Privacy Transformation - Issue 21

PRIVACY

Data Protection Commission ‘disappointed’ at budget allocation

The Data Protection Commission received less than a third of the additional funding it sought in Budget 2020, a situation that leaves it having to reassess its planned expenditure for next year, a period in which its role as a key supervisory authority within the EU responsible for GDPR regulation and enforcement is expected to require increasing resources to meet the demands of the role.

Time to rethink ePrivacy - an opinion from Digital Europe

Digital Europe, an industry lobby group, has called for a reset of the stalled ePrivacy regulation. The group is composed of organisations with a vested interest in watering down the provisions of the ePrivacy revamp.

U.S. And UK Sign Cross-Border Data Access Agreement

The United States and the United Kingdom entered into the world’s first ever CLOUD Act Agreement that will allow American and British law enforcement agencies, with appropriate authorization, to demand electronic data regarding serious crime, including terrorism, child sexual abuse, and cybercrime, directly from tech companies based in the other country, without legal barriers.

The Greek Parliament has approved the country's draft law on the protection of personal data, which came into effect on 29 August 2019.

Privacy Shield and Brexit: What now? What next?

Once the UK leaves the European Union, companies on both sides of the Atlantic will need to act to ensure compliant data flows between the UK and US under Privacy Shield.

Tusla relying on ‘flimsy grounds’ to justify redacting records and birth certs

Adoption campaigners have labelled Tusla ‘worse than nuns’ saying that information that was routinely released is now routinely being withheld, with Tusla citing GDPR as a reason for maintaining tighter control over what information it does and does not release.

'We are hurtling towards a surveillance state’: the rise of facial recognition technology

It can pick out shoplifters, international criminals and lost children in seconds. But as the cameras proliferate, who’s watching the watchers?

Twitter admits to processing personal data beyond purpose

Twitter has released a statement admitting that contact information that was collected in the course of facilitating security procedures was subsequently used to deliver targeted advertising.

'Anonymised' data can never be totally anonymous, says study

Findings say it is impossible for researchers to fully protect real identities in datasets

PUBLIC SERVICES CARD

Top civil servant Robert Watt defends ‘value’ of PSC

One of the country’s top civil servants has defended the public services card (PSC), saying the “value” of the project is “often misunderstood”.

Robert Watt, secretary general of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, has said the PSC project “puts Ireland in the very strong position of making available secure digital services at a fraction of the cost of some other countries”.

Department faces €1m fines over PSC debacle

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) is facing a possible investigation and potential €1m fines over the mandatory requirement to hold a public services card in order to access the new National Childcare Scheme.

No definitive answer after RSA queried department on whether 'red flag' raised by interim report into PSC

The Road Safety Authority specifically queried the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection as to whether any “red flag” had been raised by an interim report into the Public Services Card by the Data Protection Commissioner, but received no definitive answer.

PSC fall-out: Department of Social Protection accused of ‘mass surveillance’.

SECURITY & TECH

Brave Partners with Uphold to Launch Wallet That Rewards Users for Browsing

BAT Rewards can now be transferred into users’ Uphold accounts. With today’s updated Brave browser for desktop (0.69), Brave users can choose to transfer Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) out of their Brave Rewards wallet and convert the tokens to many digital assets and fiat currencies, after completing a verification process with digital money platform Uphold. Previously, the Brave browser wallet was unidirectional, and its sole purpose was to anonymously and securely contribute to online publishers of the user’s choosing.

Facebook launches privacy-focused Instagram messaging app

Facebook announced it has launched a messaging app within Instagram designed to allow users to connect with friends while respecting their privacy.

Google Facial Recognition Tactics Raise Racial, Privacy Concerns

The Silicon Valley-based company’s efforts to gather as much facial recognition data as it can — especially from people of color — has raised questions about the tactics it employs to meet that end.

Cyber criminals 'lining up' as Windows 7 support to end

One in four Irish companies are scheduled to have IT security support withdrawn by Microsoft in the coming months, unless they buy new PCs or pay extra fees.

DATA BREACHES

Data breach at Russian ISP impacts 8.7 million customers

Security breach took place in 2017, but user details are only now being shared online, including on Telegram channels.

Zendesk clocks 10,000 accounts accessed by miscreants before November 2016

Zendesk has admitted to suffering a data snafu – but while it affects 10,000 customers, it only applies to those who were using the firm's helpdesk products before 1 November 2016.

Hackers breach Volusion and start collecting card details from thousands of sites

More than 6,500 stores have been compromised, but the number could be around 20,000.

New Zealand health NGO’s data breach could affect up to 1 million people

A primary health organization or PHO – NGOs which provide essential primary healthcare over in New Zealand – has just revealed a huge security breach which could potentially have exposed medical data pertaining to around 1 million people.