Zack Whittaker reports: A popular family tracking app was leaking the real-time locations of more than 238,000 users for weeks after the developer left a server exposed without a password. The app, Family Locator, built by Australia-based software house React Apps, allows families to track each other in real-time, such as spouses or parents wanting…
Category: Of Note
Man paid hacker to get nude photos from UCF student’s Snapchat account, police say
I missed this one when it first appeared, but it’s worth posting so that parents can once again remind their kids about online safety. Read the full news story on this one as it provides a lot of details about the hacker convincing the victim to give him the login credentials to her account, and…
This Spyware Data Leak Is So Bad We Can’t Even Tell You About It
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai reports: This story is part of When Spies Come Home, a Motherboard series about powerful surveillance software ordinary people use to spy on their loved ones. A company that sells consumer-grade software that lets customers spy on other people’s calls, messages, and anything they do on their cell phones left more than 95,000…
FEMA exposed personal information of 2.3 million disaster victims
Caroline Linton reports: FEMA mistakenly exposed personal information, including addresses and bank account information, of 2.3 million disaster victims, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released Friday. The breach occurred because FEMA did not ensure a private contractor only received information it required to perform its official duties, the report said….
NZ: Privacy Bill avoids notification fatigue
Tim Murphy reports: MPs have revised privacy legislation to avoid a risk of ‘notification fatigue’ in which holders of data would be forced to advise the public of even minor data breaches. Parliament’s justice select committee has raised the threshold in the Privacy Bill for when mandatory notifications to the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals would…
OH: 13-year-old student accused of hacking teacher’s account, making hit list of fellow students
WSYX/WTTE reports: A 13-year-old student at the Columbus City Preparatory School for Boys is under investigation after he reportedly used a teacher’s credentials to get into the district’s system, created a website with information about his fellow students, and made threats. Columbus Police say they received a report on March 15th that the student had…