CDP Institute

What to say when your government moves your most sensitive data to a vulnerable cloud server?? The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is not exactly US government, but empowered to disrupt, moved a copy of 450,000,000+ records of citizen social security records to an unsecured cloud site, according to an agency whistleblower. Big problem? Not unless you mind your sensitive financial and health data potentially accessible to the public.

A June Google breach attributed to a hacker group, has put the data of 2.5 billion Gmail users, stored in a Google database managed by Salesforce, at risk. While no passwords were stolen, data from the breach has already been seen on forums and users are reporting phishing attacks and fraudulent text & phone outreach.

Massachusetts’ newly signed Shield Act 2.0 is designed to strengthen a 2022 law by prohibiting business entities operating in the state from disclosing information on legally protected health care services, including reproductive health, abortion, or gender-affirming care. It goes into effect in November.

With less than three months to enforcement mid-December, the Australian government has published findings of a study that determined companies there should be able (with reasonable certainty) to accurately verify age to ensure under-16s can’t access social media. There are of course risks of false positives or false negatives and questions about how companies will comply, given they won’t be told what verification products to use.

The initiative was led by privacy group noyb (None of Your Business).