Best & Worst Gifts for 2023

The holiday gift-giving season is upon us - and therefore it's time for my annual guide on the best and worst gifts for your loved ones, at least in terms of security and privacy. There are some perennial favs on the nice and naughty lists, but there are some newcomers, as well. And I've got some top tips for how to shop for privacy-respecting, security-protecting products! I've even got some ideas for free and helpful stocking stuffers.

In the news: FCC tried to protect consumers from SIM-swap attacks; cheap children's tablet came with malware and data mining software; medical transcription service has data of 9M patients exposed; hackers hold data from plastic surgeon patients for ransom, including nude photos; FTC filing in Kochava case unsealed showing 'staggering' amount of data for sale; Bitwarden announces support for passkeys; Article 45 of eIDAS 2.0 bill will completely undermine internet security in the EU.

Article Links

[The Hacker News] FCC Enforces Stronger Rules to Protect Customers Against SIM Swapping Attacks https://thehackernews.com/2023/11/fcc-enforces-stronger-rules-to-protect.html

[TechCrunch] Children’s tablet has malware and exposes kid’s data, researcher finds https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/16/childrens-tablet-has-malware-and-exposes-kids-data-researcher-finds/

[BleepingComputer] PJ&A says cyberattack exposed data of nearly 9 million patients https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/pj-and-a-says-cyberattack-exposed-data-of-nearly-9-million-patients/

[8newsnow.com] Hackers target Las Vegas plastic surgeons, post patient information, naked photos online https://www.8newsnow.com/investigators/hackers-target-las-vegas-plastic-surgeons-post-patient-information-naked-photos-online/

[Ars Technica] Data broker’s “staggering” sale of sensitive info exposed in unsealed FTC filing https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/data-brokers-staggering-sale-of-sensitive-info-exposed-in-unsealed-ftc-filing/

[bitwarden.com] Bitwarden launches passkey management https://bitwarden.com/blog/bitwarden-launches-passkey-management/

[Electronic Frontier Foundation] Article 45 Will Roll Back Web Security by 12 Years https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/11/article-45-will-roll-back-web-security-12-years

Best & Worst Gifts for 2023: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/best-worst-gifts-2023/ 

Further Info

Give Thanks!: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/give-thanks-donate/ 

Consumer Reports Naughty List: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/our-longest-naughty-list-ever-the-2023-holiday-buyers-guide-is-here/ 

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Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:01:37: News run-down

0:03:18: FCC Enforces Stronger Rules to Protect Against SIM Swapping

0:06:39: Children’s tablet has malware and exposes kid’s data

0:11:22: Cyberattack exposed data of nearly 9 million patients

0:15:16: Hackers target plastic surgeons, post patient info, naked photos online

0:22:37: Data broker’s “staggering” sale of sensitive info exposed in unsealed FTC filing

0:27:10: Bitwarden launches passkey management

0:30:45: Article 45 Will Roll Back Web Security by 12 Years

0:39:00: Best & Worst Gifts for 2023

0:42:38: The Naughty List

0:47:50: The Nice List

0:59:14: Give thanks!

1:00:03: FDSD Merch sale!

1:00:25: Upcoming shows & promotion