UPDATED 15:42 EST / JULY 20 2013

Weekly Security Review: Tumblr Exposes Users, Snooping Scandal Continues

This past week featured a number of newsworthy developments in the cybersecurity space. Most notably, a number of new and unsettling details emerged about the Moto X, Tumblr users were greeted by an unwelcome surprise, and the still ongoing NSA snooping scandal took on a new twist.

On Monday, SiliconAngle’s Mike Wheatley reported that a new promotional video for Motorola’s upcoming Moto X handset was released by Canadian carrier Rogers. The demo showcases several previously unseen features, including a Siri-like voice command system that’s set to “always on” by default. The clip was released on the heels of an alarming report by security expert Ben Lincoln, who observed that his Motorola device was sending his personal information –including email addresses and passwords – every nine minutes. To make it worse, it was all transmitted via encrypted HTTP.

Fortunately for Tumblr users, the freshly acquired social network takes privacy much more seriously than the Google-owned phone manufacturer. On Thursday, it updated its iPhone and iPad apps with a reworked log-in mechanism that transmits data using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. Tumblr vice president of product Derek Gottfrid followed up the patch with a brief memo advising users to change their passwords.

Mobile vulnerabilities may be the least of your concerns if you’re worried about your privacy. We’ve recently learned that Britain’s GCHQ is gathering data directly from undersea internet cables using “intercept probes” produced by a U.S. government contractor called Glimmerglass. The UK spy agency collects approximately 21 million gigabytes of data every day, a mind-boggling amount of information that it reportedly shares with the NSA.


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