls for AI.
Airbnb takes you off camera for your next rental while the EU seems to have gotten caught in their own GDPR trap.
Signal’s new username feature is available now and it takes the application to new heights of privacy and security that no other messaging app comes close to.
Finally we end with the story of a Boeing whistle-blower doffed shortly before he was to give his deposition and how sad Boeing are.
Like a bolted horse, this update is fast and frenetic yet we think you’ll be glad you came along for the ride!
Find the full transcript here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Finds a Needle in a Haystack for the Week Ending March 5th., 2024
For this episode we go searching for the needle in the haystack and it appears that someone or something in our fourth story found it!
But we end Q1 with what we end every Q1 with in the US. Taxes. And relief that the already onerous tax prep process that so many have to have buy special software for just to complete, now asks you for permission to sell your data …. and how you can avoid it.
Americans see their privacy eroded at every lamp post, but North of the border in Canada the supreme court passed a bill that increases privacy for every Canadian.
And while we hold our breath and turn blue waiting for Microsoft to fix their zero day vulnerabilities, we apparently have demonstrated an unwitting hospitality to guests visiting from North Korea.
From there it’s AI, and while one finds needles in haystacks, others are generating things that crawl a network in an altogether more unsavory manner.
The U.S. Whitehouse, apparently now a subscriber to our podcast continues to call out the dangers of “Smart” devices. This time it’s cars and the takeaway that has the POTUS calling out a new investigation.
Finally we finish with a device called the ShotSpotter that is turning up in neighbourhoods across the US in high numbers. It doesn’t have a camera attached, but it still has potential to to remove even more of our privacy. Can you guess how?
This is our best update yet, so grab your metal detectors and let’s hit the hay!
Click here for the full transcript to this podcast.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Loses the Car for the week ending February 27th., 2024
Episode 180. The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Loses the Car for the week ending February 27th., 2024
This week one vendor announced we’d be getting post-Quant encryption for our messages, while another works feverishly to ensure we can find our car when we are done at the supermarket.
We have a discovery at one vending machine that does its tracking while you are snacking.
We shine some new light into nation-state spy versus spy wars.
Then the FTC lets loose on a free antivirus provider that slurped up so much of your data for the last 10 years that it’s making the NSA look amateur.
Following that is a class action lawsuit against a license plate scanning company out in Cali that you can join if your plate been scanned at least 15 times. You’ll want to be sitting when we do the reveal on how many people will be joining you.
This week’s update is all about right and wrong, left and right, and er... “where did you say we parked the car?”
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update fixes it for the week ending February20th., 2024
This week’s update is our most exciting yet:
- You get driving lessons that help you fix security.
- A new class of black hat AI that can hack websites on its own.
- A suggestion that you keep your thought crimes to a minimum if you want to keep your job
- New malware that will steal your face.
- The US Department of Justice (sorry U.S. only) logging into our routers and removing malware
- A John Deere tractor story with a sad ending for farmers
- An update to the secure messaging app Signal that makes it even more private
- And finally a tiny little website with some HUGE ideas
Whatever it is, this update fixes it, so come join in the adventure!
Find the full transcript for this podcast here.
Love the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending February 13th., 2024
It’s that time of year again when love is in the air and this week’s update will be as embracing as a hug from Taylor Swift after a big Super bowl win.
We start with a great misstep story about a hypothetical bot infection of millions of toothbrushes that is sure to leave a glint in your eye and a grin on your face.- click the pic to hear the podcast -As we recover from all the betting ads being hurled at us as US states legalize online betting one by one, we have a story about how the world’s biggest (by volume) casino faltered.
From there we go underground, literally, with a newly released disclosure about real time survelliance that could have those in the world’s 37th largest city running for cover.
Fresh and hot, we deliver an Apple turnover on the right to repair.
Then an update from Google that might make spyware companies like Israel’s NSO group even less popular.
And we finish with something that might have you reminiscing about school days and fake IDs, but this time we add in the artful hand of AI.
You're in the mood, you’ll love this update.
The Fine Balance of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending February 6th., 2024
This week we start with your dear Gran. When’s the last time you called her to see how she was doing?
After our first update we hope that call will happen within the next day or two.
From there we move to a model corporate citizen in CloudFlare and discover further repercussion from last year’s Okta Breach and a remote desktop solution that could almost use their breech as a PR exercise.
We are reminded that everyone on that Zoom call might not be as they seem, and find a glorious dip in ransomware payouts that hopefully indicate the new direction of ransomware attacks.
Then... we go dark with a report that has probably crossed all of our minds since the Covid-19 outbreak.
We get some good news for the environment from some joint work between MIT and IBM and we end with what some would call a regulatory imbalance.
From empathy to entropy and back again this week’s update gets the balance right.
For the full transcript to this week's podcast click here.
Out at the Payphone with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending January 30th 2024
Episode 176
This week the update gets dialed in: First via a new spy tool called Patternz then via a photo contest where we share who rates what in the race at the top.
From there we have an update on the “Mother of all breaches” a newly surfaced collection of over 26 Billion records for you to wonder if you are part of.
It’s onto the the US’ efforts to thwart Chinese hacking within critical US infrastructure before we read a letter from a US senator to the NSA asking why they are buying up phone data on US Citizens.
Then there is an update about Chat GPT placing random private conversations (including PII) in one users conversation list.
Britain gives us a timeline for the development of AI ransomware and Russia goes dark.
This week’s update might have you reminiscing about the physical security of an old payphone, but we’ll get you reconnected.
Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
The Clean and Fresh Smelling IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week Ending January 23rd. 2024
Episode 175
As you were walking home from work did you ever feel like someone was watching you? In this weeks’ update we tell you why.
We have some disturbing news on a cyber attack where the data from 1 million cancer patients is stolen, and then used to threaten and spam them.
Mandiant discovers a Zero-day attack that could have allowed many businesses like hospitals to be compromised for up to 2 years before a patch was delivered.
Microsoft’s executive suite got hacked by a Russian intelligence agency.
Troy Hunt adds another 71 million emails addresses to his “haveIBeenPwned” database, which means, now is a great time to check and see if your emails are among them.
We finish with stories about a couple of devices that are making the news: One detects skin cancer using AI and the other seemed to be minting Monero while it cleans your socks.
This week’s IT Privacy and Security Update is full of surprises, but each and every one is delivered to you “Clean and Fresh smelling”!
Find the full transcript to this podcast here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update Gets Pumped for the week Ending January 2nd. 2024
Episode 174 This week we are pumping, probing, questioning and querying on all fronts. We start with a couple of fan faves from the Consumer Electronics show, but wonder if we’ll get as much use out of them as the V-logging contingent.- click the pic to hear the podcast -From there we siphon out some subtle word-smithing that might mean we are not the only ones left quaking in our boots.
Apple, the company selling us on the importance of privacy, drops another privacy bomb on us.
We tap into supply-side typo that should have everyone in San Francisco more than a little angry at the lack of due care and attention being paid by their judges
The Emmy’s are over yet Reddit pushes out an update about being chased by the movie studios and it doesn’t to want to be caught in this spotlight.
The swell of Quantum computing-proof encryption difficulties continues to grow with another set of vulnerabilities exposed.
And we finish this week with a story about a water pump that “spills” a little more detail from one of the biggest security mysteries in years.
The pace is bumping, the beat is thumping, the stories pumping so let’s get jumping.
Find the full transcript for this podcast here
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update with Space, man... for the week Ending January 9th. 2024
Episode 173
This week we need some space, man.
We start with phones and cellphone towers in low Earth orbit, then we move on to one of the most intriguing iPhone compromises we’ve ever heard andwe have heard plenty. Who is behind this one? That’s for you to decide.
From there we learn about a Mandiant account hijack (wait aren’t they one of the most elite security companies? Weren’t they the second most expensive company that Google ever purchased?)
Then we have a section of the update for slow learners, and we promise it’s not this audience!
Then it's: “why we need to patch our Windows machines” before a story about catching a pest that finds a new home every Sunday.
We end with an update that is good enough to be out of the Jetsons.
This is the best IT Privacy and Security Update so far this year! We love it and we know you will too!
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Feeling Good for the week Ending January 2nd. 2024
Episode 172
This week we focus on our amazing kids. From the effect the phone we send them off with “to keep them safe” has, to an amazing 13 year old crushing a 34 year old arcade game. We even end with advice from a Nobel prize winner about what you might not want to study.
From, the kids, we turn to Apple and what is going on between them and the world’s biggest democracy. We then follow Apple to a researcher who thinks he has found the perfect way to keep Apple Air tags from being used for tracking people.
We get an update on the failure of the open source GPL (General Public License) and what one key figure thinks could replace it.
The Google gets some bad news as it is denied a request to have a court case thrown out and then some great news on the safety record of it’s Waymo subsidiary.
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day it’s a new life… and we’re feeling good!
Find a full transcript of this podcast here.
Your Boxing Day IT Privacy and Security Weekly update for the week Ending December 26th. 2023
If you missed getting that special someone that special gift, we have more solid ideas for you this week: A concept jet engine and the source code for Grand Theft Auto 5 as possible suggestions.
We get some insight on why the compromise of your personally identifiable information is not something to take lightly as well as the world coming to realize that you can build a nuclear program on someone else blockchain.- click on the pic to hear the podcast - We get some great insight on just how easy it is to trick ChatGPT into divulging it’s training data.
Then the US government slaps a 5 year ban on Rite Aid for using facial recognition software, just as the UK is sneaking a country wide integration into place.
We end this week with something so basic a child could figure it out. And did. Leaving television content producers to catch up from behind.
This brings us to the end of a year that has profoundly changed the course of humankind, from the decimation of animal species, to the environment, to each other. Let’s all learn from 2023 and make 2024 so much better. Come on! It’s boxing day and time to reveal your last gift.
Episode 171 Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update Gives Large for the week Ending December 19th. 2023
Episode 170
Our first few stories present some unique gifting ideas. Who needs another Rolex when you can give “large”?
We get new breach reporting requirements from the US’ SEC and China’s MIIT. Wait, what is this, a competition?
In that same vein, we get something less than super from Mr. Cooper.
After a court ruling that you cannot be forced to reveal your phone pin, there’s great news from Google about a change to your location data.
And we finish up this update in front of a crackling fire.
Quick, get the eggnog, we’ll go get a cat, and let's settle in comfortably for this week's update!
Find the transcript for this week's podcast here
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update Hangs up the Phone for the Week Ending December 12th. 2023
Episode 169
This week we hang up the phone with a couple of definitive stories, the first coming from a huge US phone company and the last a Dutch phone company that is ripping the title of “The phone to be seen with” out of the hands of Apple, Google and Samsung.
Second in our stories this week is a blatant example from the UK of an individual in the public sector courting the private sector.
In at story three is yet another US healthcare provider getting breached.
Then we find Apple commissioning a report about data breaches and ransomware while at the same time crippling an app that delivered their secure iMessages to Android.
We have a creepy move by Google to potentially provide context to your interactions with their bots by feeding them your photo data.
And we bring Microsoft into the mix with a story about how their Active Directory could end up delivering what it shouldn’t to a certain type of query.
There’s only one way to stop that ringing in your ear. Let’s pick up the phone!
Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly update and “Way More” than we Expected for the week Ending December 5th. 2023
Episode 168
It seemed excessive, but you agreed on the rent and even though it’s “way more” than you wanted to pay, you manage, until you read our first story.
Facebook published their quarterly adversarial threat report, and they say that one country is firing up “way more” fake accounts to influence your opinion than just about anyone.
asso Security says they discovered “way more” API tokens exposed related to AI models and datasets from one AI community than they’d expected.
We got initial numbers and a couple of revisions that are “way more” related to breaches from 23andMe and Okta.
There’s concealment, compromise and danger as we learn “way more” about the UK’s Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant.
Finally, ”way more” exposure and a judge’s opinion that Amazon may be responsible.
The plain truth is this week’s update gives you “way more”!
Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
Bed Head with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly update for the week Ending November 28th. 2023
Episode 167
This week we start with the dollar bill ranking of the top US Universities for earnings potential
We then throw some light on a global disappearing act, first the presenters and then a whole developer conference. This is one you have to hear to believe!
From there, in our third story, it’s a thumbs down for the security that fingerprint reader on your laptop is delivering.
In at four is a new agreement between the US, UK and a dozen countries pitched at making AI safer.
From there it’s hot water, and wait, one martial artist’s company that seems to be soaking in it.
We get a “better late than never” from “Down under” in the fight on cyber crime and finally for our last story, an Internet of Things thing that you’re spending a third of your life on that may be sharing more about you than you want.
This week’s update is all over the place and all over the world, but you get it served up fresh right here!
Dig in!
Find the full transcript of this week's podcast here.
A Secret Identity and the IT Privacy and Security Weekly update and for the week Ending November 21st. 2023
Episode 166
This week we have a revelation related to a world famous someone who has managed to avoid arrest through the careful application of privacy. We reveal how that may now be at an end.
We share how a phone manufacturer who promised to bring Apple’s iMessage to Android ended up with “Nothing”
From there a new revelation about how the US Government is using our phones to compromise our privacy (again) and then a really cool must see result from a dev who integrated his computer and camera into GPT-4V and an AI voice and got his own nature program.
Then it’s on to how kids in school can protect themselves against accusations of cheating with AI, and why it’s wrong for schools to be trusting bad software over their students.
From there we find a group that has done more damage trying to do the right thing than if they did nothing at all.
Finally, we have a new use case for blockchain that might be to blockchain what killer apps were to PCs.
We are coming up to Thanksgiving in the US and so we are giving thanks for all our readers and listeners. You keep the drive and the passion flowing. Subscribe to the podcast, share us with your colleagues and friends. “Thank you”.
Herding Cats with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly update and for the week Ending November 14th 2023
Episode 165
This week we let the cat out of the bag with the FTCs probe into one databroker’s dealings.
We follow with our second update that has a cat on a hot tin roof … of your car and just what the automobile manufacturers are collecting from you that is available to the police, but not you.
For story three we swing the cat ‘round to the EU to find out a bit more about QWACs, while in Australia we put the cat among the pigeons of one telecom provider with an update and a request that had a judge decide they didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance.
In at story five is what happened to the cool cats over at Open AI right after their first developer conference.
We look at a couple things the cat dragged in one affecting older older bitcoin wallets and the other particular Python packages.
And we end with the cats meow of an update to a great communications app.
The cat got the cream but we’ve got an even tastier menu in this week’s dishy update
Up all night with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly update for the week ending November 7th., 2023
Episode 164
This week we let you know why you feel so great after staying up all night with us.
For our second story, we move into one of the world’s most prestigious resorts only to get no sleep because of its leaks.
Our third update covers the blackout of about 31% of the Australian mobile market.
In at number four is the nightmare of just how easily a study found it to be to obtain Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (SPII) on the US Military.
At five news updates on Apple: malware, Macbreaks and Massive tracking devices.
Then we move onto the screen actors guild staying very much awake on the point of not releasing the rights to an actors likeness in perpetuity.
Finally we close out with a story that allows no shut eye: the intense appetite to string all camera feeds together that started in one town and has caught on like a rash.
This week we’re chasing the sun with a collection of global stories that ensure there will always be sunshine on this update! Let’s go!
Find the full transcript to this weeks' podcast here.
The Sixth Sense of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week ending October 31st. 2023
We start with the perils of sharing too much on social media and feeling like there's just no recovering from that last round of plastic surgery.
Then we touch on a story of an unexpected right hook from the SEC that left one CISO seeing stars.
We smell trouble with high numbers of shortened web addresses being delivered by email, text and message apps. for our third story.
At four and five we find Ace hardware left with a bad taste in their mouths just as news of a ban on ransomware payments by 40 nations hits our ears
We're trying to see through the murk of AI model transparency with a new rating system that may deliver some clarity for our sixth story.
And as is often the case, we end this week's update somewhat explosively with a suggestion that should keep all our senses (and quite possibly our homes) intact.
Our sixth sense tells us this is the best update yet so grab that Ouija board and lets go!
Find a full transcript of this podcast here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update gets Spooky for the week ending October 24th. 2023
For our first story we put on our resting witch face and join the Mozilla Foundation as they reveal their new privacy creep-o-meter.
We’re raising spirits in the art community with our second story of the “deadly” Nightshade that might kill off AI replicating your artwork.
In story three witches be trippin’ over 23andMe data from another 4 million clients. What a nightmare!
The star of our fourth story is the return of the Boo crew leaving Okta to create another batty blog post.
The Colorado Supreme Court creeps it real with support for warrantless keyword searches as the US DOJ discovers North Korean ghosts in the machine.
Next we say “fang you very much” to Gary Gensler for his heads up about AI’s potential effect on our financial markets
and finally...
An eek, squeak, and unique new use for AI that let’s it hear things you don’t remember saying.
So join us in this week’s web of fun. Broom hair? Don’t care. Let’s go!
Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update Plays Ball for the week ending October 17th. 2023
Episode 161. In this week’s IT Privacy and Security weekly update...
On first base is an exciting new use case for AI that will leave you feeling great!
On second is an update on the largest DDoS attack ever, what it is and what it could mean to you.
Third at bat the US pitches a plan for other countries to adopt a policy of no payments for ransomware.
Back at home plate we have the newest trend in malware; browser updates through infected websites. We tell you what to look out for so you don’t get hit by any foul balls.
At number five, and way out in left field is concern from one mathematician that the NSA might be fouling the mix of the latest encryption protocol.
Up in the bleachers at number six we have news on Open source project updates that might leave you wishing you had a better seat.
And finally we tell you how to strike out Instagram to keep it from tracking you across other websites.
This week all bases are loaded. Let’s go hit a home run!
Find the full transcript to this week's podcast here.
Unraveling the DNA of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending October 10th. 2023
Episode 160. In this week’s IT Privacy and Security weekly update:
We start this week with a pause of remembrance to all those innocents caught up in the wars raging across the world. Often the highest price is paid by the most innocent.
October may be Cybersecurity month, but in the run-up to the holidays, we think it could also be “Call your grandparents month” too. Why? We have an eye opener from the FBI that may have you ringing your Grandmother as soon as you finish reading this.
Our second story to anyone at Amazon working remotely, “the gig’s up”.
Our third story gives us another reason to dislike having our photographs taken, with our fourth covering a little change that will keep our communications through one application safe for years.
Shockwaves from Cali in story five, and 23andMe unravelling our genetic secrets for our sixth update.
Finally we take a bite out of the line in one supercomputer’s greatest threat, and we hope it doesn’t give the cat any ideas.
Just like a strand of DNA, let’s go unravel these updates!
Find the full transcript to this podcast here
Face it with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending October 3rd. 2023
This week we rip the lid off privacy starting with a story about a quiet plan in the UK to catch shoplifters that could end up stealing something critical from us all.
From there we share a story from LA where popular food delivery robots are delivering much more than your order.
Next on the slate is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act lawsuit against some names more familiar to your phone than organized crime.
Then we travel to Serbia where there is more evidence of an ingenious plan to map the world’s DNA, Taiwan’s help to rebuild Huawei, and why Air BNB is not afraid to be a party pooper.
We’re back with a hard look in the mirror and an caffeine enriched selection of IT Privacy and Security stories, so let’s hit this week’s adventure “Face first”!
You can do it. The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending September 12th 2023
We’d like to start by letting you know that we are taking our first pod-break in over 3 years. We’ll be heading up to the
highlands to ruminate before returning on the 3rd. of October.
It’s a perfect time to catch up on some of our previous pods
Thank you for joining in for the last 157 episodes and we look forward to serving up many more!
In this week’s IT Privacy and Security weekly update, episode 158 we have some really uncomfortable news about your new ride. You may want to sit
down for this story, but... just not in the car.
We follow that with another related update... but this one is a little closer to home. Running out of disk space and how that cost one
automobile company the loss in production of about 13,000 vehicles a day for at least a couple days.
From there we move to details of our familiar friends at Last Pass and what the backup breach might be costing former customers, and what you should do if you too used LastPass.
We have a new quota from the US Customs and border patrol that might have those leaving the US powdering their noses.
We finish with a couple of stories out of China that will have you doing a double take the next time you get a text on your phone and wondering why you ever complained about the “One” job you have.
And here is the best in IT Privacy and Security....
Find the full transcript to this podcast here
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update fights for your right for the week ending September 5th., 2023
This week it's all about the party and the recovery.
We start with the NYPD flying into your party. And end with something that may make all sorts of survellience tech obsolete, for good or for bad.
We move onto a blinding new revelation from the UK government and an unexpected verdict out of Texas. From there we go phishing with GoDaddy and discover that some high costs to Germany turn out to be trending downward
We have more noise from Russia and what sounds like a very clever way to turn the volume way down.
We present a second perspective on web attestation and some pretty dumb security from a security company.
So before the hangover kicks in let’s go find out what’s happening in the world of IT Privacy and Security, because you have to fight for the right to...
The IT Privacy and Security Weekly Low Earth Orbit update for the week ending August 29th., 2023
This week we have a terrific collection of stories for you along with some friendly reminders.
As we navigate the heavens we touch on 2FA, Social Media and Rust.
We get some interesting insight on the U.S. College Board that all high school students would mark as a “fail”.
We
discover the perils of a familiar piece of conferencing software and a
new initiative from the Taliban that has more than one Hijab tied in
knots.
From there we learn about a new bot dispensing information
that the credit bureaus are collecting on you, and an etiquette update
to US Spies.
We finish, where else, but in Low Earth Orbit with a story that has quietly been getting louder.
This week’s update will make us all better Internet citizens and keep us all just a little bit safer.
So let’s kick it!
From Fido to France-oh! With the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week ending August 22nd., 2023
Get your passport ready, because this week we ignore the Amalfi coast and head straight for the real action!
Out
of Zurich we have news of Google and a new FIDO2, before heading off to
Canada and a wild assertion for a bank there about targeting children's
parents.
We present the QR code you knew would come, Tesla's insider dealing and how China leveraged Japan's porosity.
We
bounce back to New York for the Time's latest headline story, and then
discover what AI will really mean to your job in the next few years, and
yes, that's probably coming from your boss, or her boss.
From
Norway we discover a "funny" little Windows server feature, and from
Kenya, more proof that the thing attempting to become the de facto world
digital identity system for citizens of the globe has a hard time
hearing.
This is the best traveled update yet.. so take those feet and let's get them in the street!
Find the full transcript to this podcast here.
From Teens to Pharaohs with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending August 15th 2023
This update quite literally “flies” from one end of the globe to the other.
We’ve
got great updates for your teens out of Boston and Las Vegas, a great
primer on finding out what is in some of the privacy policies you are
signing off on and a sneaky bit of data collection coming from
chip-maker Intel.
We have the looming threat of what the UK’s
demand for unencrypted encrypted communications might mean for the
population and the new dance that Zoom is doing in regard to AI.
From
there we go to Detroit where AI that is notoriously poor at recognizing
people of color get a second set of eyes and then back to Las Vegas for
the prank that made no friends in Track Hall Four.
We may have some perversely good news about Capcha and we finish over the Pyramid Giza.
You
want it and we have it, even to the illumination of a sure secret to
success. Let’s go discover this week’s world of IT Security and Privacy!
Find the full transcript to this podcast here.
The Surprise of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending August 8th. 2023
This week surprisingly starts with a couple of building maintenance callouts: one for a flashing X on the roof and the other for a rat in the kitchen.
We then feel the jolt of new, shorter breach reporting requirements and solve the mystery of what happened to your air miles.
Google confounds us
with a little more control over everything it is collecting on us,
while White Castle may be considering racing lanes for its drive-through
with its latest AI announcement.
We have every spy across the planet weighing in on what was line-of-sight for hackers during 2022, and an astonishingly easy fix for you to do now.
And we end with a cracking update from low Earth orbit.
You’re going to love this, so circle the world with us in our most awesome update yet!
For a full transcript of this week's podcast click here
The Habits of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending August 1st 2023
This week we suggest new habits to improve your security and lengthen your life.
We
have a friendly update on what that Nigerian Prince who wanted to give
you money a few years back is up to now, and what he might be up to
shortly if he gets his hands on the latest batch of PHI to go missing.
The
US and EU are both keeping an eye on a curious new appetite from one
party for old chips, a new coin under the magnifying glass, and one
whole country back in the viewfinder.
We
have an update on why the Clear lines at the airport aren't quite as
quick as they were a year ago and we finish with a warning to UK drivers
about a new van that looks like a high-rise crane has crashed through
its roof, and why you might want to avoid it.
This week's update is all about living longer and traveling. Not a bad agenda. Let's book!
For a full transcript of this week's podcast click here
Smiling with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the Week Ending July 25th 2023
This week we are smiling at some of the greatest stories to grace the headlines.
We
literally go from a launch to a cover up, but in between we have all
lovely gooey sticky filling that will keep you coming back to the cookie
jar.
There's an update from Google on your Gmail, that just
might be worth the privacy tradeoff (come on, they read all your mail
anyway), Now they additionally want to parse the sites you visit to see
if they are safe.... And while that is going on Apple slams the UK
government for its attempts to read all your communications too.
We
have a couple of really alarming AI stories that will twist your
thoughts on privacy into knots, A couple of patch updates that are
super-important for Apple and LINUX users and a simple idea that could
keep your Hyundai or Kia in your driveway.
This weeks' round up
might be the most important one yet for your own security and that of
the kids. So enough of this standing around smiling, let's get Updated!
Find the full transcript to the podcast here.
The Kiss of the IT Privacy and Security weekly Update for the week ending July 18th 2023
In this week’s update, we start and end on TikTok, but the bookends could not be more different.
We
have one of the most important updates on how you can protect your
family and friends from the latest AI scam that's already gone global.
Then we dance between more revelations from who’s viewing who, to one presenter who lost more than her TikTok audience.
There’s
a brazen story covering one law firm's efforts to stop Google from
hoovering up every piece of our data and presumably make some decent
money in the process.
We’ve got a new flow across the Atlantic and a brave soul who is duty-bound to put a stop to it.
Finally, we have the latest compromise, this one occurring during your Amazon package delivery.
It’s fresh as a kiss, it’s fun, it’s the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update!
Find the full transcript for this podcast here.
Primed for the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending July 11th, 2023
This week we have a prime serving of updates for you, we start with artificial intelligences' decline and end, frankly a little loopy, but you are sure to find a story in our global round up that makes a difference to your life, even if it is only to keep you from tripping.
We start with a mother's photo of her son and the upsetting news that he might have been created with AI. From there we move to the Philippines where a little too much about the police has gone public
We have a big win for Big tech's data transfers out of the EU and a sobering story data transfers after your trip to the local copy shop.
We have the former CEO of Theranos, "quietly" having updates made to a sentence that has to have the other inmates crying "Foul" and Tom Brady getting hit with something way worse than a quarterback sack.
We end the week tied up in Algorithms, and a secret that many had not discovered through their whole lives.
Now that we're primed, let's discover the best update yet!
For a full transcript of this podcast please go here
The Boom of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for w/e July 4th 2023
In this week’s update, we flutter from “ almost everything” to the butterfly effect.
In between those extremes, we find a little tit-for-tat going on between the US and China that could impact everything from your cloud compute to your phone.
We have facial recognition software being rejected by performers and embraced by you local shops.
From there the sad story of the CISO first attacked by a nation-state and then by the US government.
And finally, we have a story about some phone hacking software that itself got hacked.
It’s all here in a firecracker of a 4th of July edition of the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update.
Find a full transcript of this podcast here.
Pictures of the IT Privacy and Security weekly Update for the week ending June 27th., 2023
This week we start with a story that we’ve had to reread three times because it was just so unbelievable.
From there we move onto what you are doing with your phone that a small number of years ago used to take some pretty hefty specialized equipment.
We stick to phones in a global round up of details on another scheme to compromise you through it, advice from the Australian government as to what to do with it, and who’s going to court for selling data from it.
We discover a programmer who has just come up with a brilliant Chat GPT interface for an operating system that might be at the bottom of your mothers’ closet.
We finish off the week with another list of what Americans hate, and you might be surprised to see what’s topping it out.
There’s never a dull moment in the realms of IT privacy and security and this week is no exception so flip up your hoodie, grab your phone, start the camera app and let’s go!
Find the full transcript for this podcast at discuss.daml.com
The IT Privacy and Security Update and a side of Julia for the week ending June 20th., 2023
We start with some serious dissing and end up dishing.
Between the start and end state, we get served up by Julia and rerouted by the Benz.
We learn about a new voicebox that we can’t have and get the perfect example of a self-licking ice cream cone.
We have new controls on what can be sold and to whom and a new way to use that screwdriver to unlock your Lenovo.
Finally, we have a group of Swiss farmers that think Apple has taken one bite too many.
This week’s update comes with a side of Julia, so let’s order up!
Find the full transcript of this podcast at Discuss.Daml.com
School’s out for Summer with the IT Privacy and Security Update for the week ending June 13th., 2023
From the cool waters of the backyard pool to the chilling depths of cylindrical holes in the ground, this week’s stories will elevate your temperature to get you in that summertime mood.
We commute to work past a copycat chip shop and then get an update on why the unemployment rate for lobbyists is still at all-time lows in Washington DC.
We catch Microsoft being naughty, while Google and Apple go to the head of the class.
We find the US government flunking out with their latest budget spend, while one state that’s round on the ends and Hi in the middle makes the honors list.
Finally, we have a round-up of last year’s breach news from Verizon’s annual survey that should get us out of study hall early.
Up North, school’s almost out for Summer so grab your books and let’s go!
Find the full transcript to this podcast at Discuss.daml.com
Warming up to the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending June 6th., 2023
This week’s exciting collection of stories takes us from the latest fashionable freeze to the warmth of a fuzzy paparazzo.
We have a “stand up, sit down, stand up” again revelation about our friends at TikTok that will leave you …well either sitting or standing… and a couple of Ai stories that describe the horse bolting from the stall and then what that horse did.
There’s a little relief for those in the US living within 100 air miles of the border and a story that will give you more reasons to brush your teeth than your dentist could come up with.
Finally, you get the world’s (is that even correct?) first hackathon in outer space and the prize money is out of this world!
Come on! Shake off those icicles and let’s warm up with the best adventure yet!
For a full transcript of this podcast head over to Discuss.daml.com
The Weighty IT Privacy and Security Update for the week ending May 30th., 2023
This week we go from excess baggage to a face that is not our own.
We have a new scheme to establish what is real in a world where more and more is artificial, by someone we expect to be very prominent in both.
There’s a new declaration about social media that is eerily similar to the one from Santa Cruz California on June 3, 1956, when city authorities announced a total ban on rock and roll at public gatherings, calling rock and roll music “Detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community.”
We’ve got an update on PyPi and how they’d like anything they serve up to be in much smaller pieces.
We’ve got a couple more almost unbelievable TikTok stories and the latest trendy phone that might have you going back to baggy trousers with very large pockets for your next TikTok video.
Finally, we end with a tiny story about what just might be the largest invasion of privacy ever.
Forget the electron microscope and let’s jump on the scales!
For a full transcript of this week's podcast head over to Discuss.daml.com
Flashing Colours in the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending May 23rd., 2023
This week’s update starts with what some might see as a poke in the eye and could end with really poor enunciation.
We have Google intro’ing 8 new domains and getting caught in a .zip.
There’s a great story that might have you thinking that HP has moved into home construction when you hear about all the bricks it created over the past couple weeks.
We have evidence that the FBI emerged from the locker room dirty and the low down on the kingpin of scammer calls in the UK.
While that’s going on Meta’s been setting new records and the White House, one of the slowest moving objects in Washington D.C. just got in front of you.
And then we end with a couple of Silicon valley’s highest flyers, locked firmly in place.
This update is more colorful than a meadow full of Teletubbies, so come on, grab your Ray Bans and let’s go check out the action!
For the full transcript of this podcast go to Discuss.Daml.com
Breathe deeply with the IT Privacy and Security Weekly Update for the week ending May 16th, 2023
Up North here, it’s Springtime so we start with a deep breath of DNA and finish out of ink, we think!
Between here and there we sneeze as we bump into a couple of projects, one that sniffs out unencrypted LTE communication and another that sniffed out the contents of the phone you lost or had taken as evidence by the police.
We dab the tears of a former Bytedance executive as he makes allegations about the Chinese Communist Party “maintaining supreme access” to data, and Toyota who cleverly created an online portal that exposed driver’s data to anyone who looked for it, for a full 10 years!!
There is spluttering from New Zealand as we learn about the dangers of holding onto sensitive data for a little too long and a gasp as we find Google in the UK doing the same.
In the US, you might make an effort to make yourself presentable for the TSA as they will be taking your photograph at even more airports this summer (we name them all).
Whether it’s the cat or the high pollen count turning on that runny nose, just grab a tissue and join in for the latest update adventure!
For the full transcript to this podcast head over to Discuss.daml.com