Firefox will let users delete collected data thanks to California's new privacy law

Mozilla, maker of the Firefox web browser, says it’s giving all users more control of their own data. The change is spurred by the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which went into effect Wednesday. The new data privacy law gives California residents the right to know what personal data tech companies collect. It also enables people to ask companies to delete their data and not sell it. Mozilla said changes it’s making under the CCPA will apply to every Firefox user, not just those in California.

In a blog post Tuesday, Mozilla said it’ll give Firefox users the option to delete their data collected by the company in the next version of the browser, which is set to be released Jan. 7. Firefox doesn’t collect data on websites visited or search queries, but Mozilla said it’ll let users choose to delete telemetry data — which covers things like how many tabs are open or how long a session was. Mozilla said it uses this data to improve the performance and security of Firefox.

Other companies, including Microsoft, have said they’ll extend the rights required under the new law to users outside of California. The company said the law’s requirements fit with its belief that privacy is a fundamental human right.

More companies may follow suit, whether for ideological or practical reasons. Legal observers say some companies may decide it’s not worth it to create two different interfaces for users in different states, or to determine which users qualify as California residents under the law. What’s more, other states have considered similar privacy laws, so the requirements could extend beyond California in the future.

also bars companies from discriminating against users who exercise their rights under the law, and lets users sue companies for data breaches that result from negligence. The CCPA is similar to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which went into effect in 2018.

Originally published at https://www.cnet.com on January 2, 2020.

Comments

Ransomware's Dangerous New Trick Is Double-Encrypting Your Data

Ransomware groups have always taken a more-is-more approach . If a victim pays a ransom and then goes back to business as usual-hit them again. Or don’t just encrypt a target’s systems; steal their data first, so you can threaten to leak it if they don’t pay up. The latest escalation? Ransomware hackers who encrypt a victim’s data twice at the same time. Double-encryption attacks have happened before, usually stemming from two separate ransomware gangs compromising the same victim at the same time. But antivirus company Emsisoft says it is aware of dozens of incidents in which the same actor or group intentionally layers two types of ransomware on top of each other. “The groups are constantly trying to work out which strategies are best , which net them the most money for the least amount of effort,” says Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow. “So in this approach you have a single actor deploying two types of ransomware. The victim decrypts their data and discovers it’s not act...

Babuk ransomware is back, uses new version on corporate networks

After announcing their exit from the ransomware business in favor of data theft extortion, the Babuk gang appears to have slipped back into their old habit of encrypting corporate networks. The criminals are currently using a new version of their file-encrypting malware and have moved the operation to a new leak site that lists a handful of victims. Gang’s still in the game The Babuk ransomware group became known at the beginning of the year but the gang says that their attacks had started in mid-October 2020, targeting companies across the world and demanding ransoms typically between $60,000 and $85,000 in bitcoin cryptocurrency. In some cases, victims were asked hundreds of thousands for data decryption. One of their most publicized victims is the Washinton DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). This attack likely pushed the threat actor into announcing its retirement from the ransomware business only to adopt another extortion model that did not include encryption....

Microsoft Teams Phishing Attack Targets Office 365 Users

Up to 50,000 Office 365 users are being targeted by a phishing campaign that purports to notify them of a “missed chat” from Microsoft Teams. Researchers are warning of a phishing campaign that pretends to be an automated message from Microsoft Teams. In reality, the attack aims to steal Office 365 recipients’ login credentials. Teams is Microsoft’s popular collaboration tool, which has particularly risen in popularity among remote workforces during the pandemic — making it an attractive brand for attackers to impersonate. This particular campaign was sent to between 15,000 to 50,000 Office 365 users, according to researchers with Abnormal Security on Thursday. “Because Microsoft Teams is an instant-messaging service, recipients of this notification might be more apt to click on it so that they can respond quickly to whatever message they think they may have missed based on the notification,” said researchers in a Thursday analysis . The initial phishing email displays the name ...

Teknologiia News

Search This Blog