Tag: mobile security

The popular mobile messaging app will now be giving the social network its user data for ad targeting.

WhatsApp privacy is the catch users have been waiting to find. Mobile app users have wondered why WhatsApp suddenly changed from a premium application to a free one. The cost may not be in currency but will instead be in shared user data.

Facebook owns WhatsApp but has, until now, kept its fingers out of the user data files from the application.

Now, Facebook will be changing the level of WhatsApp privacy available to users. The mobile will share user data with Facebook for ad targeting purposes. Initially, it appeared that while there are certain controls being added to the mobile app’s settings, it isn’t possible to opt out entirely.

However, once a user has accepted the new terms and conditions for use of the app – a requirement for being able to use it – the mobile application automatically adds a new option within the settings for the account.  There, users can choose to opt out of the information sharing – a permanent choice that cannot be changed after it has been made.  That said, unless the users opt out, the mobile application will start sending some of the data in the account with the parent company.

This massive change was announced in a large update to the WhatsApp privacy policy.

A recent WhatsApp blog post said “[B]y coordinating more with Facebook, we’ll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp.” Facebook will be better capable of showing more relevant advertising and improved friend suggestions, said the blog post.

Beyond Facebook itself, WhatsApp will also be sharing user data with the entire “Facebook family of companies.” This may include other Facebook acquisitions and firms, such as Oculus Rift, a virtual reality firm. That said, Facebook also owns Instagram, the photo sharing network, which may mean information will be shared there, too.

Among the user information to be shared under the new WhatsApp privacy policy is even the phone number used for account verification. This has already caused many users to bristle, with displeased comments appearing over Facebook and Twitter. There are certain pieces of information that consumers are more and less comfortable sharing openly. A telephone number does not typically fall within the category of the data they are pleased to see shared with unknown recipients.

Medical care facilities have expressed apprehension over risks associated with smartphone cybersecurity.

Hospital mobile security is a concern with increasing priority in medical facilities. The use of mobile technology has made it possible to enjoy many meaningful advantages in hospitals. Nurses can communicate more quickly, care team members – including doctors – can communicate more effectively, care can be more effectively coordinated, and workflows are more efficient.

That said, this platform may be convenient and helpful, but it opens system to cybersecurity risks.

A survey of 100 hospital IT and informatics executives by Spyglass Consulting Group provided insight on this topic. The firm is located in Menlo Park, California and specializes in market research and consultancy. The participants provided a solid representation of the 2,500 hospitals across the United States with over 200 beds. The research looked into hospital mobile security with in-house technology. It examined the level of protection and concern in place. The protection was regarding patient data, the mobile devices themselves and the technology infrastructure of the hospitals.

The research revealed that hospital mobile security is a large concern despite the benefits of the tech.

Managing director and founder of Spyglass, Gregg Malkary, said “Smartphone technology has really taken on a serious role as to how it fits into clinical communication, but every time you integrate systems, there are points where the data is in the clear, and where it is vulnerable.”

The mobile security survey examined the way connected devices such as tablets and smartphones could place a hospital’s IT infrastructure and network at risk of cyberattack. Attacks included: malware, blastware and ransomware. It took into account both devices personally owned by medical practitioners and devices owned and managed by the hospitals themselves.

The survey showed the largest concerns and issues in hospital mobile security. Personally owned devices commonly contained inadequate password protection. Furthermore, they were not satisfactorily protected with security software. They typically relied on SMS messaging that was not secured in order to communicate with other clinic team members. Many of those communications included sharing patient health information. This exposed that information to access by unintended recipients.