Skyway Recommended April 14th to 20th

This week: Flaws in Heartbleed Detection; Tablet Maker brings Hope to Haiti; BC’s Privacy Commissioner Unhappy about Mental Health Disclosures; Flaws in Digital Privacy Act; Google the Lobbyist

The Guardian | Heartbleed: 95% of detection tools ‘flawed’, claim researchers

Free web tools and not picking up the vulnerability, leaving consumer data exposed. Some tools designed to detect the Heartbleed vulnerability are flawed and won’t detect the problem on affected websites, a cybersecurity consultancy has warned. Read More…

NPR | A Small Tablet Company Brings High-Tech Hopes To Haiti

Haiti has struggled to rebuild since a devastating earthquake more than four years ago. Most of the population lives on less than $2 a day, and there are few open jobs for the millions of unemployed. But there’s a bright spot: The Western Hemisphere’s poorest country is getting into the high-tech race thanks to Surtab, a Port-au-Prince-based company that makes Android tablets. Read More…

Business in Vancouver | Police should immediately stop disclosing mental health information to employers: privacy commissioner

British Columbia’s privacy watchdog says government should immediately direct police departments to stop disclosing non-conviction information in employment police record checks. Read More…

Montreal Gazette | Canada’s Digital Privacy Act lets companies share customers’ personal info, privacy critics warn

If you worry Big Brother is reporting everything you do on the Internet, changes introduced to Canada’s privacy legislation last week may prove your worries aren’t totally unfounded. Privacy advocates warn under the Digital Privacy Act, Bill S-4, Internet users could have their personal information handed over to companies and organizations and they won’t even know that it’s happening. Read More…

Washington Post | Google, once disdainful of lobbying, now a master of Washington influence

In May 2012, the law school at George Mason University hosted a forum billed as a “vibrant discussion” about Internet search competition. Many of the major players in the field were there — regulators from the Federal Trade Commission, federal and state prosecutors, top congressional staffers. What the guests had not been told was that the day-long academic conference was in large part the work of Google, which maneuvered behind the scenes with GMU’s Law & Economics Center to put on the event. Read More…