Google Has Aggressive Plans for Strong Authentication
Google has a long-term plan for strong authentication that ties log-ins to the operating system and hardware, and puts up barriers against man in the middle attacks and weak passwords.
Privacy
Internet Companies Get Passing Grades on Privacy Advocacy and Transparency
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s annual “Who’s Got Your Back?” report evaluates the privacy, advocacy and transparency positions of leading Internet companies. While most fared well, ISPs such as Verizon and AT&T, as well as Apple, Amazon and Yahoo, did not.
Mozilla Fights Back After FinSpy Found Masquerading as Firefox
Mozilla has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the makers of the FinFisher spyware kit demanding that it stop embedding the notorious FinSpy program in a document masquerading as a copy of the Firefox Web browser.
Google has released a new Transparency Report, this time pointing out sharp increases in the number of government requests from Brazil and Russia it received to remove content from Google-branded websites.
A form of spyware first seen in 2008 and known for siphoning away users’ bank account credentials, emails, screenshots and various other bits of information has surfaced again – this time targeting computer users in India.
Microsoft reportedly will implement two-factor authentication on users’ accounts at some point down the line, according to reports this week.
Mozilla has pushed out the second beta version of its Persona authentication system . The move is the latest step in the company’s campaign to rid the Web of passwords and make it easier for consumers to log on to sites regardless of the browser they’re using.
Updated 4/10/13: The U.S. House Intelligence Committee voted 18-2 for the new version of CISPA, with the two dissents coming from Democrat members of the committee.
California, which set the standard for data breach notifications nationwide, is again seeking to set a precedent by becoming the first state in the nation to require companies upon request disclose to California consumers the data they’ve collected and to whom it was shared during the past year. They would be required to respond within 30 days and provide the report for free.
Mozilla has added a new privacy feature to Firefox that enables users to begin a new private browsing session in a separate tab while still running a normal session in other tabs. Firefox 20 also includes patches for 11 critical security vulnerabilities.The new version of Firefox expands the capabilities of the private browsing function in the browser, a feature that allows users to browse without any cookies, logs or any other data retention.
