Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.

Military Vaccine Mandate Is in GOP’s Sights

Politico reported:

The military’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement could end if Republican senators succeed in amending the National Defense Authorization Act that’s expected to pass in the coming weeks, Grace reports.

The Senate bill will likely come to the floor soon, and the GOP will try to amend it. The House passed its version of the defense bill in July, leaving the mandate intact. A conference committee must reconcile them before final enactment.

Bills sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, could form the basis for amendments. Recruiting shortfalls: Blackburn wants to lift the mandate when the military isn’t meeting its “end strength” target — the number of troops in the force — which is the case right now.

The Army missed its recruitment goal by almost 10,000 soldiers for fiscal 2022, and defense officials aren’t optimistic about 2023. The vaccine mandate isn’t helping. The armed services have discharged 8,000 active-duty troops since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first directed service members to get vaccinated in August 2021.

Big Tech Bleeds Tens of Thousands of Jobs After Pandemic Heyday

The Hill reported:

Major technology companies that saw an explosion of growth during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic are bleeding thousands of jobs as high interest rates and a slowing economy turn against the industry.

Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Stripe and a slew of other Big Tech firms have announced layoffs over the past month, all citing a decline in revenue and a deteriorating outlook for the global economy.

Silicon Valley powerhouses saw their stock prices and payrolls soar throughout most of the past two years. Propelled by low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve and a glut of pandemic stimulus, tech companies rode a steady wave of consumer spending in online retail, streaming services and other products to major stock gains.

But the heyday for Big Tech has come crashing down, along with the values of some its high-flying stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite is down 28% on the year after reaching record highs before the Fed began hiking rates in March.

Security Expert Reveals the TikTok Setting That Exposes Your Data — and How to Turn It off

FOXBusiness reported:

If you’re one of the more than 1 billion monthly TikTok users, one cybersecurity expert is warning that without proper settings in place, the app can collect data about your contacts, browser history, location — and even personal health information.

“This application has access to those things on your phone that you might hold dear to you: your contacts, your location, your buying intent, your shopping history, your browser history, everything that we probably want to keep private,” SideChannel CEO and former Department of Defense cybersecurity leader Brian Haugli said on “Mornings with Maria” Wednesday.

According to Haugli, TikTok users unknowingly agree to the app’s terms and conditions, granting permission for the app to build a “full profile” about that individual — what area they live in, the accounts they interact or message with, even their dog’s name.

“I don’t think we’re doing enough. We have the opportunity to be able to put pressure on Google and Apple to remove this application from its store,” Haugli argued. “We have an opportunity to be able to build better regulation within the United States and actually set up infrastructure that could block access to this data or this data leaving our environment. It’s not something that the U.S. has set up today, and it’s something that I think we very much need.”

Haugli claimed that once you’ve deactivated your TikTok profile and deleted the app from your phone, your information is “scrubbed” from TikTok’s database. For those who choose to keep using the popular platform, he recommends going into your Apple or Android settings and switching “off” TikTok’s access to contacts, location services and tracking.

Telehealth Sites Put Addiction Patient Data at Risk

Wired reported:

While mobile health options have been celebrated by doctors and advocates as a way to expand treatment for substance use disorders, there has been persistent concern over how private the websites offering treatment and support really are — especially now that the U.S. Supreme Court’s toppling of Roe v. Wade has reignited the national conversation about how far medical privacy protections extend online.

The Opioid Policy Institute (OPI) and Legal Action Center (LAC) today released the findings from a 16-month analysis of a dozen major substance-use-focused mHealth websites, revealing details of how much data is shared with third parties. While the sharing of any kind of patient information is often strictly regulated or outright forbidden, it’s even more verboten in addiction treatment, as patients’ medical history can be inherently criminal and stigmatized.

All 12 websites included technologies that collect, identify and share information about users with third parties and had ad trackers that are used for advertising purposes. The average number of these trackers “generally” increased over the 16 months, researchers found.

Furthermore, 11 of the sites used third-party session cookies that identify visitors and track them across other websites to serve ads, and four of the 12 used session recording, which monitors the behavior of visitors to the sites, from their mouse movements and clicks to their scrolling and typing, even if the text input is never submitted. Half of the websites used Meta Pixel to send user data to Facebook, 10 used Google Analytics (which can track user metrics) and all 12 sent some data to ad tech companies that buy and sell user data for advertising.

Minneapolis School Board Removes District’s Staff COVID Vaccine Mandate

Star Tribune reported:

Minneapolis Public Schools will no longer require employees, contractors or volunteers to get the COVID-19 vaccination or file for an exception. The school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to lift one of the last remaining local government vaccine mandates in the Twin Cities.

The majority of Minnesota students went into fall without having to wear a mask or distance socially at school. The Minnesota Department of Health is still monitoring COVID-19 case counts across the state and updating its weekly dashboard to advise the state’s residents on which public health precautions to take.

The EU Ignores Pushback, Plots Digital ID for 2024

Reclaim the Net reported:

The European Union is preparing to launch the EU digital wallet by 2024. The wallet will allow residents to store digital identification documents, like driver’s licenses and national IDs.

The EU’s Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy member Romana Jerkovic said that, for the bloc to stick to the schedule, it plans to publish specifications and standards before 2023.

The initiative has been criticized by digital rights groups, some tech companies, and industry groups. The pushback could result in the delay of the launch.

Earlier this year, there was a controversy about the use of unique identifiers as they could be used for tracking purposes, some noting that they would be illegal in countries like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

FBI Is ‘Extremely Concerned’ About China’s Influence Through TikTok on U.S. Users

CNBC reported:

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Tuesday that he is “extremely concerned” about TikTok’s operations in the U.S.

“We do have national security concerns at least from the FBI’s end about TikTok,” Wray told members of the House Homeland Security Committee in a hearing about worldwide threats. “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users. Or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose. Or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.”

Wray’s remarks build on those from other government officials and members of Congress who have expressed deep skepticism about the ability of the Chinese-owned video platform to protect U.S. user information from an adversarial government. TikTok has maintained it doesn’t store U.S. user data in China, where the law allows the government to force companies to hand over internal information.

Nvidia Says It Is Working With Microsoft to Build ‘Massive’ Cloud AI Computer

Reuters reported:

U.S. chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Wednesday said it is teaming up with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to build a “massive” computer to handle intense artificial intelligence computing work in the cloud.

The AI computer will operate on Microsoft’s Azure cloud, using tens of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs), Nvidia’s most powerful H100 and its A100 chips. Nvidia declined to say how much the deal is worth, but industry sources said each A100 chip is priced at about $10,000 to $12,000, and the H100 is far more expensive than that.

In addition to selling Microsoft the chips, Nvidia said it will partner with the software and cloud giant to develop AI models. Buck said Nvidia would also be a customer of Microsoft’s AI cloud computer and develop AI applications on it to offer services to customers.

Don’t Download Qatar World Cup Apps, EU Data Authorities Warn

Politico reported:

A message to football fans from Europe’s data protection chiefs: Qatar’s World Cup apps pose a massive privacy risk, so don’t download them.

European data protection regulators have been lining up to warn about the risks posed by Qatar’s World Cup apps for visitors, with Germany’s data protection commissioner being the latest. In a statement Tuesday, the Germans said data collected by two Qatari apps that visitors are being asked to download “goes much further” than the apps’ privacy notices indicate.

The Norwegian regulator on Monday said it was “alarmed” by the extensive access the apps require. “There is a real possibility that visitors to Qatar, and especially vulnerable groups, will be monitored by the Qatari authorities,” it said.

The French agency said fans should take “special care” with photos and videos, and recommends that travelers install the apps just before departure and delete them as soon as they return to France.