Dell Cameron, Author at Gizmodo

British Airways Faces Record $229 Million Penalty Over Stolen Customer Data

Britain’s privacy watchdog on Monday announced its intention to fine British Airways, the country’s second-largest airline, nearly £183.4 million ($229.5 million) citing a security weakness in the airline’s website that enabled hackers to harvest the personal information of customers. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a notice concerning the proposed fine citing infringements of…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Austria on the Verge of Becoming First EU Country to Ban Controversial Roundup Herbicide

A popular herbicide currently in use worldwide, but controversially linked to cancer, is on the verge of being outlawed in Austria—the first European Union country to attempt an outright ban. Citing what the leader of the country’s Social Democratic party, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, called increasing “scientific evidence,” Austria’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday passed a…

Earther Dell Cameron

FBI Says Investigative Files on White Supremacists Have Inexplicably Gone Missing

The FBI has been regarded as one of the worst compliers of public records requests since the earliest days of the Freedom of Information Act. Ask any of its most “vexsome” requesters and they’ll tell you, the bureau’s unofficial, when-in-doubt-cross-it-out policy of the mid-1970s was never really put to rest. More recently, it’s even been…

Politics Dell Cameron

‘The Definition of Corruption’: Warren Calls Out FCC Advisory Committee Overrun by Corporate Suits

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic candidate for president, took aim at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week over the makeup of an advisory committee she calls “stacked with corporate insiders.” In a letter last month, the senator also highlighted some questionable advice offered by the committee, which appears antithetical to the security interests of…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Leading Civil Rights Groups Call Facebook’s Latest Internal Audit ‘Woefully Inadequate’ to Address Hate

Facebook on Sunday issued the first major update of 2019 on the progress of its ongoing civil rights audit. The audit was launched a year ago following a sharp upsurge in rebukes of Facebook’s permissive attitude toward hateful and abusive content, largely aimed at persecuting people of color and religious minorities. However, many civil rights…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Ajit Pai Is Working Hard to Make Broadband Users Dumb Again

The death of federal net neutrality protections in the United States didn’t only give ISPs license to penalize customers who don’t agree to buy their services, it also pointlessly mystifies the process by which consumers acquire the most basic details about their home internet’s price, speed, and capacity. Case in point: In April 2016, the…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Ajit Pai’s Silence on Phone Tracking Abuse Is Further Eroding Faith in His Competence

The Federal Communication Commission’s investigation into the unauthorized sale of Americans’ location data is now in its second year and still, no one outside of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s office knows a thing about it. On Capitol Hill, faith in his ability to properly handle these apparent violations has reached an all-time low. On Wednesday,…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Facebook Cites Mass Shooting Streamed Live on Facebook as Proof Platform Has ‘Gotten Better’

Questioned over Facebook’s efforts to stop the spread of false information in the aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, a senior Facebook official called to testify before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday said the company has since improved the way it handles viral acts of bloodshed and terrorism. As evidence, the…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

House Robocall Bill Now Favors Criminal Charges for Offenders, May Target Debt Collectors Soon

On Tuesday, members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee unanimously approved several amendments to a popular House anti-robocall bill aimed at putting the screws to those annoying robotic annoyances that have caused millions of Americans to simply stop answering their phones. So far, there appears to be little opposition to the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act,…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

The ‘Surveillance Scores’ Companies Use to Rip You Off Might Be Totally Illegal

The next time you go to buy toilet paper online, an algorithm may decide to charge you $5 more than your neighbor. You’d probably never know. But even if you did, there’s no way for you to find out why. For at least a half-decade, researchers have documented and studied the use of so-called “surveillance…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Hack of U.S. Border Surveillance Contractor Is Way Bigger Than the Government Lets On

Even as Homeland Security officials have attempted to downplay the impact of a security intrusion that reached deep into the network of a federal surveillance contractor, secret documents, handbooks, and slides concerning surveillance technology deployed along U.S. borders are being widely and openly shared online. A terabyte of torrents seeded by Distributed Denial of Secrets…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Ex-Telecom CEO and Ajit Pai Adviser Sentenced to Five Years for Fraud Totaling $270 Million

The former CEO of an Anchorage-based telecom was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding New York investors of more than $270 million. Elizabeth Ann Pierce, 55, former CEO of Quintillion Networks, convinced investments firms that she had secured contracts for high-speed fiber optic systems that would generate millions…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Update Your Dell Laptop Now to Fix a Critical Security Flaw in Pre-Installed Software

If you own a Dell, now would be a good time to update your system. Even if your PC wasn’t manufactured by Dell, it’s possible that a new vulnerability affecting millions could apply to you. Researchers at SafeBreach Labs on Monday disclosed a high-severity flaw in Dell’s SupportAssist utility. And it could allow attackers to…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

New Phone Bill Prevents Telecoms from Charging Customers to Ban Robocalls

House Republicans and Democrats came together on Thursday to put forth comprehensive legislation designed not only to help end the scourge of robocalls but prevent U.S. consumers from being forced to foot the bill. The duly titled Stopping Bad Robocalls Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations governing the use of automatic…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

Florida City Votes to Pay Off Criminals Holding Computer Systems Hostage

The leaders of Riviera Beach, Florida, this week voted to authorize a payment of $600,000 to criminals who crippled the city’s computer system after targeting its police department with ransomware. “We are well on our way to restoring the city system,” a city spokeswoman told the New York Times. The city was “paralyzed” after someone…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Ajit Pai Is Still Withholding Facts About Location-Data Abuse From His Own Commissioners

Democratic commissioners at the FCC are still in the dark when it comes the agency’s ongoing investigation into the unauthorized sale of Americans’ geolocation data, Gizmodo has learned. At an oversight hearing last month, House lawmakers pressed Chairman Ajit Pai to respond to charges that his office had refused to provide the Democratic commissioners with…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Cyber-Heist That Impacted Millions Bankrupts Medical Debt Collector

A billing collections agency that was hacked last year in an incident believed to impact millions of medical patients is now seeking a federal bankruptcy court’s protection from its own creditors. American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York this week citing a “cascade of events” stemming from the…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

What’s Going on With Those Child Porn Allegations Against Alex Jones

New details surfaced Monday concerning the allegations that child pornography had been discovered on a server linked to conspiracy theorist and radio personality Alex Jones, operator of the InfoWars website. Jones claimed last week that he had been the target of a malware attack, which left child pornography on his servers, prompting an FBI investigation.…

Tech News Dell Cameron

Millions of Transactions Scraped in Latest Demonstration of Venmo’s Absurd Privacy Policy

Last year, nearly 210 million Venmo transactions were downloaded by a Berlin-based researcher, leading many privacy experts to question the PayPal-owned company’s claim that its users prefer to be social about their spending habits. In the wake of that study, Venmo apparently made a few changes to its API, hoping to at least limit the…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Hacker Conference Disinvites U.S. Congressman Over Abysmal Women’s Rights Voting Record

U.S. Congressman Will Hurd has been disinvited to the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas this year where he was set to deliver a keynote address after questions were raised about his voting record. Members of the security community this week drew attention to Hurd’s record on women’s issues, including the right to abortion,…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Dell Cameron

British Airways Faces Record $229 Million Penalty Over Stolen Customer Data

Austria on the Verge of Becoming First EU Country to Ban Controversial Roundup Herbicide

FBI Says Investigative Files on White Supremacists Have Inexplicably Gone Missing

‘The Definition of Corruption’: Warren Calls Out FCC Advisory Committee Overrun by Corporate Suits

Leading Civil Rights Groups Call Facebook’s Latest Internal Audit ‘Woefully Inadequate’ to Address Hate

Ajit Pai Is Working Hard to Make Broadband Users Dumb Again

Ajit Pai’s Silence on Phone Tracking Abuse Is Further Eroding Faith in His Competence

Facebook Cites Mass Shooting Streamed Live on Facebook as Proof Platform Has ‘Gotten Better’

House Robocall Bill Now Favors Criminal Charges for Offenders, May Target Debt Collectors Soon

The ‘Surveillance Scores’ Companies Use to Rip You Off Might Be Totally Illegal

Hack of U.S. Border Surveillance Contractor Is Way Bigger Than the Government Lets On

Ex-Telecom CEO and Ajit Pai Adviser Sentenced to Five Years for Fraud Totaling $270 Million

Update Your Dell Laptop Now to Fix a Critical Security Flaw in Pre-Installed Software

New Phone Bill Prevents Telecoms from Charging Customers to Ban Robocalls

Florida City Votes to Pay Off Criminals Holding Computer Systems Hostage

Ajit Pai Is Still Withholding Facts About Location-Data Abuse From His Own Commissioners

Cyber-Heist That Impacted Millions Bankrupts Medical Debt Collector

What’s Going on With Those Child Porn Allegations Against Alex Jones

Millions of Transactions Scraped in Latest Demonstration of Venmo’s Absurd Privacy Policy

Hacker Conference Disinvites U.S. Congressman Over Abysmal Women’s Rights Voting Record

Even the ‘Avatar’ Fighting Game Is Disrespecting ‘Legend of Korra’

Bluesky Has a New App, and It’s All About AI

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor *And* an Action Figure!

Whatever Just Happened with ‘Fruit Love Island,’ Nobody Won

AMC Puts a Stake in ‘Talamasca’ After One Season

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor And an Action Figure!