Happy New Year 2025

Tag: privacy

  • Judge rules against federal employees suing Trump admin for privacy concerns

    Judge rules against federal employees suing Trump admin for privacy concerns

    A federal judge has ruled against federal employees who sued the Trump administration over privacy and security concerns around a government workforce email distribution system.

    The new computer server was used to send deferred resignation “Fork in the Road” emails to more than 2 million federal employees, offering them to leave their government jobs and get paid through September, or risk being laid off.

    DC-based federal Judge Randolph Moss denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have blocked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from continuing to use the email address [email protected] and is known as the “Government-Wide Email System.”

    The lawsuit claimed that in the rush to adopt this new system, OPM violated security safeguards for federal workers, known as a Privacy Impact Statement (PIA).

    But in denying emergency legal relief, the judge said, “Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that their .gov email addresses (which reveal their names and, possibly, their places of employment) are at imminent risk of exposure outside the United States government— much less that this risk is a result of OPM’s failure to conduct an adequate PIA. Rather, their arguments ‘rel[y] on a highly attenuated chain of possibilities.’”

    According to the lawsuit, soon after Trump took office, federal employees received emails from the email address [email protected] that indicated the agency was running tests for a new “distribution and response list.”

    “The goal of these tests is to confirm that an email can be sent and replied to by all government employees,” one of the emails said, according to the lawsuit. Workers were asked to acknowledge receipt of the messages.

    The case will continue on the merits in the courts, but for now the new communications system will remain in place, pending any appeal.

    This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

  • Data Privacy Day 2025 Date: Know History and Significance of the Day That Raises Awareness About Data Protection in the Digital Age

    Data Privacy Day 2025 Date: Know History and Significance of the Day That Raises Awareness About Data Protection in the Digital Age

    Data Privacy Day is an international event that is held across the world on January 28 to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. The global initiative educates people about the importance of protecting personal information in the digital age where frauds and scams are at a rise. The day serves as a reminder for individuals, businesses, and governments to prioritise data privacy and security and highlights the growing risks of data breaches, identity theft, and misuse of personal information. The annual event is currently observed in the United States, Canada, Qatar, Nigeria, Israel and 47 European countries. In this article, let’s know more about Data Privacy Day 2025 date, history and the significance of the annual global event. January 2025 Holidays and Festivals Calendar. 

    Data Privacy Day 2025 Date

    Data Privacy Day 2025 falls on Tuesday, January 28.

    Data Privacy Day History

    Data Privacy Day was initiated by the Council of Europe to be first held in 2007 as the European Data Protection Day. After two years on January 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed House Resolution HR 31 by a vote of 402–0, declaring January 28 as National Data Privacy Day. On January 28, 2009, the Senate passed Senate Resolution 25 also recognizing January 28, 2009 as National Data Privacy Day. Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025: Indian Govt Releases Draft on DPDP Rules To Ensure Verifiable Consent of Parent Before Processing Any Personal Data of Child. 

    Data Privacy Day Significance

    Data Privacy Day is an important day that urges everyone to adopt better practices for safeguarding sensitive data. It promotes activities that stimulate the development of technology tools that encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations. The events held on this day focus on spreading the right information among businesses as well as users about the need of protecting the privacy of their personal information online.

    (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2025 07:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

  • 10 tech upgrades to save your time, privacy and money this year

    10 tech upgrades to save your time, privacy and money this year

    At its best, today’s tech makes life easier. The trick is, you need to know the insider secrets. Luckily you have me. 

    Win a pair of $329 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Enter here, no purchase necessary!

    Here’s one to make your AI results better. With ChatGPT or any other, the more constraints you give, the better your answer. It’s called priming. Examples: “Limit your response to 250 words,” “Give me the list in bullet points” and “Format the results as a table.”

    Sweet. Let’s keep going with 10 more tips and tricks.

    5-MINUTE CLEANUP FOR YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTER

    1. Ctrl + Z (undo) isn’t just for Word docs

    Did you accidentally delete an email, close a browser tab or move a file? Ctrl + Z on a PC (Cmd + Z on a Mac) is the universal lifesaver. Use it everywhere, from editing spreadsheets to undoing changes in most apps. It’s a superpower.

    2. Screenshots for the win

    Forget scrambling for a pen and paper — just take a screenshot! Whether it’s a recipe, directions or an annoying error message, capturing your screen can save time and frustration. On your PC, hold down your Windows key + Shift + S. On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Shift + 4.

    I have more time-saving keyboard tricks here.

    From key shortcuts to easy, on-demand podcasts and magazines, these tech tips will help save you time and money this year.  (iStock)

    3. Use your voice more

    You’ll be surprised by what you can tell your phone to do. For starters, forget fumbling for an app. Just say, “Hey, Siri, open Instagram” or, for Google Assistant, “Open Spotify.” You can also tell your assistant to call someone in your contacts, set a reminder, take a photo, convert milliliters to ounces, turn on the flashlight, flip a coin — the list goes on.

    Pro tip for voice texting: To delete the last word you dictated, say, “Delete the last word.” To delete the last sentence, say, “Clear sentence.” If you want to get rid of everything you just said, say, “Clear all.”

    DON’T SCAM YOURSELF WITH THE TRICKS HACKERS DON’T WANT ME TO SHARE

    4. Because you never have a pen

    Snap a pic with your phone’s camera, and you can copy, search or translate the text. On iPhone: Open the image in Photos. Tap and hold the text and select an option. On Android: Open a pic in Google Photos, then tap on the Lens icon. Select the text, then tap the action you want to take. 

    Phone photos a mess? How to delete duplicates

    Laptop with Google on-screen

    ChromeOS Flex can help breathe new life into your old laptop. (iStock)

    5. Bring your old laptop back to life

    Install ChromeOS Flex, a free, cloud-based operating system. With processing done on Google’s servers and a bare-bones interface, you’ll get surprisingly good performance. Your PC needs to meet these minimum specs: x64 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a USB port for installation.

    6. Calling back a random number? 

    Hide yours first. Punch in star, 6 and 7, followed by the number you’re calling, and that’s it. The caller will see “Private” or “Blocked.” If you want your number hidden all the time, change the settings on your smartphone. On an iPhone, tap Settings > Phone > Show My Caller ID. Toggle it Off. On Android, the option is called Hide Number.

    7. Instant podcasts about anything

    Google’s NotebookLM lets you upload audio files, notes, documents or anything else, then search them, find citations (from your own docs) or produce a snazzy podcast you can listen to. It’s impressive. Reader Bob told me after he heard about it on my show, he used it to create training modules for his employees.

    Grandfluencers: Folks trading retirement for internet fame

    Apple AirTag in box

    Apple AirTags can help you keep tabs on your kids and your valuables. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

    8. Track the kids

    Apple AirTags (iOS) or Tile trackers (Android) let you keep tabs on your little ones. Attach a tracker to their backpack, shoelaces or belt loop. Pro tip: At somewhere very public, like a Disney park, give your child’s tracker a unique name, like “Buzz Lightyear.” That way, if someone gets a “Tracker Nearby” alert, your child’s name won’t pop up.

    9. Every mail has its day

    It’s a game-changer for staying organized. In Apple Mail on your iPhone or iPad, compose your email as usual, then tap and hold Send. You’ll see options like “Send Later,” where you can select a specific date and time for delivery. In Gmail, after drafting your email, click the small arrow next to the Send button and select Schedule Send.

    10. Stop getting lured in at the grocery store

    With an Amazon Prime account, you get access to a rotating library of popular magazines for free. Check them out here. Now you can read the latest weird royal rumors without paying for the magazine.

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