The Weekly Cypher is specially curated to keep you up-to-date on the latest in cybersecurity, biometrics, and related news and innovations. Here are a few of the headlines you might have missed this week.
GDPR compliance lowers data breach frequency and impact says report | BleepingComputer
As reported by Cisco in its Data Privacy Benchmark Study, companies that follow the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) experience benefits such as lower frequency and effect of data breaches, as well as fewer records being impacted in the attacks, shorter downtimes and lower overall costs. GDPR is a user and data privacy regulation which came into effect in the European Union on May 25, addressing data protection of EU residents and the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.
Amazon can’t fix facial recognition | Bloomberg
A group of Amazon.com shareholders has added a new twist to the concept of corporate social responsibility, asking the company to stop selling its facial recognition service for purposes that might violate people’s civil rights. In doing so, they have raised an important question: Could this be the way to curb the creepy use of new algorithms? By appealing to the enlightened self-interest of their makers?
Five ways the government shutdown is impacting U.S. cybersecurity | VentureBeat
Add cybersecurity to the already lengthy list of services and agencies impacted by the partial federal government shutdown. While many essential defense and law enforcement personnel have been required to work without pay, some agencies that handle cybersecurity duties are working with reduced staff. Threat actors, meanwhile, aren’t stopping their campaigns because of an impasse on border security. Preventing them from carrying out malicious activity against public and private sector targets requires the full capabilities and resources of the federal government.
Microsoft seeks to restrict abuse of its facial recognition AI |Bloomberg
Microsoft is planning to implement self-designed ethical principles for its facial recognition technology by the end of March, as it urges governments to push ahead with matching regulation in the field. The company in December called for new legislation to govern artificial intelligence software for recognizing faces, advocating for human review and oversight of the technology in some critical cases, as a way to mitigate the risks of biased outcomes, intrusions into privacy and democratic freedoms.
Google under investigation for another alleged GDPR breach | Infosecurity Magazine
Google is under investigation in Sweden over alleged breaches of the GDPR, just days after it was issued with a major fine in France. Swedish regulator Datainspektionen revealed earlier this week that it launched the investigation into collection of Android users’ location data, after receiving a complaint from the Sveriges Konsumenter (Swedish Consumer Association) linked to allegations in an earlier report by Forbrukerrådet (the Norwegian Consumer Council).
