At a glance.
- Pakistan's reported mobile user data breach remains under investigation.
- Silicon Valley's cooperation on contact-tracking tech.
- Lawful intercept vendors and contact tracking.
- Breach at San Francisco International.
Reported breach of mobile users' data in Pakistan remains under investigation.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority continues to investigate claims that about 115 million of the country's mobile users were affected by a major data breach, Business Recorder reports. The very size of the reported breach has led to informed speculation that much of the information exposed, if in fact exposed it has been, is old, and derives from earlier data breaches.
Apple and Google cooperate on COVID-19 tracking tech.
Apple and Google, proprietors of the world's two leading mobile ecosystems, are engaged in joint development of Bluetooth tracking functionality that would notify mobile device users if they’ve been in proximity to someone who’s been infected with the coronavirus. As the Wall Street Journal describes it, the contact-tracking system would be enabled by opt-in, and both parties would have to opt-in. It also depends upon self-reporting on the part of infected individuals, which means that, for the system to be effective, it would have to attract widespread opt-in as well as inspire a willingness on users’ parts to keep their status up-to-date.
There are of course concerns about the possibility of privacy abuses that could follow in the train of public health measures. CNBC has a discussion of how information-sharing would need to be limited to avoid this. False positives are one problem, as the Verge points out, but concerns about the implications of entrusting governments with such tools have also arisen. The UK’s National Health Service is closely involved with the joint Apple-Google project, according to the Times, and the NHS has also shown, as the Guardian reports, a strong interest in deploying big data tools from Palantir and others against the pandemic.
Lawful intercept's market opportunity?
Motherboard thinks it sees signs that lawful intercept brokers (with NSO Group prominently mentioned) see the increased government interest in tracking contacts as an opportunity for greater and enduring market penetration.
Data breach affects SFO workers and contractors.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) disclosed last week that two of its networks, SFOConnect and SFOConstruction, were compromised. Users—and those will for the most part be airport employees and contractors—are advised to change their passwords. The attackers, Forbes writes, were apparently after Windows device credentials.