A roundup of privacy and security news from The Data Privacy Group
Babylon Health has confirmed its telehealth consultation platform was subject to a data breach that exposed the medical records of a number of users.
The incident was not the result of a cyberattack, but rather a software error that led to a handful of users being able to access recordings of other patients’ virtual consultations.
The bug, already known to Babylon engineers prior to the incident, was reportedly introduced alongside a new feature that allows patients to switch between audio and video modes in the middle of a consultation.
The firm has informed and apologized to the patients whose data was compromised in the breach, all of whom are UK residents.
In a statement, the firm said…
On the afternoon of Tuesday 9 June we identified and resolved an issue within two hours whereby one patient accessed the introduction of another patient’s consultation recording,
Source & full story: TechRadar
Italy, the first major European country to roll out a smartphone app to trace COVID-19 infections that does not rely on a centralized database, has already seen 2.2 million downloads in 10 days, a sign Italians are setting aside privacy concerns, Reuters reports.
The government, like those of other European countries hit by the virus, is touting the software as a vital tool to help avoid a second wave of infections. Germany launches its own version next week.
“We want a summer in which tourism is as safe as possible. This app can help us resume activities after the lockdown,” Technological Innovation and Digitalization Minister Paola Pisano told Reuters.
Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus and has suffered more than 34,000 deaths. A lockdown drove infection rates sharply lower, but fears remain of a renewed flare-up later this year.
The government’s call for a tracing app originally met resistance from privacy advocates and opposition politicians, but many Italians are warming to it.
Daniela Camozzi, 47, in Sarzana, a town in the northern Liguria region, one of the first parts of the country where the app went live, said:
“Even my in-laws downloaded it, …I don’t get all this concern about privacy. Every time we use our smartphone our data is profiled much more massively than this app can.
Source & full story: Reuters
Privacy-focused browser Brave has been caught automatically filling in links when users search for companies that Brave is affiliated with, thereby earning the company more money by changing the users’ searches.
Twitter user Yannick Eckl noticed the changes Brave was making when searching for Binance – a cryptocurrency exchange. They found that the browser automatically redirects their search to a version of the URL with an affiliate link attached.
An affiliate link is a specific URL with a specific username or identifier. Companies may be paid for how much traffic they can redirect to another website that contains the affiliate’s ID or username. In affiliate programs, advertisers use affiliate links to record the traffic that is sent to the advertiser’s website.
CEO and co-founder of Brave Brendan Eich, in a series of tweets, said that the company was “trying to build a viable business” and this “includes bringing new users to Binance & other exchanges”. Currently, Brave makes money by offering its users cryptocurrency in exchange for watching adverts.
Source & full story: Independent
“Honda can confirm that a cyber-attack has taken place on the Honda network,” the Japanese car-maker said in a statement.
It added that the problem was affecting its ability to access its computer servers, use email and otherwise make use of its internal systems.
“There is also an impact on production systems outside of Japan,” it added.
“Work is being undertaken to minimise the impact and to restore full functionality of production, sales and development activities.”
The firm – which makes motorcycles, cars, generators and lawn mowers, among other products – said one of its internal servers was attacked externally.
It added that “the virus had spread” throughout its network, but did not provide further details.
Source & full story: BBC News
A free facial recognition tool that allows people to find pictures of themselves or others from around the internet has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners.
PimEyes describes itself as a privacy tool to help prevent misuse of images.
But Big Brother Watch said it could “enable state surveillance, commercial monitoring and even stalking on a scale previously unimaginable”.
It comes as Amazon decides to pause its use of facial recognition for a year.
Polish website PimEyes was set up in 2017 as a hobby project, and commercialised last year. It currently has 6,000 users signed up.
Source & full story: BBC News
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