Privacy Please
Tune into "Privacy Please," where hosts Cam and Gabe engage with privacy and security professionals around the planet. They bring expert insights to the table and break down complicated tech stuff everyone can understand.
Privacy Please
S6, E238 - 23andMe, Honda, and Signal: Three Privacy Alerts You Need to Know
Privacy threats are intensifying across multiple fronts, from genetic data vulnerabilities at 23andMe to corporate violations and messaging app security concerns. Cameron Ivey breaks down three urgent privacy issues and provides practical guidance on protecting your digital footprint in an increasingly vulnerable online landscape.
• 23andMe users should consider deleting their genetic data immediately due to bankruptcy proceedings that could compromise privacy protections
• Law professor Craig Conneth warns that terms of service could change during bankruptcy, with inadequate federal regulations to protect consumers
• Honda fined $632,500 by California Privacy Protection Agency for creating unnecessarily complicated opt-out processes
• Companies must reform data request procedures and stop creating "mazes of chaos" that trick consumers
• Signal messaging app, despite its encryption features, has raised NSA security concerns after being used by senior US officials
• No messaging platform is completely secure for highly sensitive information
• Stay informed about your rights under privacy legislation like the CCPA
• Be mindful about what personal information you share digitally, even on supposedly secure platforms
If you have expertise in these privacy issues and would like to join a deeper discussion on the show, contact Cameron for a potential guest appearance.
All righty then. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Privacy, please. I'm your host, cameron Ivey, and I got a doozy for you. This week we're going to do a little broadcast on some news from the latest things that are going around in privacy and security. I'm sure you've heard about most of these. If you haven't, let's dig in, let's learn and let's see if we can, you know, come up with some good ideas on how to handle the current situations. So, without further ado, let's dive in. First, we're going to talk a little bit about 23andMe. Yeah, did you hear about this one, holy cow. So 23andMe.
Speaker 1:If you're one of the 15 million users of 23andMe, now's the time to consider deleting your data. Maybe Just a little bit. Just a little bit raising concerns about how your sensitive information, like DNA and genetic health data, how it's being managed, right? Everybody's on the internets these days, right? So this is huge. There was a law professor, craig Conneth, from the University of Virginia. He warns that the terms of service governing your data could change during the bankruptcy proceedings. That comes with a lack of strong federal regulations, and he's warning that your privacy is at risk, which I would have to agree. So if you do have an account, I'd go on there and try to delete that as fast as you can, wouldn't say it's too late, but better be safe than sorry. This is a pretty big deal, so I'd jump on that. Listen, if you want to protect your data, go log in 23andMe. If you have an account, follow the steps to delete your information and just remember it's better to kind of knock that out, be proactive, than rather deal with it down the road.
Speaker 1:Right, let's move on to the next one. So there's a lot that's happened in the last week or so Honda CCPA violations. If you haven't heard about this one in California, the California Privacy Protection Agency, so the CPPA. They fined Honda for $632,500 for violating the California Consumer Privacy Act. That's not that big of an amount of money. Why can't I? I can't talk right now. That's not that big of an amount of money. Why can't I? I can't talk right now. $132,500 is not that much money for a large company like Honda. However, this could be big.
Speaker 1:This could be a lesson for other companies that might be not really prioritizing privacy and opt-out, opt-in mechanisms and making that easier for your customer base, your consumers. You need to make that option as simple as possible to opt-in as well as opting out. It shouldn't be this maze of chaos to confuse the consumer, tricking them into giving them your data or to giving their data to you or to the company. But OK, so the allegations include requiring excessive information for consumers to access their to exercise their rights and failing to provide adequate verification processes for authorized agents. So basically, they were taking their data and doing whatever they pleased with it without the consent of the consumer. So the CPPA's order mandates HANA to reform its data request process and consult with a user experience designer to improve privacy measures.
Speaker 1:Shameless plug. Yo. Hit up Transcend, we got you. So the CPPA, actually, you know, let me take that back If this is some action that you can take as a consumer. So, if you're a consumer, stay informed about your rights under the CCPA. If you're not, look it up. If you got questions, reach out. We're here, we got you. So you know that you can request changes to how your data is handled and advocate for better privacy practices for companies you engage with. Goes both ways. We got to be vigilant on our own private data. It's very valuable, especially in today's crazy, crazy world Progress there.
Speaker 1:It's a good thing that that fine happened, although the only thing I don't like about anything like this that happens. It happened years ago and it's now just coming to light that I have a problem with, but I understand that that's just how the way things go. Anyways, let's move on to our final and third topic. This just happened. This is the more recent thing. I think it happened a couple of days ago at the most.
Speaker 1:So the Signal messaging app that is, you know, supposed to be private messaging, all that kind of stuff that messaging app was recently made. It made some pretty big headlines after senior US officials used it for sensitive discussions, encryption and privacy features. But the concerns have raised some eyebrows about its security, following a warning from the NSA regarding its vulnerabilities. So signals, end-to-end encryption and no data collection policy make it a really popular choice for individuals that are seeking, you know, that secure communication. If not, you're probably using like WhatsApp or something crazy like that, don't use that. So the app's use by government officials raises questions about its reliability and in high stakes situations like this, for example, because it's I don't know, it's silly to see this happen, but I'm not surprised. I just don't. I don't know, you can't. This was a doozy.
Speaker 1:So I think if you're an individual that's using Signal or any messaging app for sensitive conversations, just be aware, be smart about what you put on anything and that's including iMessages, that's including text, it's all attainable, it's all something that it can be found. So just understand the security features and limitations of whatever platform you're using or option you're messaging with and consider maybe some alternative methods for discussing highly confidential information. You know, if we're talking about the normal consumer here, we're talking about family stuff, we're talking about real deep stuff that you probably don't want out in the open, that could ever be revealed, things that are very private. I would just make sure you're not putting that stuff out if you don't want anybody to, if you don't want something like that to be surfaced. You know this is just kind of like a high level for those three topics.
Speaker 1:Pretty big things. You're going to see some big changes With things like this. This is also good because you have to think about when events like this happen. It allows for stricter regulations to be proposed and hopefully you know these kind of things won't happen in the future. But that's kind of inevitable when it comes to this kind of stuff. We just have to be mindful, stay ahead of it, be smart and keep paying attention.
Speaker 1:Privacy and security in today's world, in 2025, three months into the new house and all the stuff that's going on. It's going to be a roller coaster as we continue in this realm. So thanks for tuning in. Once I get with Gabe again, we'll dig a little bit further into these to kind of dig on some more in-depth ways that we can kind of look at these situations and how we would want to handle that from a security standpoint and maybe dig a little deeper. So if you have questions, if you're listening and you know a lot about this kind of stuff and you want to come on the show or anything like that, or you know somebody that would want to be a part of the digging deeper on these, would love to have you on. So thanks for listening and keep on. We'll have some more updates and some cool stuff coming. So thank you again for listening and we'll see you guys next week. Cameron Ivey over and out.
