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Dashlane news, Mastercard innovation, Smartspeakers jammers, Beware Huawei


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[Update: Back] Dashlane password manager extension has been removed from the Chrome Web Store

https://9to5google.com/2020/02/11/dashlane-extension-removed-chrome-web-store/

As account security has become more important, having a good cross-platform password manager has become almost essential. Unfortunately, one of the more popular password managers, Dashlane, has had its extension removed from the Chrome Web Store due to privacy and permissions issues.

Spotted by Techdows, one of the engineers responsible for the Dashlane password manager has publicly posted an attempt to get in contact with Google. In the post, it’s explained that, on Friday, Dashlane received a warning from the Chrome Web Store stating that the extension had a week to either cutback or explain the permissions it asks for.

To comply with the request, Dashlane submitted a “permission justification form,” spelling out how the extension works and why it needs so many permissions to do the job, along with a new version of Dashlane. The next day, Dashlane was removed from the Chrome Web Store altogether, with the extension’s listing currently leading to a 404 error.

Mastercard is pioneering new payment technology that identifies commuters by the way they walk

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mastercard-is-pioneering-new-payment-technology-that-identifies-commuters-by-the-way-they-walk-2020-02-14?mod=mw_latestnews

The payment provider is investigating innovative behavioral biometrics such as gait, face, heartbeat and veins for cutting edge payment systems of the future

Commuters may soon be able to ditch their bus pass and access public transport with technology identifying them by the way they walk.

Mastercard MA, +1.52% is working with transport firms to develop a new system that would authenticate passengers by their gait.

The payment provider told MarketWatch that everyone has a unique walk, and it is investigating innovative behavioral biometrics such as gait, face, heartbeat and veins for cutting edge payment systems of the future.

Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence solutions for Mastercard, told MarketWatch in an interview: “We are working with transport organizations where your face or gait will authenticate you.

Signal Is Finally Bringing Its Secure Messaging to the Masses

https://www.wired.com/story/signal-encrypted-messaging-features-mainstream/

The encryption app is putting a $50 million infusion from WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton to good use, building out features to help it go mainstream.

Marlinspike has always talked about making encrypted communications easy enough for anyone to use. The difference, today, is that Signal is finally reaching that mass audience it was always been intended for—not just the privacy diehards, activists, and cybersecurity nerds that formed its core user base for years—thanks in part to a concerted effort to make the app more accessible and appealing to the mainstream.

Signal's new group messaging, which will allow administrators to add and remove people from groups without a Signal server ever being aware of that group's members, required going further still. Signal partnered with Microsoft Research to invent a novel form of "anonymous credentials" that let a server gatekeep who belongs in a group, but without ever learning the members' identities. "It required coming up with some innovations in the world of cryptography," Marlinspike says. "And in the end, it’s just invisible. It’s just groups, and it works like we expect groups to work."

Signal is rethinking how it keeps track of its users' social graphs, too. Another new feature it's testing, called "secure value recovery," would let you create an address book of your Signal contacts and store them on a Signal server, rather than simply depend on the contact list from your phone. That server-stored contact list would be preserved even when you switch to a new phone. To prevent Signal's servers from seeing those contacts, it would encrypt them with a key stored in the SGX secure enclavethat's meant to hide certain data even from the rest of the server's operating system.

That feature might someday even allow Signal to ditch its current system of identifying users based on their phone numbers—a feature that many privacy advocates have criticized, since it forces anyone who wants to be contacted via Signal to hand out a cell phone number, often to strangers. Instead, it could store persistent identities for users securely on its servers. "I’ll just say, this is something we’re thinking about," says Marlinspike. Secure value recovery, he says, "would be the first step in resolving that."

US says it can prove Huawei has backdoor access to mobile-phone networks

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/us-gave-allies-evidence-that-huawei-can-snoop-on-phone-networks-wsj-says/

US officials say they have evidence that Huawei has backdoor access to mobile-phone networks around the world, according to a Wall Street Journal article published today.

"We have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world," US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told the Journal.

The United States has long claimed that Huawei can secretly access networks through the networking gear it sells to telcos, but the goverment previously argued that it doesn't need to show any proof. US officials still are not providing such evidence publicly but have begun sharing their intelligence with other countries, the Journal report said.

The Journal wrote:

The US kept the intelligence highly classified until late last year, when American officials provided details to allies including the UK and Germany, according to officials from the three countries. That was a tactical turnabout by the US, which in the past had argued that it didn't need to produce hard evidence of the threat it says Huawei poses to nations' security.

The US has been sharing this evidence at the same time the Trump administration tries to convince allies to get Huawei gear out of their networks.

US officials said they have been aware of Huawei's backdoor access "since observing it in 2009 in early 4G equipment," the Journal wrote. However, the US officials quoted by the Journal "declined to say whether the US has observed Huawei using this access."

There's a privacy bracelet that jams smart speakers and, hell yeah, bring it

https://mashable.com/article/bracelet-jams-alexa-smart-speakers/

Smart speakers are creepy recording devices that eavesdrop on unsuspecting people. A new piece of custom technology offers the chance to fight back. 

Stylized as a cyberpunk bracelet, a "wearable jammer" was developed by a trio of professors at the University of Chicago. In addition to looking punk rock as all hell, the device emits ultrasonic noise that interferes with microphones' ability to record yet is inaudible to humans. 

Oh, and the professors — Ben Zhao, Heather Zheng, and assistant professor Pedro Lopes — published schematics online so the more technically proficient of you can make one at home. 

Notably, this is neither the first time someone has made a microphone jammer nor the first time that ultrasound has been used to screw with smart speakers. This device is special, however, for reasons greater than just its bracelet style. 

"[Current] jammers are also directional, requiring users to point the jammer to a microphone; instead, our wearable bracelet is built in a ring-layout that allows it to jam in multiple directions," reads a paper explaining the science behind the jammer. "This is beneficial in that it allows our jammer to protect against microphones hidden out of sight."

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Rebuffed by UK, U.S. pitches 'big tent' for Huawei rivals in Europe

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-security-huawei/rebuffed-by-uk-u-s-pitches-big-tent-for-huawei-rivals-in-europe-idUSKBN2090HP

One industry executive said the U.S. arguments about alternate suppliers were not new but had been stepped up following a British decision last month to use Huawei equipment, partly due to a lack of alternatives.

“If people oppose one brand or another then they have to tell us what is the alternative, right?” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ahead of the UK’s decision.

“The Americans are frustrated by the weak response from Britain, and worry Germany and France will think the same,” said the industry executive, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with American and European officials.

“As they see it, European leaders are not basing their statements on facts.”

Huawei: How the UK's decision affects the rest of the world

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51284393

The UK has decided to let Huawei continue to be used in its growing 5G networks - but with restrictions.

The long-awaited decision goes against advice and pressure from the US to block the firm for security reasons.

But some industry-watchers believe it will benefit the wider rollout of next-generation mobile data services.

"I think it's a pragmatic decision that brings stability and continuity in the 5G ecosystem," commented Stephane Teral from IHS Markit.

"Huawei has been investing in the UK and in other countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, and Poland since the beginning of this century. A ban would have been disastrous."

Selectionshot_2020-02-17_06:21:57.png

Edited by sman
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@Pierre75 Find that thereis reift between UK and Australia over Huawei over a leaked high level meeting where Huawei was also discussed.

Huawei row: Australian MPs cancel UK trip amid tensions over leak

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51513886

Senior Australian MPs have cancelled a planned trip to the UK as tensions heighten over the role of Huawei in building Britain's 5G network.

Lawmakers from the intelligence and security committee had been expected to travel to the UK next month.

But the trip has been postponed amid reports of a diplomatic rift.

The decision follows a reported complaint from the UK over leaked details of a high-level meeting where Huawei was discussed.

Australia has banned the Chinese telecommunications giant from building its next-generation 5G mobile internet networks but Britain last month decided the company could continue to play a role in its system, despite pressure and warnings from Washington.

Last week, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab visited Australia, where he met members of the parliament's intelligence committee.

Details of the meeting were later leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald, which said an MP had rebuked Mr Raab in the meeting over Britain's Huawei decision, saying Australia was very disappointed.

According to Australian media that report prompted a formal complaint from Vicki Treadell, the UK's High Commissioner to Australia, to the heads of two Australian parliamentary committees.

Australia and the UK are both part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which also includes the US, New Zealand and Canada.

Huawei dispute with UK escalates as Australian MPs snub Britain by planning US trip

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-16/huawei-decision-in-britain-australian-intelligence-mps-snub-uk/11969680

Members of Federal Parliament's intelligence committee are escalating their feud with the British Government by planning a visit to the United States, instead of a now-cancelled trip to London.

The pointed snub is the latest diplomatic flare-up between Australia and the UK after its recent decision to allow Chinese telco Huawei to help build Britain's 5G network.

Earlier the ABC revealed UK High Commissioner Vicki Treadell had taken the rare step of writing to the heads of two Australian committees to formally protest against the leaking of confidential conversations about the topic.

While Australia was quick to exclude Huawei equipment from its 5G network, several major allies including the UK are not convinced that a ban is warranted.

Despite warnings from its "five-eyes" intelligence sharing partners Australia and the United States, the British Government has not banned Huawei technology from its next generation of high-speed wireless networks.

 

China accuses Australia of discriminating against Huawei

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/17/china-accuses-australia-of-discriminating-against-huawei

 

Chinese ambassador says consumers not being served well by ‘politically motivated’ ban on tech firm’s entry into 5G network

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