Rust developers have repeatedly raised concerned about an unaddressed privacy issue over the last few years. . Rust has rapidly gained momentum among developers, for its focus on performance, safety, safe concurrency, and for having a similar syntax to C++. StackOverflow's 2020 developer survey ranked Rust first among the "most loved programming languages." However, for the longest time developers have been bothered by their production builds leaking potentially sensitive debug information. . As Rust's adoption continues to rise, concerns among developers about potential exposure of sensitive debugging information in production environments are increasing.. Rust Programming, Debugging Issues, Data Privacy. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Security advisor Luca Bongiorni spun up an Ubuntu Linux instance on Azure and was extremely annoyed to receive a sales message from a Canonical representative three hours later. Say what?? Bongiorni openly voiced his frustration, "WHY [did] MICROSOFT FORWARDED TO UBUNTU THAT I SPUN A NEW VM!?!" Customer privacy, what's that?" . It was just another day for Luca Bongiorni, a security advisor for Bentley Systems. He'd just spun up an Ubuntu Linux 18.04 instance on the Microsoft Azure cloud using a corporate sandbox for testing purposes. Three hours later, on Bongiorni's LinkedIn account he received a message from a Canonical sales representative saying, " I saw that you spun up an Ubuntu image in Azure ," and telling him he'd be his "point of contact for anything Ubuntu -related in the enterprise." Say what?? Actually, Bongiorni was a little more "frank" about his annoyance and surprise that a Canonical salesperson had tracked him down on an entirely different service and knew that he had just used Ubuntu on Microsoft Azure. " What the f*** is happening here? WHY [did] MICROSOFT FORWARDED TO UBUNTU THAT I SPUN A NEW VM!?!" Customer privacy, what's that? . Luca Bongiorni shares his concerns regarding data privacy following an unanticipated notification regarding the configuration of his Azure Ubuntu setup.. Azure Cloud, User Privacy, Ubuntu Security. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
A group of researchers have found 11 flaws in 5G protocols, several of which would expose a device’s location and when a user calls or sends texts, compromising privacy and security. Learn more in an interesting Security Today article: . While excitement is growing about the potential capabilities of 5G networks on a global scale, researchers are finding that the next generation of connectivity could come with some major security concerns. During the Association for Computing Machinery’s Conference on Computer and Communications Security in London this week, researchers from Purdue University and the University of Iowa presented 11 security issues in 5G protocols, WIRED reported. Those design issues could have dire consequences for users, allowing hackers to expose a person’s location, track when a user makes calls or sends a text, and downgrade a device’s service to old data networks. The link for this article located at SecurityToday is no longer available. . Scientists uncover major vulnerabilities in 5G systems, revealing risks of geographical monitoring and endangering user confidentiality.. 5G Security Concerns, Location Tracking Issues, Downgrade Attacks. . Brittany Day
Privacy is a hot topic in the realm of smart speakers, fromemployees listening in on recordingsand auditorsaccessing user locations. Now, another issue regarding speakers has been raised, after security researchers revealed that apps accepted by the Amazon Alexa and Google Home platforms could be used to phish users and to eavesdrop on them. Learn more in an interesting Engadget article: . Researchers from the firm Security Research Labs created the apps, known as Skills for Alexa and Actions for Google Home, which exploited security vulnerabilities to hack devices, as reported by Ars Technica . SRL created several apps for each platform which appeared to be legitimate skills like a horoscope app, but which actually hid malicious code. The apps were able to collect personal data including passwords, and also to eavesdrop on users even after they thought that the speaker was no longer listening. This worked by the app giving a fake error message which sounded as if it had closed, while it actually it continued operating and taking down a transcript of everything the user said after that point. The link for this article located at Engadget is no longer available. . Studies indicate that Smart Assistant applications are capable of enabling unauthorized listening and fraudulent schemes, thereby jeopardizing user confidentiality.. Smart Speakers, Security Vulnerability, Eavesdropping App, User Data Theft. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Information mishandling, snooping and location tracking are often the ways in which users find their privacy violated online. Learn about these issues and how to avoid them in a great Security Today article: . Internet is the fastest way of connecting with the world but, unfortunately, it is not the safest one. The internet is full of scams and gambles, and you are on the verge of security risks when you choose to be online. Most internet users are least bothered about their online privacy and are unaware of the plausible risks associated with it. Not only your privacy but your safety is also endangered, especially when you are using the internet to carry out important and secretive tasks like online banking and sharing crucial business files. The link for this article located at Security Today is no longer available. . Delve into significant online privacy concerns and discover effective strategies to protect your personal data in the digital realm.. Internet Safety, Privacy Protection, Secure Browsing, Online Risks. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Smartphones are a goldmine of sensitive data, and modern apps work as diggers that continuously collect every possible information from your devices. . The security model of modern mobile operating systems, like Android and iOS, is primarily based on permissions that explicitly define which sensitive services, device capabilities, or user information an app can access, allowing users decide what apps can access. However, new findings by a team of researchers at the International Computer Science Institute in California revealed that mobile app developers are using shady techniques to harvest users' data even after they deny permissions. The link for this article located at The Hacker News is no longer available. . Contemporary mobile platforms stipulate application access via permissions, yet numerous applications persist in gathering data without user approval.. data privacy, app security, mobile permissions, unauthorized access, user data collection. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
A massive data breach has struck Quest Diagnostics and the information of up to 11.9 million patients has potentially been compromised. . On Monday, the US clinical laboratory said that American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing collections provider that works with Quest, informed the company that an unauthorized user had managed to obtain access to AMCA systems. Through the Quest contractor, the unknown individual was able to access -- and potentially steal -- Quest patient data including Social Security numbers, medical information, and financial data. The link for this article located at ZDNet is no longer available. . An alarming data leak involving Quest Diagnostics could have affected the private details of nearly 12 million patients.. Patient Data Protection, Healthcare Data Breach, Quest Diagnostics Security. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Developers of the privacy-focused Brave browser have raised concerns last week about possible user privacy issues in Client-Hints, a new internet standard currently pending approval by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). . The Brave team suggests third-party web servers could abuse Client-Hints to secretly fingerprint and track users across the internet, a side-effect of the protocol's design. The link for this article located at ZDNet is no longer available. . Worries grow regarding the potential for Client-Hints to facilitate user monitoring and device fingerprinting by external servers.. Client-Hints, Brave Browser, User Tracking, Privacy Concerns, Internet Standard. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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