Topic: privacy violations
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How "Catch a Cheater" Apps Feed Our Worst Instincts
"Cheater catching" apps use facial recognition to scan dating platforms like Tinder, operating in a legal gray area and raising privacy concerns by accessing profiles without user consent. Privacy experts warn these tools enable invasive surveillance, often misidentify individuals—especially peop...
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Google Denies Using Your Emails for AI Training: The Truth
Google has denied claims that it scans private Gmail messages to train its AI systems, clarifying that its smart features are separate from AI model training and no policy changes have authorized such data usage. A security firm initially reported that Google was using email content for AI traini...
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US Government Secretly Collecting American DNA for Years
A covert operation by Customs and Border Protection has collected DNA from U.S. citizens, including minors, and submitted it to the FBI's criminal database without congressional authorization. Government records show nearly 2,000 citizens had their DNA gathered between 2020 and 2024, with many no...
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Unlikely allies unite to remove flawed traffic cameras
A coalition is challenging automated license plate readers due to privacy risks and operational flaws, with Flock Safety facing pressure from legislators and activists over its extensive camera network. Legislators have called for a federal probe into Flock's negligent data handling and cybersecu...
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Data-Driven Marketing: A New Relationship
Data-driven marketing has prioritized metrics over genuine human connection, leading to disillusionment as it often fails to produce real outcomes like revenue growth or customer loyalty. The industry relies on "dirty data" and manipulative tactics, such as provoking emotional reactions and extra...
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ICE Deploys Advanced Spyware for Surveillance
China demonstrated its advanced military technology in a recent parade, highlighting its global technological ambitions. The U.S. is undergoing significant policy shifts, including rebranding the Defense Department and awarding a no-bid contract for combat training, amid debates on election integ...
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WhatsApp API Flaw Exposed 3.5 Billion User Accounts
A security vulnerability in WhatsApp's API allowed researchers to compile a list of 3.5 billion active user accounts by exploiting a contact-discovery feature lacking rate-limiting safeguards. The researchers, using a single server and minimal resources, identified global usage patterns, with Ind...
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Scammers Impersonate Police to Steal Private Data From Tech Giants
Hackers are impersonating law enforcement to fraudulently obtain private customer data from major tech companies like Apple and Amazon, exploiting weak corporate verification processes for emergency data requests. A criminal group operates a "doxing-as-a-service" model, boasting hundreds of succe...
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Is Solar Power Overwhelming the Grid?
Insecure domestic solar power systems pose a new threat to national electricity grids, as vulnerable control devices could be manipulated to cause synchronized power disruptions, according to a recent report. Common IoT devices like smart cameras are being exploited for privacy invasions, enablin...
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Michigan Man's "Catch a Cheater" App Backfires, Proving It Illegal
A Michigan developer pleaded guilty to federal charges for creating pcTattletale, software marketed for legal oversight but widely used for illegal spying on adults without consent, violating wiretapping laws. The software secretly recorded device activity like keystrokes and messages, and compan...
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Kohler's Toilet Cameras Lack True End-to-End Encryption
Kohler's Dekota smart toilet falsely advertised end-to-end encryption, as user health data is decrypted and accessible on company servers, leading to the removal of that claim. A major Chinese cyberespionage campaign, Salt Typhoon, infiltrated US telecom networks and accessed communications of po...
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Humanoid Robot Hacked via Bluetooth, Data Sent to China
The Unitree G1 humanoid robot has critical Bluetooth vulnerabilities that allow unauthorized root access and remote code execution due to shared hardcoded encryption keys and improper data validation during setup. Weak encryption in the robot's configuration files and unsecured communication prot...
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DOGE May Have Exposed Millions of SSNs on Insecure Server
A Senate report reveals that personnel from Elon Musk's DOGE team are operating a cloud server containing millions of Americans' sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers, without adequate protective measures. The exposed database includes actual production data such as birth det...
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Grok AI Sparks Controversy With 'Undressing' Feature
The Grok AI chatbot, developed by Elon Musk's xAI, is being widely misused to create nonconsensual, sexualized imagery of women by digitally removing clothing from user photos, representing a troubling escalation in AI-enabled harassment. By embedding this free and instantly accessible tool into ...
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Leaks Plague the Trump Administration's Inner Circle
A recent public post by President Trump on Truth Social, intended as a private message, highlights a pattern of using unsecured platforms for sensitive communications, raising security concerns. Multiple incidents involving officials like Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth reveal careless handling of co...
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