Security & Privacy with technology in (2016-2019, depreciated and needs updating)

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valis
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

Post by valis »

Yes, “algorithms” can be biased. Here’s why
Op-ed: a computer scientist weighs in on the downsides of AI.

Quoting the summary:
"Given that ML systems (including facial recognition systems) can produce biased output, how should society treat them? Remember that, often, the choice is not between algorithmic output and perfection but between algorithmic decisions and human ones—and humans are demonstrably biased, too. That said, there are several reasons to be wary of the "algorithmic" approach.
GIGO

One reason is that people put too much trust in computer output. Every beginning programmer is taught the acronym "GIGO:" garbage in, garbage out. To end users, though, it's often "garbage in, gospel out"—if the computer said it, it must be so. (This tendency is exacerbated by bad user interfaces that make overriding the computer's recommendation difficult or impossible.) We should thus demand less bias from computerized systems precisely to compensate for their perceived greater veracity.

The second reason for caution is that computers are capable of doing things—even bad things—at scale. There is at least the perceived risk that, say, computerized facial recognition will be used for mass surveillance. Imagine the consequences if a biased but automated system differentially misidentified African-Americans as wanted criminals. Humans are biased, too, but they can't make nearly as many errors per second.

Our test, then, should be one called disparate impact. "Algorithmic" systems should be evaluated for bias, and their deployment should be guided appropriately. Furthermore, the more serious the consequences, the higher the standard should be before use."
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them
Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user’s phone and web activity, similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June and that was removed in August. Facebook sidesteps the App Store and rewards teenagers and adults to download the Research app and give it root access to network traffic in what may be a violation of Apple policy so the social network can decrypt and analyze their phone activity, a TechCrunch investigation confirms.

Facebook admitted to TechCrunch it was running the Research program to gather data on usage habits.

Since 2016, Facebook has been paying users ages 13 to 35 up to $20 per month plus referral fees to sell their privacy by installing the iOS or Android “Facebook Research” app. Facebook even asked users to screenshot their Amazon order history page...
Which was followed by:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/01/facebook-and-google-offered-gift-cards-for-root-level-access-to-ios-users-data/ wrote:Apple revokes Facebook’s developer certificate over data-snooping app—Google could be next
News of Facebook's application was published on TechCrunch yesterday, leading Apple to revoke Facebook's enterprise certificate. This same certificate had been used internally by Facebook for distributing beta builds of Facebook's apps and for other needs, so the revocation poses a serious challenge for the company.

News of Google's similar program also broke on TechCrunch, but that happened more recently, and Apple has not yet indicated whether it intends to take similar action with Google.
Of course I'm sure we all read about the Facetime 'hole'...
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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when you know the history of facebook's current manager...
what else would a spy do? collecting data is the job description.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Bingo.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Deep Learning ‘Godfather’ Bengio Worries About China's Use of AI
The Chinese government has begun using closed circuit video cameras and facial recognition to monitor what its citizens do in public, from jaywalking to engaging in political dissent. It’s also created a National Credit Information Sharing Platform, which is being used to blacklist rail and air passengers for "anti-social" behavior and is considering expanding uses of this system to other situations.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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the UN has declared China to be "the model government" for the world...

i really hate centrally-planned governments and economies. as Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." this is the attitude of those who run things.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Indeed. I am eternally thankful to have retained my autonomy through the last few years, regardless of what I had to let go of for the time being. I'm still able to serve my friends, family and Scope users and am happily acting in service of those who need it thanks to that Liberty.

I do find value in some of what automation and technology has brought into our lives, my friends who have diabetes seem to very much enjoy the modern insulin pump devices, in that case they have gained freedom rather than lost it. And I would say the same thing goes for other tools, such as our beloved Scope cards up through the current mobile and tablet phase (I am very much enamoured with Synth One, which is both free and great sounding on iOS). While those are anecdotal cases they do underscore that it's not planning and technology itself that is the issue. As always, it is what we choose to do (or allow to be done) that ultimately defines how well or ill we relate to the result(s).

I would not give up the hardships I have also endured for Safety, that's for damn sure.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices
In early 2018, a Facebook user made a public threat on the social network against one of the company's offices in Europe. Facebook picked up the threat, pulled the user's data and determined he was in the same country as the office he was targeting. The company informed the authorities about the threat and directed its security officers to be on the lookout for the user. "He made a veiled threat that 'Tomorrow everyone is going to pay' or something to that effect," a former Facebook security employee told CNBC. The incident is representative of the steps Facebook takes to keep its offices, executives and employees protected, according to nine former Facebook employees who spoke with CNBC.

The company mines its social network for threatening comments, and in some cases uses its products to track the location of people it believes present a credible threat. Several of the former employees questioned the ethics of Facebook's security strategies, with one of them calling the tactics "very Big Brother-esque." Other former employees argue these security measures are justified by Facebook's reach and the intense emotions it can inspire. The company has 2.7 billion users across its services. That means that if just 0.01 percent of users make a threat, Facebook is still dealing with 270,000 potential security risks.

[...] One of the tools Facebook uses to monitor threats is a "be on lookout" or "BOLO" list, which is updated approximately once a week. The list was created in 2008, an early employee in Facebook's physical security group told CNBC. It now contains hundreds of people, according to four former Facebook security employees who have left the company since 2016. Facebook notifies its security professionals anytime a new person is added to the BOLO list, sending out a report that includes information about the person, such as their name, photo, their general location and a short description of why they were added. In recent years, the security team even had a large monitor that displayed the faces of people on the list, according to a photo CNBC has seen and two people familiar, although Facebook says it no longer operates this monitor.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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18,000 Android Apps Track Users by Violating Advertising ID Policies
18,000 Android apps with tens or hundreds of millions of installs on the Google Play Store have been found to violate Google's Play Store Advertising ID policy guidance by collecting persistent device identifiers such as serial numbers, IMEI, WiFi MAC addresses, SIM card serial numbers, and sending them to mobile advertising related domains alongside ad IDs. Bleeping Computer reports:

In a statement to CNET, a Google spokesperson said: "We take these issues very seriously. Combining Ad ID with device identifiers for the purpose of ads personalization is strictly forbidden. We're constantly reviewing apps -- including those listed in the researcher's report -- and will take action when they do not comply with our policies."

Some of the most popular applications found to be violating Google's Usage of Android Adverting ID policies include Clean Master, Subway Surfers, Fliboard, My Talking Tom, Temple Run 2, and Angry Birds Classic. The list goes on and on, and the last app in the "Top 20" list still has over 100 million installations.
Of course iOS has had its issues lately with Google & Facebook both abusing their developer signed certs to release software that rooted phones it was installed on (with user permission, but also keep in mind Google owns the Play store and was willing to violate Apple's App Store rules...while allowing others to violate theirs...allegedly.)
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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And from the "it's a good thing we're musicians department":
8-Character Windows NTLM Passwords Can Be Cracked In Under 2.5 Hours
No biggie but a remote exploit with escalation plus that might prove interesting to the recipient...
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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garyb wrote: Tue Feb 05, 2019 7:44 am the UN has declared China to be "the model government" for the world...

i really hate centrally-planned governments and economies. as Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." this is the attitude of those who run things.
Sadly people often slowly give up liberties even in democratic countries for free 'bread and circuses" wich is in modern times is all the free social welfare programs and utopia politicians promise. It was bread and circuses in the old Roman democracies but today free college, free guaranteed income for all even if they don't want to work, etc. Free bread and circuses for votes is one of the oldest tricks in the book and one of the greatest threats to a free society since it works so well (look at Venezuela wich was promised Utopia and now is dystopia). Facebook, Google, etc are a microcosm of this since people keep using them even after having personal data exploited by those platforms since they are free (or atleast give the illusion of free really well).. People will sell their souls for free stuff as long as the politician is charismatic and presents the proposition well and our leaders and corporations know this. Money is truly what makes the world go round unfortunately. Because this is the case we get fooled by the oldest tricks in the book and like the old adage goes "you get the Government you deserve"..
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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always blame the victim...
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Or better yet, get the victims to blame themselves and stay victims as long as possible....
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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yep.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

Post by dawman »

Its funny though to see Britain suing FaceBook for privacy violations.
I thought they invented privacy violations.
Their free stuff sank the Royal Navy.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Germany is in the process of outlawing Facebook's entire business model. That should be fun.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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valis wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:32 am Germany is in the process of outlawing Facebook's entire business model. That should be fun.
TThis is why I hate when governments get involved with stuff like this. They get looney and come with a iron fist solution thus the cure ends up being worse then the problem. Many nations are now proposing more taxes and regulations for internet businesses with New Zealand being the latest. Oddly they all picked the same moment in time to do this. Part of the reason I'm sure is that governments are desparate for money since they have no real answers for keeping their countries prosperous and in good financial standings. It's always find new ways of taxing when problems occur rather than figure out how to make the overall pie bigger/increase their nations true wealth as populations grow. Governments really don't have good answers for generating more national wealth and no real answers on how to make flawed ideologies and flawed economic systems work, it's always more taxes and more regulations. We the citizens are headed for some serious financial slavery and are already in it to some degree it's just gonna get worse. Big Tech are the latest to be targeted and demonized and they deserve some of it but there is a far far bigger problem that is hidden in plain sight and that is the poor financial health of the world and bad leadership that tries to compensate for it with predatory practices on whatever group they choose to demonize at the time. This true problem is far bigger than Big Tech. Politicians don't want us focusing on their bad leadership and the riddle wich is national debt so they create scapegoats. Sadly people look away soon as they hear the word free :P .

The internet has done well and really has thrived because most governments of the world had agreed to keep a hands off approach but it looks like that agreement is quickly unraveling due to desperation for money, politics, etc. The world's economy is slowing down right now and the credit debt of its governments and people is rapidly growing; a big bubble that will naturally pop at some point. Our economy is doing well here in the US and it's I think the only one doing well out of the major economies, but our national debt still has hit $22-trillion for government and many trillions for citizens due to college loans, house financing, car financing, etc. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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This is a new site, and well worth checking periodically. While there are others out there that are similar, this one seems to have a very effective algorithm running behind it: https://www.breachclarity.com/
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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A bit of info on current mobile exploits: https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... d-devices/
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in 2018 and beyond

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Alexa really is listening, but without “responsibility”:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... exa-audio/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... iews-audio

Allegedly, there is a way to stop Amazon from listening to your Alexa recordings. Tom's Guide explains:
1. In the Alexa app, access Settings. You'll find this button at the bottom of the menu in the top left corner of the home screen.
2. Click on Alexa Account. This should be at the top of the page.
3. Select Alexa Privacy. You'll be taken to Amazon's external Alexa privacy page. You can review a number of things here, including our voice history, skill permissions, and other data settings.
4. Tap "Manage How Your Data Improves Alexa."
5. Toggle "Help Develop New Features" and "Use Messages to Improve Transcriptions" to Off. Alexa will no longer learn and improve from your responses, but your recordings will be safe and sound.
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