The Self blog

Singapore police can access COVID-19 contact tracing data for criminal investigations

Singapore has confirmed that its police can access the country’s COVID-19 contact tracing data if they wish. This latest development seems unnecessary at best and evidence of a creeping state panopticon at worst.

A Muslim prayer app has been caught tracking users

Salaat First, an app that reminds Muslims when to pray, has been caught recording and selling users’ location data. The source who provided the dataset of precise user movements was concerned that such sensitive information could potentially be exploited by bad actors.

How much are a CEO’s email credentials worth?

Anywhere between $100 and $1,500, according to a hacker selling hundreds of C-suite level email credentials on the dark web.

Solving ‘the great console shortage’

The UK government is looking into banning the resale of consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X after they were almost impossible to buy through retailers at launch.

WhatsApp’s New Year data grab

WhatsApp will start forcing users outside the UK & Europe to share a whole load of personal information with its parent company Facebook. This shameless data grab makes their claim that WhatsApp is a ‘privacy-focused’ service laughable.

Over 15 BILLION pieces of stolen data are now available on the dark web.

A team of researchers has spent 18 months auditing criminal forums and marketplaces. What they found is astounding - over 15 billion pieces of stolen personal information up for sale.

UK government seeks end-to-end encryption, without the encryption...

The UK government has published an international statement requesting tech companies halt the use of end-to-end encryption.

How much does your social media reveal about you?

A US academic has uncovered a 2.4-million-person database compiled using public information from social media. This is exactly what scares us at Self: a future where personal information can be acquired and misused at the drop of a hat.

The UK government’s new contract with Palantir should ring alarm bells the size of Big Ben.

How many apps know exactly where you are right now?

Vice dives into the murky supply chain and sale of location data gathered from apps whose users usually have no idea their location is being tracked, let alone sold to third parties.

How many of your {insert social media platform here} followers are real?

A report from Motherboard shows how one of their reporters was able to buy 250 followers on TikTok and quickly accumulate thousands of views and likes on one of their videos. Fake social media accounts have been around for years, but this shows that none of these tech companies have been able to get a firm grip on the issue.

“Alexa, how safe is my personal information?”

A security firm recently found that Alexa's web services had bugs that could give hackers access to someone's entire voice history, along with personal information including their home address.