The SolarWinds Hack
- December 16, 2020
- Clayton Rice, K.C.
On December 14, 2020, SolarWinds announced that its network management software, Orion, had been targeted by a cyberespionage operation. The hackers inserted malicious code into Orion software updates rolled out to nearly 18,000 customers. The initial reports confirmed that the…
Information Privacy and Government Silos
- November 29, 2020
- Clayton Rice, K.C.
Gone are the days when hard boiled detectives sat at their desks in smokey offices banging out reports on a Remington typewriter immortalized in film noir. In the digital world law enforcement now regularly hoovers personal information from smartphones, computers…
Border Searches Ruled Unconstitutional
- November 15, 2020
- Heather Ferg
Canadian constitutional law recognizes that international travellers have a reduced expectation of privacy when crossing the border. Border officers have extraordinary powers to question, detain, search and seize that are grounded in the right of Canada to protect its national…
The Sandworm Conspiracy
- October 31, 2020
- Clayton Rice, K.C.
On October 15, 2020, a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, indicted six military officers in Unit 74455 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) for worldwide hacking campaigns designed to advance Russia’s strategic interests. The hacker team, known as…
Facial Recognition: The People Push Back
- October 15, 2020
- Heather Ferg
Fully-automated identification technology can undermine personal privacy and public anonymity in an instant. Combined with other tools of mass surveillance, it bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds. Despite serious privacy and human rights concerns, the use of…