Ireland

DCU and the Fintech Corridor Partner to Advance Fintech Education and Innovation Across Ireland

Shane LeonardMarch 16, 2022

The Fintech Corridor has announced a partnership with DCU. The partnership will further advance fintech education and innovation across the island of Ireland by...

FinTechDCUEducationInnovationIreland

Irish Scientists Observe Cosmic Explosion With Unprecedented Detail

Shane LeonardMarch 16, 2022

For the first time in international science, researchers from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) have observed a cosmic explosion with unprecedent...

ScienceCutting EdgeIrelandSpace

Concerns have been raised in a Trinity College Dublin study about the privacy implications of the data collected by Google Dialer and Messages apps on Android phones. The recent study, by Prof. Doug Leith at the CONNECT SFI Research Centre for Future Networks at Trinity College Dublin, details the extensive data collected via the use of these apps. The apps, used to make and receive calls or to send and receive SMS and other messages, are pre-installed on many Android phones. According to Google, more than one billion phones have both. In the US, AT&T and T-Mobile recently announced that all Android phones on their networks will use the Google Messages app and the app also comes pre-loaded on Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei handsets. Prof. Leith’s study’s findings include: - The Messages app tells Google whenever a message is sent/received. The information sent includes the time and a hash (an ID code created from the message text) that uniquely identifies the message. This allows Google to discover whether two handsets are communicating, and at what times. - The Google Messages app transmits the sender’s phone number to Google, so by combining data from communicating handsets the phone numbers of both are revealed. - The Dialer app tells Google whenever a phone call is made/received. The information sent includes the time and the call duration. This allows Google to discover whether two handsets are calling one another, and at what times and for how long. - Each app also tells Google about user interactions with it. For example, whenever the user views an app screen, an SMS conversation or searches their contacts. This allows a detailed picture of app usage over time to be reconstructed by Google. - The data sent to Google is tagged with the handset Android ID. This is linked to the handset’s Google user account and so often to the personal details (email, phone number, credit card details etc) of the person involved in a phone call or SMS message. There is no opt-out from this data collection. Previous studies by Prof. Leith’s group at Trinity College Dublin have noted the large volume of data sent by Google Play Services to Google servers (up to 20 times the data that iPhones send to Apple), and the opaque nature of this data collection. This latest study is one of the first to cast light on the content of the data sent by Google Play Services. Prof. Doug Leith, Professor of Computer Systems at Trinity, said: “I was surprised to see such obviously sensitive data being collected by these Google apps. "It’s not at all clear what the data is being used for and the lack of opt-out is extremely concerning.” “This work was triggered by our study of the privacy of COVID contact tracing apps. "While we found these apps to generally be quite a privacy respecting, our measurements highlighted the tremendous volume of data being sent to Google by Google Play Services on Android phones. "Hopefully, our work will act as a wake-up call to the public, politicians and data regulators. "It really is time we started to take meaningful action to give people full information on the data that leaves their phones, details as to what it is being used for and, most importantly, the ability to opt-out from this data collection.” Google has told the Trinity research team that, in light of the report’s findings, it plans to make changes to the Google Messages and Dialer apps.

Privacy fears over data collection by Google Dialer and Messages apps

Shane LeonardMarch 15, 2022

Concerns have been raised in a Trinity College Dublin study about the privacy implications of the data collected by Google Dialer and Messages apps on Android phones. The recent study, by Prof. Doug Leith at the CONNECT SFI Research Centre for Fut...

PrivacyGoogleResearchTech News

rj45, ethernet, internet, comreg, broadband

Latest Comreg Data Shows Surge in Fibre Broadband

Diana PaivaMarch 14, 2022

New data published by Comreg has revealed that Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology in the Irish market is now on a par with cable broadband subscribers for ...

Tech NewsCleanTechDataFuture TrendsIreland

Winners of BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp 2022 Announced

Shane LeonardMarch 11, 2022

After an intensive four-day commercialisation workshop, the winners of the annual BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp have been announced. Taha Fareed Faroo...

BusinessEventsIreland

Translit donate their language expertise to aid Ukrainian refugees

Shane LeonardMarch 10, 2022

Translit, a Cork and Limerick-based language service provider, has offered assistance to Irish government bodies, NGOs and charities. They are also aiming to help individuals who cannot get support. They are donating their interpreting technology ...

BusinessInnovationIreland

100 technology roles to accelerate digital transformation

Shane LeonardMarch 10, 2022

Bank of Ireland has announced the recruitment of 100 technology professionals to further accelerate the delivery of its ambitious digital agenda. This announ...

JobsIreland

Conference to Hear of 25% Rise in Cyber Attacks in Two Weeks

Shane LeonardMarch 10, 2022

Ireland’s leading cybersecurity event - Zero Day Con - will today hear how the number of cyber attacks has spiked by a quarter around the world in the past fort...

Cyber SecurityEventsInternetIreland

Conga to create up to 40 new jobs in Dublin

Shane LeonardMarch 9, 2022

Conga, the global leader in scalable revenue lifecycle management solutions, today announced plans to expand its footprint in Europe by establishing a new presence in Dublin, Ireland. The investment in an Ireland-based operation further demonstrat...

JobsBusinessIreland

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DCU and the Fintech Corridor Partner to Advance Fintech Education and Innovation Across Ireland

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Privacy fears over data collection by Google Dialer and Messages apps

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Winners of BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp 2022 Announced

Translit donate their language expertise to aid Ukrainian refugees

100 technology roles to accelerate digital transformation

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Conga to create up to 40 new jobs in Dublin

Day 2 Dublin Tech Summit podcasts

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DAB Radio insights with Kevin Brannigan, CEO Bay Broadcasting

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