COVID app includes privacy problem, watch for suspicious spreadsheet and Mathway hacked
Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Monday May 25th. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com. To our American listeners, thanks for tuning in on this holiday.
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Software developers are touting the use of smartphone apps to help public health officials fight the COVID-19 virus. But apps are notoriously leaky with snippets of private information. Take for example the app called Care19 commissioned and released by the state of North Dakota. A security company called Jumbo Privacy did an analysis of the app and found the versions it tested didn’t keep up to its promises. The privacy policy says location data is private. Not so — each user’s location data was shared with a mobile advertising company called Foursquare. The app data is supposed to be protected by an anonymous code. Sure — but the code goes to Foursquare, and another firm along with an advertising identifier. The Washington Post had a chat with the company that developed the app, which said the location data isn’t used for commercial purposes. And the app says Foursquare is being used to show nearby businesses. That, of course, isn’t the point. Location data from this particular shouldn’t be transmitted at all. Foursquare says it promptly discards any data the app sends it. True, the purpose of this particular app is to use location data to help users remember where they have been. So location data has to be collected. But the ..
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