ftc
So, how’s Facebook going to screw us next?
Facebook may have to pay up to US $5 billion due to an FTC inquiry into the social network’s privacy practices. But you can bet your bottom dollar we haven’t seen the last of the social network’s dodgy dealings.
bitdefender.com
Office Depot fined millions for tricking customers into believing their PCs were infected with malware
Office Depot, and its partner Support.com, have been fined $35 million for using the PC Health Check tune-up service to dupe people into buying unnecessary computer repair and technical services.
Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
Kids’ privacy-endangering internet-connected toys should be banned, says EPIC
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is asking the FTC to ban vulnerable IoT-enabled toys from the marketplace.
David Bisson reports.
Password changes for the sake of it don’t improve security, says FTC technologist
A technologist with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argues frequent mandatory password changes don’t actually improve security.
David Bisson reports.
Fembots land Ashley Madison in hot water with the FTC
“Life is short, have an affair” was the slogan of infidelity website Ashley Madison.
What they didn’t say was that you might be chatting to a computer program.
How can banana peels help the infosec community?
A recent ruling against Wyndham Hotels may not cause a dramatic acceleration in security practices of many corporations, but it is perhaps the kick-start that is needed to move both corporate security as well as the Infosec profession in a positive direction.
Guest contributor Bob Covello reports.
Brightest Flashlight Free – the Android app that secretly sent user location to advertisers
Tens of millions of Android users have installed the Brightest Flashlight Free app, not realising that the app engaged in dirty tricks to share information about users’ location and devices with advertisers without consent.
Acai Berry fake news website operators fined millions of dollars by FTC
The firm behind fake websites such as “News 6 News Alerts,” “Health News Health Alerts,” or “Health 5 Beat Health News” has had to cease its deceptive operations after it was fined by the FTC.