Skyway Recommended July 28th to August 10th

Wall Street Journal | Yahoo Joins Google Effort to Encrypt Email by 2015

Yahoo said last week it will join an effort by rival Google to create an encrypted email system by next year that could make it mathematically impossible to hand over users’ messages to a court. If they’re successful, it would mark a big step in bringing encrypted messaging — long the province of privacy hawks and conspiracy theorists — to a consumer-friendly service. Read More…

CBC News | Google gives secure, encrypted websites higher search ranking

Google Inc said it is encouraging website developers to make their sites secure for visitors by using site encryption as one of the factors to determine search ranking. The company is urging website developers to adopt HTTPS, a form of website encryption that secures data send over the web, to protect user data from hackers. Read More…

Business in Vancouver | Wireless subscribers, data usage boost Telus’ profits by 33% in second quarter

A big boost in wireless subscribers and data usage has helped Telus increase its second-quarter profits by 33% compared with the same period last year, according to a financial report released Thursday (August 7). Read More…

The Economist | How a new type of “evercookie” tracks you online

Internet firms want to gather as much information as possible about web users’ browsing habits, so they can serve more accurately targeted (and hence more lucrative) advertisements. But consumers don’t like being spied on. As a result, modern web browsers have built-in features to prevent some of the most common forms of tracking, in order to maintain users’ privacy. That has not deterred marketers, who have come up with ever more inventive ways of keeping tabs on people’s online behaviour. Their latest trick exploits web browsers’ ability to draw elaborate graphics, and uses it to identify users. How does it work? Read More…

SoHo | The Impact Of The Internet Of Things On Consumer Devices

It goes by many different names. Some call it the Internet of Everything. Others say it’s the Object Internet or machine-to-machine communication. Most common is the title “Internet of Things” (IoT). By whatever name, the Internet of Things is set to change how people go about their day-to-day lives, and that’s no exaggeration. Read More…

NY Times | Russian Hackers Amass Over a Billion Internet Passwords

A Russian crime ring has amassed the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials, including 1.2 billion user name and password combinations and more than 500 million email addresses, security researchers say. Read More…

Reuters | Russia wants Apple, SAP to cooperate against foreign spying

Russia has proposed that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and SAP (SAPG.DE) hand the government access to their source code to make sure their widely used products are not tools for spying on state institutions. The suggestion that two of the world’s flagship technology companies disclose some of their most sensitive business secrets comes as the United States and Europe debate their most severe sanctions yet against Russia for its role in Ukraine. Read More…

Reuters | In hunt for growth, Canada’s telcos burst into banking, healthcare

Canada’s three biggest telecom firms, keen to keep shareholders happy with fat dividends, are breaking into businesses ranging from banking to healthcare to drive growth as they run out of expansion options and shy away from overseas purchases. Read More…

NY Times | Checking In From Home Leaves Entry for Hackers

The same tools that help millions of Americans work from home are being exploited by cybercriminals to break into the computer networks of retailers like Target and Neiman Marcus. The Homeland Security Department, in a new report, warns that hackers are scanning corporate systems for remote access software — made by companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft — that allows outside contractors and employees to tap into computer networks over an Internet connection. Read More…