Forwarded from BlackBox (Security) Archiv
True privacy and security depend on free software
For all of the assurances you might receive from proprietary software companies that they respect your right to privacy, it is impossible to guarantee that your online communications are actually private without free software. Among technical users, it's common knowledge that privacy is dependent on strong encryption. However, the complex connection between software freedom, encryption, and privacy can be a little difficult to explain in the course of our individual activism, and is due for a more in-depth explanation.
Encryption is about keeping secrets secret, whether that means messages between you and a loved one, sensitive documents, or an entire hard drive. It also isn't only for those with something to hide: making strong encryption part of standard practice increases the safety of all those who really do need it by making it a normal thing to do. When your personal information is at stake, it's all the more important that encryption technology be based on free software. Even the most "benign" proprietary programs have a long history of mistreating their users, and a single "snitch" or backdoor in a proprietary encryption program in some cases could cost lives. At the FSF, we advocate for software freedom in any and all situations -- and in some cases, your safety may depend upon it.
👀 👉🏼 https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2020/spring/privacy-encryption
#privacy #encryption #backdoor #activism #software #freedom #thinkabout
📡@cRyPtHoN_INFOSEC_DE
📡@cRyPtHoN_INFOSEC_EN
📡@BlackBox_Archiv
📡@NoGoolag
For all of the assurances you might receive from proprietary software companies that they respect your right to privacy, it is impossible to guarantee that your online communications are actually private without free software. Among technical users, it's common knowledge that privacy is dependent on strong encryption. However, the complex connection between software freedom, encryption, and privacy can be a little difficult to explain in the course of our individual activism, and is due for a more in-depth explanation.
Encryption is about keeping secrets secret, whether that means messages between you and a loved one, sensitive documents, or an entire hard drive. It also isn't only for those with something to hide: making strong encryption part of standard practice increases the safety of all those who really do need it by making it a normal thing to do. When your personal information is at stake, it's all the more important that encryption technology be based on free software. Even the most "benign" proprietary programs have a long history of mistreating their users, and a single "snitch" or backdoor in a proprietary encryption program in some cases could cost lives. At the FSF, we advocate for software freedom in any and all situations -- and in some cases, your safety may depend upon it.
👀 👉🏼 https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2020/spring/privacy-encryption
#privacy #encryption #backdoor #activism #software #freedom #thinkabout
📡@cRyPtHoN_INFOSEC_DE
📡@cRyPtHoN_INFOSEC_EN
📡@BlackBox_Archiv
📡@NoGoolag
www.fsf.org
True privacy and security depend on free software
Undocumented backdoor that covertly takes snapshots found in kids’ smartwatch
A popular smartwatch designed exclusively for children contains an undocumented backdoor that makes it possible for someone to remotely capture camera snapshots, wiretap voice calls, and track locations in real time, a researcher said.
The X4 smartwatch is marketed by Xplora, a Norway-based seller of children’s watches. The device, which sells for about $200, runs on Android and offers a range of capabilities, including the ability to make and receive voice calls to parent-approved numbers and to send an SOS broadcast that alerts emergency contacts to the location of the watch. A separate app that runs on the smartphones of parents allows them to control how the watches are used and receive warnings when a child has strayed beyond a present geographic boundary.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/a-watch-designed-exclusively-for-kids-has-an-undocumented-spying-backdoor
https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/12/xplora_4_smartwatches
#xplora #smartwatch #kids #backdoor
A popular smartwatch designed exclusively for children contains an undocumented backdoor that makes it possible for someone to remotely capture camera snapshots, wiretap voice calls, and track locations in real time, a researcher said.
The X4 smartwatch is marketed by Xplora, a Norway-based seller of children’s watches. The device, which sells for about $200, runs on Android and offers a range of capabilities, including the ability to make and receive voice calls to parent-approved numbers and to send an SOS broadcast that alerts emergency contacts to the location of the watch. A separate app that runs on the smartphones of parents allows them to control how the watches are used and receive warnings when a child has strayed beyond a present geographic boundary.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/a-watch-designed-exclusively-for-kids-has-an-undocumented-spying-backdoor
https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/12/xplora_4_smartwatches
#xplora #smartwatch #kids #backdoor
Ars Technica
Undocumented backdoor that covertly takes snapshots found in kids’ smartwatch
The X4, made and jointly developed in China, raises concerns.