A Turkish engineering firm has won two contracts worth some €31.5 million to modernize intelligence infrastructure in the NATO Communications and Information Agency. STM says it is one of the largest software development projects assigned by the alliance to a Turkish company. [node:read-more:link]
The head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security says Canadians should be wary of apps that could leave their data in the “wrong hands.” Sami Khoury’s warning comes as the globally popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok faces claims that it is data harvesting. “You have to ask yourself the question: do they need to access that information?” he says. “In some cases, it lands in places that don’t live by the same principles of rule of law (and) respect for human rights.” [node:read-more:link]
During an appearance before a parliamentary committee August 8, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and senior RCMP officers defended the long-standing use of “spyware” during dozens of investigations. Among other things, the committee was told that the technologies’ use “is always “limited”, time constrained and never for mass surveillance. [node:read-more:link]
New York-based facial recognition company Clearview AI has been fined €20 million by Greece’s privacy authority and ordered to not only stop processing individuals’ biometrics but also delete all data collected to date. The ruling responds to a complaint filed in May 2021 by privacy organizations which also raised concerns in Austria, Britain, France and Italy. [node:read-more:link]
NSO Group Technologies, an Israeli company known primarily for it Pegasus spyware, has been added to a U.S. trade blacklist after it was reported that it had been used by some countries to target human rights advocates and journalists. “Dismayed” by the decision, the company insists that its software helps to prevent “terrorism and crime” and is sold only to countries with good human rights records [node:read-more:link]
Apple Inc. has delayed plans to roll out technology capable of searching U.S. iPhones for child sexual abuse material. When it announced the NeuralHash initiative last month, there was widespread criticism about privacy issues and its potential for abuse by authoritarian states. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. intelligence community no longer collects mobile phone location or related data under the law used to justify spy agencies’ bulk surveillance programs, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says. The disclosure comes as Congress considers whether to reauthorize the permissive element of the USA Patriot Act that’s due to expire Dec. 15. The practice actually stopped last year after a Supreme Court ruling limited its application. [node:read-more:link]
The RCMP's use of U.S. facial recognition software “to search through massive repositories of Canadians who are innocent of any suspicion of crime presents a serious violation of privacy,” says Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien. In a report to Parliament today, he said that by using third-party software, the RCMP violated the Privacy Act rule that no personal information can be collected by a government institution “unless it relates directly to an operating program or activity.” [node:read-more:link]
Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, says a New York-based company’s facial recognition technology “appears to pose particularly chilling privacy risks.” In a letter to Hoan Ton-That, the chief executive of Clearview AI, which provides its technology to the law enforcement community, Markey also says it could be exploited by criminals or foreign adversaries. [node:read-more:link]
A seven-page document released by the U.S. administration sets out its strategy for 5G telecommunications infrastructure “arm-in-arm with closest partners and allies.” Its release marks the administration’s initial move to meet requirements in new legislation President Donald Trump signed earlier this week. [node:read-more:link]
With adversaries resorting increasingly to cyberattacks against the U.S., trying to disrupt the economy, undermine the political process and steal trade, Congress has joined ranks with public- and private-sector experts to fight back. It stood up a 16-member Cyberspace Solarium Commission which now is expected to release its findings by year’s end. [node:read-more:link]
The Chinese telecom giant Huawei has begun libel against against a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research in France. It says the lawsuit stems from the researcher’s televised comments that Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is a former member of the People’s Liberation Army and that his company is essentially an arm of the Chinese government.The suit comes as Canada and several other countries try to address concerns that Huawei technology could be used for intelligence gathering. [node:read-more:link]
A Beijing company’s takeover two years ago of a U.S. social media application which has evolved into the increasingly popular TikTok short-form music video app is facing national security review by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Two Senators are leading the charge, alleging that such apps could be used for espionage or become subject to foreign influence. [node:read-more:link]
Dominic Barton, Canada's new ambassador to China, has met with Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the two Canadians held by Beijing since last December in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Barton, appointed in early September, evidently met with Kovrig Oct. 25 and Spavor three days later. [node:read-more:link]
Knowing that a serious event can result in the loss of millions of dollar in assets, it’s no wonder that planning and strategizing for disaster recovery and resumption of operations (a.k.a. business continuity), are of crucial importance for any organization – and when it comes to the military, failure at any level can result in far graver consequences. [node:read-more:link]
