InfoSec and Compliance – With 20 years of blogging experience, DISC InfoSec blog is dedicated to providing trusted insights and practical solutions for professionals and organizations navigating the evolving cybersecurity landscape. From cutting-edge threats to compliance strategies, this blog is your reliable resource for staying informed and secure. Dive into the content, connect with the community, and elevate your InfoSec expertise!
Google announced Privacy Sandbox on Android to limit user data sharing and prevent the use of cross-app identifiers. The company states that the Privacy Sandbox technologies are still in development.
“Privacy Sandbox on Android will strengthen privacy, while providing tools app developers need to support and grow their businesses. It will introduce new solutions that operate without cross-app identifiers – including Advertising ID – and limit data sharing with third parties.” reads the announcement.
Google is also committed tp fighting and reducing covert data collection.
The goals of the Privacy Sandbox are:
Build new technology to keep your information private
Enable publishers and developers to keep online content free
Collaborate with the industry to build new internet privacy standards
Google will continue to support existing ads platform features for at least two years. The IT giant is inviting developers to review the proposed solution and provide their feedback through the Android developer portal.
“Starting today, developers can review our initial design proposals and share feedback on the Android developer site. We plan to release developer previews over the course of the year, with a beta release by the end of the year. We’ll provide regular updates on designs and timelines, and you can also sign up to receive updates.” concludes the announcement. “We know this initiative needs input from across the industry in order to succeed. We’ve already heard from many partners about their interest in working together to improve ads privacy on Android, and invite more organizations to participate.”
Almost every part of our everyday lives is closely connected to the internet – we depend on it for communication, entertainment, information, running our households, even running our cars.
Not everyone in the world has access to the same features and content on the internet, though, with some governments imposing restrictions on what you can do online. This severely limits internet freedom and, with it, the quality of life and other rights of the affected users.
Internet freedom is a broad term that covers digital rights, freedom of information, the right to internet access, freedom from internet censorship, and net neutrality.
To cover this vast subject, we’ve compiled 50 statistics that will give you a pretty clear picture about the state of internet freedom around the world. Dig into the whole thing or simply jump into your chosen area of interest below:
Colorado and Virginia passed new data privacy laws in 2021. Connecticut and Oklahoma are among the states that could enact new legislation around data privacy protections in 2022. California, which kicked off the conversation around data privacy at the state level, is updating its laws. Couple that with the EU’s GDPR and other data privacy laws enacted worldwide, and it is clear that data privacy has become incredibly important within cybersecurity. And that includes within the DevSecOps process.
It’s been enough of a challenge to integrate security into the DevOps process at all, even though it is now recognized that adding security early in the SDLC can eliminate issues further along in app development and deployment. But adding data privacy? Is it really necessary? Yes, it is necessary, said Casey Bisson, head of product growth at BluBracket, in email commentary. Applications now include more and more personal data that needs protection, such as apps that rely on medical PII. Those apps must have security and privacy baked into each phase of the SLDC via DevSecOps.
“There have been far too many examples of leaks of PII within code, for instance, because many companies don’t secure their Git repositories,” said Bisson. “As more sensitive information has made its way into code, it’s natural that hackers will target code. True DevSecOps will bake privacy concerns into every stage and will make these checks automated.”
Data in the Test Process
In DevSecOps, applications are developed often by using test data. “If that data is not properly sanitized, it can be lost,” said John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich, in an email interview. “There is also the special case of secrets management and ensuring that development processes properly secure and don’t accidentally disclose those secrets. The speed of development nowadays means that special controls need to be in place to ensure production data isn’t compromised from agile development.” Beyond test data, real consumer data has to be considered. Ultimately, every organization has information they need to protect so it’s important to focus on data privacy early in development so the team working on the platform can build the controls necessary into the platform to support the privacy requirements the data has, explained Shawn Smith, director of infrastructure at nVisium, via email. “The longer you wait to define the data relationships, the harder it is to ensure proper controls are developed to support them.”
Bringing Privacy into DevSecOps
Putting a greater emphasis on privacy within DevSecOps requires two things—data privacy protocols already in place within the organization and a strong commitment to the integration of cybersecurity with data privacy. “An organization needs to start with a strong privacy program and an executive in charge of its implementation,” said Bambenek. “Especially if the data involves private information from consumers, a data protection expect should be embedded in the development process to ensure that data is used safely and that the entire development pipeline is informed with strong privacy principles.” The DevSecOps team and leadership should have a strong understanding of the privacy laws and regulations—both set by overarching government rules and by industry requirements. Knowing the compliance requirements that must be met offers a baseline to measure how data must be handled throughout the entire app development process, Smith pointed out, adding that once you have the base to build upon, the controls and steps to actually achieve the privacy levels you want will fall into place pretty easily. Finally, Bisson advised DevSecOps professionals to shift security left and empower developers to prevent any credentials or PII from being inadvertently accessible through their code before it makes it to the cloud. “DevSecOps teams should scan code both within company repositories and outside in public repos; on GitHub, for instance. It’s so easy to clone code that these details and secrets can easily be leaked,” said Bisson.
Consumers don’t understand how or where in the development process security is added, and it’s not entirely necessary for them to understand how the sausage is made. The most important concern for them is that their sensitive data is protected at all times. For that to happen most efficiently, data privacy has to be an integral part of DevSecOps.
Here are some resolutions to follow to ensure your organization safely navigates the new hybrid office model.
1. Increase security awareness. The human factor is always the weakest link in cybersecurity. CISOs must stretch communications skills and create new channels to deliver education about information security. They must expand messages beyond phishing warnings to include topics such as laws and regulations that connect security with the business. Information privacy is a key topic.
2. Know who is connecting. Throughout the pandemic, the challenge of secure connectivity has been persistent. The bottom line is that secure VPN, single sign-on, and two/multi factor authentication are a must to validate and only allow in authentic users. Access and security logs must be carefully analyzed to identify any suspicious activity.
3. Secure VPNs and patch updates. VPNs hit the headlines at the start of the pandemic because many companies reinstated VPNs that were previously disabled without patching them first. Hackers took advantage of the situation, scanning for devices that they could exploit. Routine patching must be part of the security model and must be a top priority when it comes to safeguarding a business with work-from-home employees.
4. Secure the cloud. The cloud and “on demand” models have become hugely important for helping users access the applications they need to do work from anywhere. While this shift to the cloud has its productivity benefits, it has not come without its security challenges. It is important to remember that cloud environments are not automatically secure when they are first created. Securing them requires knowledge and time. To keep business safe, security controls must span all environments – providing 360-degree application protection for both the application surface and the cloud application infrastructure.
5. Know your suppliers. The SolarWinds vulnerability highlighted the need for companies to thoroughly evaluate the tools and services they integrate into their operations. This includes the careful installation and configuration of the product or service, tracking patches and new releases from the vendor, and monitoring for any suspicious behavior. In a highly sensitive environment, some companies may choose not to use third-party products or services.
6. Know the enemy. From nation-state attacks and climate hacktivists to disgruntled employees, security teams need to understand the techniques, tactics, and procedures used by malicious actors. By getting to know their adversaries, security will be better prepared to detect and evict threat actors who might be targeting their environment. Many security companies issue threat alerts that can be used to gather the latest intel to inform a security strategy. Continuous monitoring and analysis are required to detect and respond to these threats as soon as possible.
7. Maintain visibility. Companies need to make sure they can maintain visibility and consistency of security control posture across a collection of platforms, infrastructures, and technologies. Having visibility and control via security and development dashboards is a must. These dashboards should provide actionable analytics, automation, and customized controls.
8. Balance the load. Companies need sufficient capacity to balance the load on the network and scale to meet the needs of remote workers. After all, there is no point in having a secure network if every time it is accessed by large numbers of employees it fails because it can’t cope with demand. Since employee productivity depends on applications being available and accessible, CISOs must find appropriate solutions that provide business continuity. Those with multiple data centers should use global load balancing to ensure availability across data centers and the cloud.
CISOs have much to address moving forward in the new year. Fortunately, these eight resolutions can help ensure continuous improvements for safely navigating the new (out-of-) office reality.
The simplest, fastest, and most affordable way to comply with privacy legislation like the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the CPRA (California Privacy Rights Act), New York’s SHIELD Act, and others. With Privacy as a Service, you can:
* Achieve scaled privacy compliance quickly * Remain one step ahead of legislative developments with affordable advice and support * Reduce privacy risks with one simple subscription service * Enjoy peace of mind with your own dedicated data privacy manager
As a resource, the internet is a wonderful place for children to learn, explore ideas, and express themselves creatively. The internet is also key in a child’s social development, helping to strengthen communication skills, for example when playing games or chatting with friends.
However, parents should be aware that all these activities often come with risks. Kids online can be exposed to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and even predators.
While keeping an eye on what your children see and do online helps protect them against these risks, it’s not easy monitoring your kids without feeling like you’re invading their privacy. Just asking what websites they visit may give the impression that you don’t trust your child.
The key to combatting any big risk is education. It’s important for you and your children to be aware of the dangers, how to protect against them, and how to identify the warning signs. This is why we’ve put together this guide, to help both you and your kids* understand how to navigate the internet safely.
*Look out for our “For Kids” tips below, which you can share with your kids and teens.
A 2020 study by the Pew Research Center found that:
86% of parents of a child under age 11 limit their child’s screen time, while 75% check what their child does online.
71% of parents of a child age 11 or under are concerned their child has too much screen time.
66% of parents think parenting is harder today than it was 20 years ago, with 21% blaming social media in general.
65% of parents believe it’s acceptable for a child to have their own tablet computer before age 12.
At the end of April, Apple’s introduction of App Tracking Transparency tools shook the advertising industry to its core. iPhone and iPad owners could now stop apps from tracking their behavior and using their data for personalized advertising. Since the new privacy controls launched, almost $10 billion has been wiped from the revenues of Snap, Meta Platform’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Now, a similar tool is coming to Google’s Android operating system—although not from Google itself. Privacy-focused tech company DuckDuckGo, which started life as a private search engine, is adding the ability to block hidden trackers to its Android app. The feature, dubbed “App Tracking Protection for Android,” is rolling out in beta from today and aims to mimic Apple’s iOS controls. “The idea is we block this data collection from happening from the apps the trackers don’t own,” says Peter Dolanjski, a director of product at DuckDuckGo. “You should see far fewer creepy ads following you around online.”
The vast majority of apps have third-party trackers tucked away in their code. These trackers monitor your behavior across different apps and help create profiles about you that can include what you buy, demographic data, and other information that can be used to serve you personalized ads. DuckDuckGo says its analysis of popular free Android apps shows more than 96 percent of them contain trackers. Blocking these trackers means Facebook and Google, whose trackers are some of the most prominent, can’t send data back to the mothership—neither will the dozens of advertising networks you’ve never heard of.
From a user perspective, blocking trackers with DuckDuckGo’s tool is straightforward. App Tracking Protection appears as an option in the settings menu of its Android app. For now, you’ll see the option to get on a waitlist to access it. But once turned on, the feature shows the total number of trackers blocked in the last week and gives a breakdown of what’s been blocked in each app recently. Open up the app of the Daily Mail, one of the world’s largest news websites, and DuckDuckGo will instantly register that it is blocking trackers from Google, Amazon, WarnerMedia, Adobe, and advertising company Taboola. An example from DuckDuckGo showed more than 60 apps had tracked a test phone thousands of times in the last seven days.Most Popular
My own experience bore that out. Using a box-fresh Google Pixel 6 Pro, I installed 36 popular free apps—some estimates claim people install around 40 apps on their phones—and logged into around half of them. These included the McDonald’s app, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, and BBC Sounds. Then, with a preview of DuckDuckGo’s Android tracker blocking turned on, I left the phone alone for four days and didn’t use it at all. In 96 hours, 23 of these apps had made more than 630 tracking attempts in the background.
Using your phone on a daily basis—opening and interacting with apps—sees a lot more attempted tracking. When I opened the McDonald’s app, trackers from Adobe, cloud software firm New Relic, Google, emotion-tracking firm Apptentive, and mobile analytics company Kochava tried to collect data about me. Opening the eBay and Uber apps—but not logging into them—was enough to trigger Google trackers.
At the moment, the tracker blocker doesn’t show what data each tracker is trying to send, but Dolanjski says a future version will show what broad categories of information each commonly tries to access. He adds that in testing the company has found some trackers collecting exact GPS coordinates and email addresses.
“You should see far fewer creepy ads following you around online.”
Working from home comes with a slew of security concerns. Businesses planning to look at remote work as a long-term strategy should take the time to reassess any “band-aid” security solutions that may have been applied at the beginning of the pandemic and look at ways that security can be prioritized permanently.
But creating an identity layer wasn’t imperative for the creators of the internet as they didn’t predict the emergence of online platforms that facilitate people-to-people interaction.
The digital presences most of us have are based on browsing or consumer habits and are siloed within various accounts and social networks. Indeed, they don’t present an accurate picture of our unique identifiers and who we are.
Building an identity layer is complex
Establishing a verified digital identity is a complex process. Authenticating that a person performing an action online is who they say they are, and then validating that they exist is tedious for two major reasons.
Obviously, there are issues here related to the security of the credential, the degree of authentication necessary to obtain the credential, whether the credential can be simultaneously loaded into multiple devices and whether I can “loan” my driver’s license to my identical twin brother (yes, I have an identical twin brother). Moreover, for the credential to be meaningful, it must permit both local and connected validation—that is, a police officer needs to be able to check to see if you have an apparently valid ID at the scene of a violation or accident without access to online verification and they must also be able to validate the ID against some online database. In addition, we need to decide who has access to the digital validation protocols—police and other traffic enforcement officials? TSA or transportation security officials? The dude at the front desk of the office building? The bouncer at the bar? The server serving alcohol? The resident associate (RA) checking people in at the college dorm? Are there any controls on who can access these credential validation services and for what purpose? A digital credential is much easier to spoof (simply do a screenshot) if there is no ability to validate online. Moreover, the validation must be robust enough to work reasonably well offline—things like a photo ID, a watermark, etc. You know, all the stuff we put on the “real ID” driver’s license.
Digital Driver’s Licenses: Unintended Consequences
Almost every part of our everyday lives is closely connected to the internet – we depend on it for communication, entertainment, information, running our households, even running our cars.
Not everyone in the world has access to the same features and content on the internet, though, with some governments imposing restrictions on what you can do online. This severely limits internet freedom and, with it, the quality of life and other rights of the affected users.
Internet freedom is a broad term that covers digital rights, freedom of information, the right to internet access, freedom from internet censorship, and net neutrality.
To cover this vast subject, we’ve compiled 50 statistics that will give you a pretty clear picture about the state of internet freedom around the world. Dig into the whole thing or simply jump into your chosen area of interest below:
ISO 45001 is the international standard that contains best practices for OH&S (occupational health and safety). Its goal is to reduce injuries and diseases in the workplace, including the promotion and protection of physical and mental health.
COVID-19 helped put some of those problems into relief, but it’s something organisations must continue to be vigilant about as the pandemic subsides.
In this blog, we look at the mandatory documentation and records you must complete to comply with ISO 45001 – as well as non-mandatory documents that can support your compliance activities.
Mandatory documentation
Clause 4.3 Scope of the OH&S management system
Clause 5.2 OH&S policy
Clause 5.3 Responsibilities and authorities within OH&SMS
Clause 6.1.1 OH&S process for addressing risks and opportunities
ClauseÂ
6.1.2.2
 Methodology and criteria for assessment of OH&S risks
Clause 6.2.2 OH&S objectives and plans for achieving them
Clause 8.2 Emergency preparedness and response process
Mandatory records
Clause 6.1.1 OH&S risks and opportunities and actions for addressing them
Clause 6.1.3 Legal and other requirements
Clause 7.2 Evidence of competence
Clause 7.4.1 Evidence of communications
Clause 8.2 Plans for responding to potential emergency situations
Clause 9.1.1 Results on monitoring, measurements, analysis and performance evaluation
Clause 9.1.1 Maintenance, calibration or verification of monitoring equipment
Clause 9.1.2 Compliance evaluation results
Clause 9.2.2 Internal audit program
Clause 9.2.2 Internal audit report
Clause 9.3 Results of management review
Clause 10.2 Nature of incidents or nonconformities and any subsequent action taken
Clause 10.2 Results of any action and corrective action, including their effectiveness
Clause 10.3 Evidence of the results of continual improvement
Non-mandatory documents
In addition to mandatory documentation, there are many other parts of ISO 45001 that organisations may find relevant. This includes:
Clause 4.1 Procedure for determining context of the organization and interested parties
Clause 5.4 Procedure for consultation and participation of workers
Clause 6.1.2.1 Procedure for hazard identification and assessment
Clause 6.1.3 Procedure for identification of legal requirements
Clause 7.4.1 Procedure for communication
Clause 7.5 Procedure for document and record control
Clause 8.1 Procedure for operational planning and control
Clause 8.1.3 Procedure for change management
Clause 9.1.1 Procedure for monitoring, measuring and analysis
Clause 9.1.2 Procedure for compliance evaluation
Clause 9.2 Procedure for internal audit
Clause 9.3 Procedure for management review
Clause 10.1 Procedure for incident investigation
Clause 10.1 Procedure for management of nonconformities and corrective actions
This book, written by consultant and trainer Naeem Sadiq, explains how organisations can use ISO 45001’s requirements to create a safer work environment.
You’ll find out the purpose and requirements of each clause in ISO 45001, learn how to build an OH&S management system in a step-by-step approach and receive real-world examples of health and safety issues along with the ideal way to handle that situation.
TOR Anonymity Network 101 If you have been searching for how to access the most private and secure part of the internet, then look no more! The TOR Anonymity Network 101 – An Introduction To The Most Private Part Of The Internet has everything you’ve ever wanted to learn about how to be completely anonymous online. We live in an age where despite our best intentions, everything we do online is open to monitoring or attack. Our own advances in technology which were supposed to make our lives easier can be twisted and used against us. Knowing how to protect our own best interests is a vital skill that everyone should be aware of. The TOR Anonymity Network 101 includes: * How to maintain your anonymity online * The key to networking 101 * An introduction to the most private parts of the internet & much more! TOR doesn’t stop you from being seen on the internet, but it will prevent people from learning your location and using that information against you. If you value your privacy, then you need to check out TOR Anonymity Network 101 – An Introduction To The Most Private Part Of The Internet for yourself!
Air India disclosed a data breach after personal information belonging to roughly 4.5 million of its customers was leaked two months following the hack of Passenger Service System provider SITA in February 2021.
“This is to inform that SITA PSS our data processor of the passenger service system (which is responsible for storing and processing of personal information of the passengers) had recently been subjected to a cybersecurity attack leading to personal data leak of certain passengers,” Air India said in a breach notification sent over the weekend.Â
“This incident affected around 4,500,000 data subjects in the world.”
The airline added that the breach impacted the data of passengers registered between August 2011 and February 2021.
Nevertheless, after investigating the security incident, it was found that no credit card information or password data was accessed during the breach.
However, Air India urges its passengers to change their credentials to block potential breach attempts and ensure their data security.
“The breach involved personal data registered between 26th August 2011 and 3rd February 2021, with details that included name, date of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket information, Star Alliance, and Air India frequent flyer data (but no passwords data were affected) as well as credit cards data,” Air India added [PDF].
“However, in respect of this last type of data, CVV/CVC numbers are not held by our data processor.”
The protection of our customers’ personal data is of highest importance to us and we deeply regret the inconvenience caused and appreciate the continued support and trust of our passengers. — Air India
Data breach impacts Star Alliance members
Almost a dozen more air carriers besides Air India informed passengers that some of their data was accessed during a breach of SITA’s Passenger Service System (PSS), which handles transactions from ticket reservations to boarding.
SITA also confirmed the incident saying that it reached out to affected PSS customers and all related organizations in early March.
At the time, a SITA spokesperson told BleepingComputer that the breach impacts data of passengers from multiple airlines, including:
Lufthansa – combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried; Star Alliance member and Miles & More partner
Air New Zealand – flag carrier airline of New Zealand
Singapore Airlines – flag carrier airline of Singapore
Finnair – flag carrier and largest airline of Finland
Some of these air carriers (including Air India) are part of the Star Alliance, a global airline network with 26 members, including Lufthansa, the largest in Europe.
Star Alliance told BleepingComputer that its members also share customer details relevant to awarding traveling benefits.
The information is limited to membership names, frequent flyer program membership numbers, and program tier status.
As many as 4.5 million Air India customers were affected in the data breach
The airlines assured its passengers that there was no evidence of any “misuse” of the datahttps://t.co/ixRCDFTbtt
The importance of carrying out a careful risk and impact assessment in order to safeguard the security of the information and the data privacy.
In order to reduce as much as possible the vulnerabilities and programming errors that can affect not only the quality of the product itself but can also be exploited to launch increasingly sophisticated and growing computer attacks, it’s necessary to guarantee the protection parameters of computer security in terms of integrity, confidentiality and authentication both for the code of an application and for data management. Therefore, it’s essential to carry out a careful risk and impact assessment in order to safeguard the security of the information and the data privacy.
The project must be planned, following a common denominator for the whole software life cycle, to ensure the security requirements for the data, functions and programming language.
The reference model used in this discussion is, for simplicity’s sake, sequential, in which only after completing one phase does one move on to the next. However, it could be envisaged, for greater efficiency and flexibility, to revise and correct the various phases:
In late March 2021, Representative Susan DelBene (D-WA 01) introduced legislation to the 116th Congress to protect consumer privacy and put control of consumers’ data in their own hands.
DelBene noted that states are surging ahead of the federal government in creating privacy laws, each with their own flavor and each serving the needs of a particular constituency/demographic. DelBene argued that having a federal policy will stem consumer confusion and put the United States back into the conversation on global privacy policies. The EU, for example, is pushing their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as the global standard.
Companies produce their privacy policies in “plain English” within 90 days of the bill’s passage.
Users must “opt in” before companies my use their sensitive PII. In doing so, the user is made aware of how the information may be used and more importantly how it is not to be used. Companies will have 90 days to put in place this capability once the legislation becomes law.
Companies must be transparent when it comes to sharing user information – who, what, where, how and why.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be given the authority to fine bad actors on their first offense and empower state attorneys general to pursue offenders. If the FTC doesn’t act on a complaint within 60 days, the state attorney general may pursue legal remedies.
Trust, yet verify by requiring, every two years, a “neutral” privacy audit to ensure companies (with information from 250,000 or more people) are handling PII in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
The bill will provide to the FTC 50 additional full-time employees, of which 15 must be technical experts (not further defined), and initial funding for the program will be $35 million.
Lesson 1: Take stock of identities and lock them down
When it comes to data protection, security and compliance, organizations must keep the potential technology risk within acceptable limits, which means mobilizing efforts to identify data lakes and applications where personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information is stored. Organizations should then use digital transformation as the catalyst to lock those applications down with the proper controls to prevent the unauthorized use of data and use analytics to gain visibility into the management-sensitive data.
The key to any data privacy compliance is proper data protection because under these laws, consumers retain the right to deny and revoke the collection of their data. The first step in any plan around compliance is to have a basic understanding of whose data you have, where it is, and who has access to it. This principle is the foundation of identity management and governance.
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