In the News: Reverse Location Search Warrant Leads Investigators to Google Location Users
Law enforcement agencies in Minnesota have been using reverse location search warrants to find the identities of smartphone owners that were at a crime scene. They accomplish this by issuing a warrant for Google to send the identity, billing and contact information, and web browsing history of all smartphones that reported that their Google Location […]
In the News: Japanese Government to Test IoT Devices by Hacking
The Japanese government amended a law [1] on January 25, 2019 that would allow internet-connected devices to be tested in a trial by fire, or in this case, trial by hacking. Specifically, they want to test the robustness of the default passwords and security set by various Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, including smart doorbells, locks, lights, […]
In the News: Google’s Knowledge Graph can be used to misinform
Have you used Google to answer a question, to find that the answer appears in a big box on the right hand side of the search results? This is Google’s Knowledge Graph technology, which stores the ‘answers’ to common questions within a structured database that organizes information on websites in a standardized way [1]. It […]
In the News: Screen Composers Guild of Canada Proposes ‘Copyright Tax’ On Internet Use
A proposal by the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) to The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, released on September 25, 2018, aims to introduce a ‘copyright tax’ on Internet use, according to the documents released by TorrentFreak [1] In the report [2], the SCGC proposed a tax collected by internet service providers “that is […]
In the News: ‘WaitList.dat” file is harvesting text from touch-based Windows PCs
Do you have a touch-based Windows PC? If you have used the ‘Handwriting Recognition’[1] feature, text you entered through any method (keyboard or handwriting) may have been harvested and sent to Microsoft, according to ZDNet [2]. According to digital forensics and incident response expert Barnaby Skeggs, when this ‘Handwriting Recognition’ feature is turned on, a […]
In the News: Google Tracks Smartphones that Disabled Location Services
You probably already know that there are tradeoffs involved with certain services offered through the internet. One such tradeoff is providing a service with your geographic location to find out where you are, or how to get to a destination from your current location. Google also receives your current geographic location via GPS data sent […]
In the News: Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance: “Privacy is not Absolute”
Five Eyes (FVEY) Intelligence Alliance is a multi-national agreement for signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom [1]. This group emerged as a result of the 1943 Britain-United States of America Agreement (1943 BRUSA Agreement)[2]. Although the treaty was signed and enacted in 1943, the public was only […]
In the News: Smart Meters are Internet Connected Devices Too!
Thinking of upgrading your thermostat or doorbell to a smart, internet-enabled device? You may want to consider the consequences of creating a connection to certain parts or systems of your home through the internet. Smart electricity meters are one example of internet-enabled elements of a person’s home. These meters can read and send the monthly […]
In The News: US Prosecutor Obliges Suspect to Surrender Passcode
A recent development in a 2017 case in Louisiana has resulted in a suspect being compelled to surrender the passcode to his smartphone. In the case of State of Louisiana v. Sean-Paul Gott [1], one of the four defendants was ordered under a ‘Motion to Compel’ to reveal the password to his smartphone, which was […]
People said…