Author Archives
Articles Posted by Joe Iarocci
Google Accidentally Mixes Photos Storage
Trending on Reddit, Google has disclosed an issue that may have intermingled different Google Photos storages. Between November 21 and November 25, users who downloaded their data through Google Takeout, a service that consolidated all the information Google kept for a Google account, may have downloaded pictures or videos belonging to another account. The issue has been promptly fixed, of course, but Google has been vague More »
No expectation of privacy in an IP address, Alberta judge rules
Police in Alberta don’t need a court order to get an external IP address from a service provider in trying to identify an internet user, according to a recent Calgary judicial ruling. The decision is a first in Canadian privacy law. The precedent applies for now only in Alberta but it will be cited in other courts across the country and could be persuasive if the More »
Canadian Government calls for proposals for signature matching software
According to an article by Buckley Smith, at ITbusiness.ca, the Government of Canada is looking for a new software solution for signature matching and it is turning to the public for proposals through the Innovative Solutions Canada Challenge Stream. In its press release, the Government said it is “seeking to build a system that would evaluate the pattern matching signatures in insecure environments without revealing the signatures themselves More »
Ontario Construction Firm Victim of Ransomware Attack
A multi-million dollar Ontario construction firm, according to CBC News, Bird Construction of Mississauga, Ont., acknowledged that it was recently victimized, but didn’t give any details. “Bird Construction responded to a cyber incident that resulted in the encryption of company files,” the CBC quoted an unnamed company spokesperson as saying. “Bird continued to function with no business impact, and we worked with leading cybersecurity experts to restore More »
Data Privacy Day Warning: Take Privacy Seriously!
Businesses should be worried that Canadians increasingly don’t trust them to handle their personal data and information generated through online buying, according to a senior federal privacy official. In an interview to mark the 14th annual International Data Privacy Day, deputy privacy commissioner Gregory Smolynec noted that surveys show 90 per cent of Canadian respondents say they are very concerned about their inability to protect More »
Ransomware Attack on Construction Company Raises Questions about Federal Contracts – CBC Reports
A construction company that’s won millions of dollars worth of contracts with the military and other federal departments has been hit by a ransomware attack — raising questions about how the federal government does businesses with outside firms open to cyber attacks. “Bird Construction responded to a cyber incident that resulted in the encryption of company files,” wrote a company spokesperson in an email to More »
Windows 7 is dead, but 25% of large businesses in Canada are still running it
Although Windows 7 is officially “dead”, it won’t suddenly cease to function; as anyone who booted it up after the end-of-support deadline of January 14 discovered. It works just fine after you get past the full-screen warning from Microsoft that you’re now at risk since you’re running an unsupported operating system. And they’re right. Once a product is out of support, any issues with it – be More »
PlanetDrugsDirect.com Warns of Data Breach
A Winnipeg-based online pharmacy is telling customers their information including medications and medical history may have been compromised in a security incident. PlanetDrugsDirect.com hasn’t been reachable for a few days, shortly after Bleeping Computer broke the news that an unknown number of people were being notified. The company says it has 400,000 customers. The site’s home page displays an error message as well as the statement, “This More »
Shocking Number of Robocalls Last Year
We all know the annoyance of robocalls, I received 6 calls from one number one day last week. I realize these numbers are US, Canadian numbers are not available yet, but I wanted to show the trend of these calls, as I am sure we are seeing the same trend in Canada. The problem is that the trend is up because sadly, it seems to be More »
The National Security Agency helps Microsoft
The National Security Agency recently discovered a major flaw in Microsoft’s Windows operating system — one that could potentially expose computer users to significant breaches or surveillance — and alerted the firm of the problem rather than turn it into a hacking weapon, according to people familiar with the matter. According to Ellen Nakishima for the Washington Post: The flaw affects Windows 10 users, More »