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The Digital Tattoo Project Podcast raises questions, shares stories, speaks with experts and encourages us to consider our digital lives.
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In the News: Government Malware Disguised as Android Apps
A report by Vice News [1] published last week points to a report made by the cybersecurity group Security Without Borders [2] about Android malware that disguises itself as innocuous apps on Google’s Play Store. While disguising malicious software as harmless applications is not a technique that is new [3], the article published by Vice […]
Privacy Please! A talk by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Not once have I ever read a privacy policy. This is, of course, shameful to admit, especially for a Digital Tattoo contributor. But between the sheer length of privacy policies and the legalese in which they are often written, time spent reading them usually feels like time wasted. If only there were a cheat sheet […]
When Social Media is Also Work
As a Master of Journalism student, I’m constantly dealing with questions around my private and professional presences on social media. More than being a news source for many people, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms can be great tools to connect with sources and with the audience. The downside is that we are more […]
In the News: Indian government proposes strict internet censorship laws
The Indian government has recently announced a proposal for a strict form of internet censorship that many have noted to be comparable to the regulations practiced in China. Within these new rules, any online content that Indian officials deem to be “unlawful” will be removed [1]. However, definitions of what can be considered unlawful content […]
Digital Identity Digest (January 2019)
What is the best educational measure against piracy? Canada’s government has amended its Copyright Act to clarify that piracy notices can’t demand cash from Canadians. The piracy-notice system took effect in 2015, allowing “copyright holders to send warning emails to people suspected of illegally downloading content such as movies or music,” CBC explains. According to […]
Digital Identity Digest (December 2018)
Do the benefits of having a Facebook account outweigh the risks? In December, Facebook hit the headlines once again for a privacy scandal. This time, they revealed that a Photo API bug gave some third-party apps too much access to the photos of up to 6.8 million users. According to their statement, developers might have […]
Digital Identity Digest (November 2018)
Have you ever lied on a dating app? Online dating apps are very popular, but they can have some pitfalls. Irina Manta, a law professor at New York’s Hofstra University and founder of its Center for Intellectual Property Law, wrote to the Washington Post that obtaining sex through fraud on dating apps should be legally […]
Digital Identity Digest (October 2018)
Could facial recognition be a tool for dangerous mass surveillance? An Amazon employee published an anonymous op-ed on Medium speaking out against the company’s decision to sell its facial recognition product, Rekognition, to police in the U.S. They believe it’s a system for dangerous mass surveillance, which reinforces existing bias as demonstrated in a test […]
Digital Identity Digest (September 2018)
Facebook’s largest security breach in history The biggest news of September came right in the end of the month. Facebook announced that an attack on its computer network had exposed personal information of almost 50 million users. The New York Times reported it was the largest breach in the company’s history. The attackers exploited a […]
In the News: Researchers develop sonar technology to steal smartphone passcodes
Last month, researchers from Lancaster University in England released work detailing a new technique where a smartphone’s built-in speaker and microphone can act as a sonar system to steal the phone’s unlock pattern. Sonar (Sound Navigation and Ranging) uses sound propagation to detect the surrounding objects and their movements [1]. In this case, the development […]
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