Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable value like the US dollar, were created with the promise of bringing the frictionless, border-crossing fluidity of Bitcoin to a form of digital money with far less volatility. That combination has proved to be wildly popular, rocketing the total value of stablecoin transactions since …
Read More »How a 27-Year-Old Codebreaker Busted the Myth of Bitcoin’s Anonymity
Just over a decade ago, Bitcoin appeared to many of its adherents to be the crypto-anarchist holy grail: truly private digital cash for the internet. Satoshi Nakamoto, the cryptocurrency’s mysterious and unidentifiable inventor, had stated in an email introducing Bitcoin that “participants can be anonymous.” And the Silk Road dark-web …
Read More »Big Tech Won’t Let You Leave. Here’s a Way Out
The platform is the canonical form of internet business: a two-sided market that facilitates connections between end-users and business customers. Uber connects drivers with riders; Amazon and eBay connect sellers with buyers; TikTok and YouTube connect performers with audiences; social media connects people with something to say with people who …
Read More »Google Updates Chrome's Incognito Warning to Admit It Tracks Users in ‘Private’ Mode
Google is updating the warning on Chrome's Incognito mode to make it clear that Google and websites run by other companies can still collect your data in the web browser's semiprivate mode. The change is being made as Google prepares to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses the firm of …
Read More »The Sad Truth of the FTC’s ‘Historic’ Privacy Win
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement last week with an American data broker known to sell location data gathered from hundreds of phone apps to the US government, among others. According to the agency, the company ignored in some cases the requests of consumers not to do …
Read More »A Bloody Pig Mask Is Just Part of a Wild New Criminal Charge Against eBay
After the security firm Mandiant had its X account compromised earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission dealt with a similar intrusion this week. Attackers wrested control of the agency’s account for more than half an hour and posted false information during that time about a highly anticipated …
Read More »Your Medical Data Is Code Blue
Until last November, I had never heard of Perry Johnson and Associates. But they had heard of me. In fact, without my knowledge, they had information about me that even my closest friends and relatives might not know. Because the company provides “transcription and dictation” services to Northwell Health, a …
Read More »The Battle for Biometric Privacy
In 2024, increased adoption of biometric surveillance systems, such as the use of AI-powered facial recognition in public places and access to government services, will spur biometric identity theft and anti-surveillance innovations. Individuals aiming to steal biometric identities to commit fraud or gain access to unauthorized data will be bolstered …
Read More »23andMe Blames Users for Recent Data Breach as It's Hit With Dozens of Lawsuits
It’s been nearly two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and as the grim milestone looms and winter drags on, the two nations are locked in a grueling standoff. In order to “break military parity” with Russia, Ukraine’s top general says that Kyiv needs an inspired military innovation that equals …
Read More »How to Be More Anonymous Online
On the internet, everyone wants to know who you are. Websites are constantly asking for your email address or trying to place tracking cookies on your devices. A murky slurry of advertisers and tech firms track which websites you visit, predicting what your interests are and what you may want …
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