Claudiu’s Top Post

Regrets but no apologies. Canada’s largest energy company said it “believes” the information it lost to hackers was limited to customers’ names and the information they “may have provided” since joining the program. Ah, the power of belief! Well, let’s just have a look, shall we? A quick search reveals that the Petro-Points program is one of the most popular marketing campaigns in Canada, with over 3 million enrolled customers. Read More

EU Approves Data Flow Pact With US

The European Union signed off Monday on a new agreement over the privacy of people’s personal information that gets pinged across the Atlantic, aiming to ease European concerns about electronic spying by American intelligence agencies. The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework has an adequate level of protection for personal data, the EU’s executive commission said. Read More

Threads Thrives, Meta’s Privacy Violations Warned

In just a matter of days, Meta’s new Threads app has reached 100 million users, solidifying the Twitter competitor’s claim to the title of the most rapidly downloaded app ever. That rapid growth has concerned privacy experts, who warn that few users realize just how much information the app collects. Read More

School Kids’ Data Stolen, Sold By Data Terrorists

Data terrorists are stealing children’s confidential files from schools with relative ease and dumping their info on the dark web unless the school districts pay a ransom, according to experts. Most of the time, the victims will not even know it happened, said Ross Brewer, CRO of SimSpace, with 30 years of experience in cybersecurity. Read More

Aftermath of a Data Breach

Hacks, ransomware attacks and data breaches seem to be in the news more and more often — and many people are getting alerts that their information has been compromised in the process. Just this week, Petro-Points members learned an unauthorized party had obtained their basic contact information, such as mailing and email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. Read More

Airbnb Wins Vancouver Privacy Ruling

Vancouver housing activist Rohana Rezel has had a beef with Airbnb and the City of Vancouver for years, and a B.C. Supreme Court ruling this week means there’s no end in sight. Rezel had made Freedom of Information requests to the city in 2019, seeking information about the hosts of short-term rentals. Read More