Data – Page 4 – Cyber Law Watch

Cambridge Analytica closes its doors

May 03 2018

Cambridge Analytica, the data company embroiled in the Facebook privacy scandal, is closing down. The firm’s parent company, SCL Elections, announced that it and some of its affiliates including Cambridge Analytica had commenced insolvency proceedings in the UK, and would immediately cease all operations.

In a statement, Cambridge Analytica said it had been “vilified” and the subject of “numerous unfounded accusations” about its activities, which it says are legal and widely accepted in online advertising. It blamed negative media coverage of allegations the company improperly used the data of 87 million Facebook users (which you can read about here, here and here) for a mass exodus of clients.

Excel skills of English Council leads to the exposure of “hidden” personal information

May 02 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Keely O’Dowd

The Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council (Council) was recently fined £120,000 (approximately AUD$217,920) by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the unauthorised processing of personal data belonging to 943 people who owned vacant properties in the Borough.

DNA Profiles shared online lead to serial killer’s arrest

May 02 2018

By Warwick Andersen, Rob Pulham and Sarah Goegan

Last week, California police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, the man suspected of being the “Golden State Killer” or “East Area Rapist”, a serial killer and rapist who terrorised parts of California in the 1970s and 80s.

Of particular interest is how he came to be arrested, with the help of DNA matched on a genealogy website.

Russian-backed hacking targets Australian businesses

Apr 17 2018

By Cameron Abbott, Allison Wallace and Sarah Goegan

Russian hackers are accused of penetrating up to 400 Australian businesses in 2017 as part of an alleged state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaign, targeting millions of computers across the world.

The Australian government made the announcement in light of an extraordinary joint statement from the US and UK governments pointing a stern finger at Russia for sponsoring cyber-attacks on government, private organisations, critical infrastructure providers and internet services providers.

Facebook’s Potential $70 billion Legal Challenge

Apr 13 2018

By Rob Pulham, Warwick Andersen and Georgia Mills

In another blow to embattled Facebook, British and US lawyers have launched a class action lawsuit against the social media giant, along with Cambridge Analytica and two other companies for allegedly misusing the data of over 87 million people.

The death of the passwords?

Apr 13 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace

While the recent Facebook saga has underlined the fact that using a password to protect your data doesn’t mean it won’t be improperly accessed, we have become used to needing to create, remember and use passwords in most aspects of our digital lives.

But the humble letter/number/symbol combination may soon be a thing of the past, with a new web standard – the Web Authentication (WebAuthn) – expected to be issued soon.

Mark Zuckerberg testifies: what you need to know

Apr 12 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Sarah Goegan

Mark Zuckerberg testified before the US Congress in two marathon sessions this week. He was quizzed on topics including Cambridge Analytica and data sharing, privacy law and social media regulation, and Facebook’s policies.

Was your Facebook data taken by Cambridge Analytica? Here’s how to find out

Apr 11 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace

Over the last few weeks we’ve been blogging about the data “sharing” scandal that has rocked Facebook, and has lead to a boycott of the popular social media site, and sent CEO Mark Zuckerberg to face the music on Capitol Hill.

In case you’d missed the story (which you can read about here, here and here), Facebook estimated 87 million people globally, including 300,000 Australians, had their data shared with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy firm used by US President Donald Trump in his 2016 election campaign.

Apple Watch data leads to arrest of suspected murderer

Apr 05 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace

Last month we blogged about the potential for data from our smart devices being used against us in court. Well, that potential has now been realised in Australia, with prosecutors in a murder trial in Adelaide telling the court that data from the victim’s Apple Watch helped pin down her suspected murderer.

Facebook ‘hack’: fake news or a serious breach of privacy?

Mar 21 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell

It has been alleged that Cambridge Analytica, a political data analytics firm specialising in psychological profiling, has tapped more than 50 million users’ Facebook profiles without their consent and subsequently used the data to assist Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral campaign.

Tag:Data