European parliament approves stronger data privacy rules
Tougher rules on data protection, aimed at boosting privacy and giving authorities greater powers to take action against companies that breach the rules have been voted through by The European parliament. The rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), form the new backbone of laws for data regulators to pursue companies with heavy fines – as much as 4% of annual turnover for global companies – for incidents such as data breaches, which have become increasingly common. The new data privacy laws comprise of the GDPR, which governs the use and privacy of EU citizens’ data, and the Data Protection Directive, which governs the use of EU citizens’ data by law enforcement. Together they aim to create strong data protection law for Europe’s 500 million citizens; streamline legislation between the 28 member states pushing a digital single market and boost police and security cooperation. It is due to replace national rules that have only allowed for small fines in cases of violation.
Germany to lift border controls
With the number of migrant arriving n Germany from Austria slowing down to a trickle, the German interior ministry has said border controls on the Austria-Germany border would be lifted by mid-May. Germany is facing a problem on another front, as more and more migrants are arriving from Italy, using the Brenner crossing, a major gateway for goods and people heading north from Italy. According to the current estimate, the Ministry said the number of migrants entering Germany through Austria had fallen to zero, in contrast to last year, when thousands arrived daily. In March, the average had dropped to roughly 140 per day. Reports say that by tightening its border control measures, Austria played a key role in blocking the ‘Balkan route’, used by hundreds of thousands of migrants to get from Greece to richer EU countries in northern Europe, especially Germany and Sweden. More than one million refugees and asylum-seekers arrived in Germany in 2015.
Frontex believe terrorists hiding among asylum-seekers
The EU’s border police, Frontex, has said that terrorists may have entered Europe by hiding among asylum seekers. Frontex noted that two of the bombers in last November’s Paris attacks made it to the continent in a smuggling boat from Turkey. As the vast majority of migrants arrive undocumented, screening activities are essential to properly verify their declaration of nationality, according to the report. Frontex’s recently released Risk Analysis for 2016, stated the Paris attacks in November 2015 clearly demonstrated that irregular migratory flows could be used by terrorists to enter the EU. Echoing observations made five months ago, the report added that two of the terrorists involved in the attacks had previously irregularly entered through Leros and had been registered by the Greek authorities. They presented fraudulent Syrian documents to speed up their registration process.
New York’s JFK airport deploys Vision-Box biometrics
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at JFK International Airport have started using facial recognition technology to match travelers’ faces to the photo on their passport. This technology is a significant step forward in conducting biometric verification of every person requesting admission to the United States. In a critical step forward with far-reaching implications affecting the security of airline passengers around the world, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployed a system for biometric authentication of electronic passports. This technology allows for a highly accurate biometric matching of a traveler’s face with the facial image stored on the identification document’s e-chip, thus preventing document swapping. Vision-Box, a leading company in the area of biometric traveler facilitation, is providing the core biometric technology, the vb e-pass desktop, as part of a facial recognition solution provided to CBP by Unisys Corporation, a leading global IT firm, for this initial deployment at three JFK arrival terminals. This deployment follows the successful testing of the same system at Washington’s Dulles International Airport.
Thales opens cyber security operations as cybercrime grows
As cyberthreats grow and cyberattacks become more sophisticated, Thales continues to develop its cybersecurity operations infrastructure, incorporating the latest technologies and innovations to protect the information systems of customers. Now the company has announced the opening of a new Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) in Elancourt, near Paris. The offering is built around a commitment to provide personalized support to each customer, in particular through a range of new value-added services. More than 30 major organizations already rely on Thales’s expertise to protect their information systems from cyberattacks. While information systems become more interconnected and mainstream markets embrace disruptive technologies such as cloud computing, Big Data and the Internet of Things, the number of cyberattacks is growing rapidly. In 2015, the number of recorded attacks grew by 51% in France and 38% worldwide. The question facing organizations today is no longer whether they will be attacked, but when the next attack will happen and above all whether it will be detected. Thales says its detection and rapid reaction capabilities help customers step up to this challenge.