Facial recognition: iPhone today, tomorrow the airport?
(USA Today, Sep 14, 2017)
If the idea of unlocking a phone with your face seems creepy, you better get used to it. Facial recognition is here, and it will only be more prevalent in the years to come. Face recognition is "already becoming incredibly pervasive in ways we don't see," says Clare Garvie, an associate with Georgetown University's Center on Privacy & Technology. With the release of the new iPhone X, "far more people will experience face recognition" in a public setting.
'We've Been Breached': Inside the Equifax Hack
(The Wall Street Journal, Sep 18, 2017)
On March 8, researchers at Cisco Systems Inc. reported an online security flaw that allowed hackers to break into servers around the internet. Cisco urged users to upgrade their systems immediately with a newly issued fix. Equifax Inc. was among the companies using the flawed software. On Friday, it said its technology experts at the time worked to identify and patch vulnerable systems. In late July, though, Atlanta-based Equifax discovered suspicious traffic on its system—and found the same security flaw still existed in some areas.
What Comes After Passwords?
(The Wall Street Journal, Sep 17, 2017)
What will life after passwords look like? For many companies, the goal is for the authentication of customer and employee identities to be nearly invisible, taking only a second as a shopper logs into the website, or running in the background as office staff do their work. To achieve that, and be able to accurately verify that employees and customers are who they say they are, companies are embracing new technologies—including biometric scans of faces and fingerprints, and behavioral-monitoring systems that track such activities as what apps you open most frequently.
Companies Look to an Old Technology to Protect Against New Threats
(The Wall Street Journal, Sep 17, 2017)
To stay up to date in the battle against hackers, some companies are turning to a 1950s technology. Storing data on tape seems impossibly inconvenient in an age of easy-access cloud computing. But that is the big security advantage of this vintage technology, since hackers have no way to get at the information. The federal government, financial-services firms, health insurers and other regulated industries still keep tape as a backup to digital records.
Dems propose data security bill after Equifax hack
(The Hill, Sep 14, 2017)
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation Thursday that would press data broker companies, including recently breached credit report company Equifax, to implement better privacy and security practices. "We need to shed light on this ‘shadow’ industry of surreptitious data collection that has amassed covert dossiers on hundreds of millions of Americans," Markey said of his "The Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act" in a press release.
U.S. Senate Moves Closer To Passing Open Data Legislation
(Center for Data Innovation, Sep 15, 2017)
After two years of bipartisan efforts to pass legislation codifying open data requirements for the federal government, it looks like the United States will finally have a law declaring the publication of open data as an official responsibility of the federal government. On September 14, the Senate incorporated the text of the Open, Permanent, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act as an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Senators unveil bill to boost tech-savvy transportation projects
(The Hill, Sep 14, 2017)
With self-driving cars and buses on the horizon, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers wants more communities to address their transportation needs using new technology, data and other smart solutions. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) unveiled legislation on Thursday designed to boost innovative, first-of-its-kind transportation systems around the country.
Google stops challenging most US warrants for data on overseas servers
(Ars Technica, Sep 14, 2017)
Google has quietly stopped challenging most search warrants from US judges in which the data requested is stored on overseas servers, according to the Justice Department. The revelation, contained in a new court filing to the Supreme Court, comes as the administration of President Donald Trump is pressing the justices to declare that US search warrants served on the US tech sector extend to data stored on foreign servers.
Cyberinsurers Look to Measure Risk
(The Wall Street Journal, Sep 17, 2017)
One of the biggest challenges for cyberinsurers is making sense of what little data there is on cyberattacks. Unlike property or life insurance, which benefit from centuries of actuarial data, cyberinsurance is a new and fast-changing field. Cyberinsurers ask potential clients about their risk exposure and security practices, but there’s often little evidence that these factors indicate whether or not a company will be targeted by cybercriminals, according to insurance providers.
Biometric security on the cards for airport, seaport staff
(The Australian, Sep 15, 2017)
The Australian government is advancing plans to integrate biometric technology into the scheme for issuing security passes to workers at restricted areas of airports, under an upgrade of aviation security. The Australian has confirmed that the government wants to add biometrics in the system of aviation security identity cards (ASICs) issued to pilots, baggage handlers, passenger screening staff and others who work at secure parts of airports.
"Coercion, Consent And Our Constitution": Senior Advocate Shyam Divan Explains The Aadhaar Enigma
(LiveLaw.in, Sep 17, 2017)
Mr. Shyam Divan, while addressing students during the NALSAR Lecture Series on Constitutionalism on 9 September, addressed the question of whether the Aadhaar program is so invasive that it could alter the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the State. He explored the tension between constitutional governance and the dazzling progress of technology and its contributions to every aspect of life.
