Thursday, January 08, 2009

So easy, even the DOJ can do it!

http://www.databreaches.net/?p=330

Pat Fitzgerald Boots One

Posted January 8th, 2009 by admin

In a remarkable screw-up, a Department of Justice official today accidentally distributed to the media a document containing the names of nearly 20 confidential witnesses interviewed during a federal probe targeting the operators of a fraudulent investment scheme. In announcing felony charges against two men for their roles in an alleged $15 million Ponziesque swindle, the spokesman for Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (he of Rod Blagojevich- and Scooter Libby-prosecuting fame) e-mailed reporters a 62-page U.S. District Court complaint filed against John Walsh and Charles Martin, principals of the now-defunct One World Capital Group. Included in the document was a one-page key that identified by name sources referred to in the complaint only by monikers such as “Employee A,” “Customer D,” or “Individual F.” The inadvertent disclosure of the sources–former One World employees, customers, and “other” individuals who spoke with FBI and IRS agents–caused Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn to send an urgent follow-up email asking journalists to destroy the complaint due to the “non-public information disclosing the identities of persons not named in the affidavit.”

Read more on The Smoking Gun



All that detail in a mere 200 pages!

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/020252.html

January 07, 2009

Identity Theft Resource Center's 2008 Breach Report

News release: "Reports of data breaches increased dramatically in 2008. The Identity Theft Resource Center's 2008 breach report reached 656 reported breaches at the end of 2008, reflecting an increase of 47% over last year’s total of 446. In terms of sub-divisions by type of entity, the rankings have not changed between 2007 and 2008 within the five groups that ITRC monitors. The financial, banking and credit industries have remained the most proactive groups in terms of data protection over all three years. The Government/Military category has dropped nearly 50% since 2006, moving from the highest number of breaches to the third highest."



How much is too much?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20090108072511336

Ca: Big brother at the bar? - Cactus Jacks implements new way to screen attendees

Thursday, January 08 2009 @ 07:25 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews

In the name of safety [Huh? Bob] many British Columbia bars, including Kamloops’ Cactus Jack’s, are using technology to collect and store personal information as people enter the establishment.

“We have a new monitoring system called Treoscope that everyone that comes into the pub must go through,” said Cactus Jack’s manager Pete Backus. “It takes your picture and also records your name and where you are from.” [and a bit more... Bob]

Source - The Omega hat-tip, Canadian Privacy Law Blog

[From the article:

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association said Tresocope violates the Personal Information Protection Act and the collection and storage of information from driver’s licenses is not necessary to provide the services drinking establishments offer.

… Treoscope EnterSafe’s software database is connected to other clubs’ computers that operate the same software. When there is an incident, a “community alert” is attached to the person’s name allowing all those connected to determine whether to allow a club-goer in or not.

… The system may also cause headaches for many international students as they rely on their passport as a primary piece of ID but in this case it may only be used as a secondary piece. To gain entry, international students must get a Canadian or B.C. driver’s license or a B.C. ID card.

“I feel a passport should be enough,” said Arvin Duwarka, a 20-year-old TRU student from Mauritius, adding if it’s good enough for international travel it should work to get into a bar.



No comment (Example 2 is worth thinking about...)

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=2009010807273953

Murderers and naked skiers get no privacy

Thursday, January 08 2009 @ 07:27 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews

A couple stories in recent days remind us that the days of privacy are over.

Example 1: The naked upside-down skier

Surely you saw the story about the unfortunate man skiing with his son at the Vail resort in Colorado. There was a problem with the chairlift seat, and he fell through; but instead of falling to the ground, one of his skis got stuck in the chair and he ended up hanging upside-down — sans his pants and underwear which had been pulled off. So the poor guy was hanging under the chair, with his son watching from above, for 7 or more embarrassing and frightening minutes while Vail staff rescued him.

Of course there were photos. This was at the bottom of the lift, and other skiers waiting in line snapped photos of the embarrassing and odd scene with cell phones and digital cameras. Some ended up on the web, and they spread like wildfire — worldwide. The photos that most people saw online were from a professional photographer — skiing on his day off — who could get fired for taking the shot.

Source - SteveOuting.com Related - Photographer could lose job after unVailing skier



Coming soon to an advertising campaign near you! (and to hacker sites everywhere!)

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_BLACKBERRY?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-01-08-07-25-27

Jan 8, 7:25 AM EST

Obama, security aides, still debating Blackberry

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For President-elect Barack Obama, parting with his Blackberry is such sweet sorrow.

In fact, it isn't yet certain that he'll give up his hand-held device once he takes office.

Obama acknowledged in a nationally broadcast interview Thursday that the Blackberry is a concern, "not just to the Secret Service, but also to lawyers."



What did Bill Gates do to deserve this?

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F07%2F1940248&from=rss

All of Vietnam's Government Computers To Use Linux, By Fiat

Posted by timothy on Wednesday January 07, @02:52PM from the power-to-the-people dept. Linux Business Government IT

christian.einfeldt writes

"The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications has issued an administrative ruling increasing the use of Free Open Source Software products at state agencies, increasing the software's use both in the back office and on the desktop. According to the new rule, 100% of government servers must run Linux by June 30, 2009, and 70% of agencies must use OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox, and Mozilla Thunderbird by the end of 2009. The regulation also sets benchmarks for training and proficiency in the software. Vietnam has a population of 86 million, 4 million larger than that of Germany, and is one of the world's fastest-growing economies."



Strange but I guess if you are a fan of terrorists this is an interesting site. Warning the download is huge!

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/01/terror-anthrax.html

Terror, Anthrax, Explosives and More in Free, Downloadable 'Counterterrorism Calendar'

By David Kravets January 07, 2009 7:07:33 PM

If you have not purchased a 2009 calendar or day planner yet, we suggest the National Counterterrorism Center calendar from the Department of Justice.

No need to spring for the latest hottie pinup or teddy bear calendar-planner. This one, downloadable and free of charge, shows mugs of dozens of America's most-wanted terror suspects.



Tools for Data Analysis. Got Stats? Here's how to analyze and present data. (Competes with SAS and SPSS but it's free!)

http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F07%2F2316227&from=rss

The Power of the R Programming Language

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 07, @07:33PM from the much-better-than-Q dept. Programming

BartlebyScrivener writes

"The New York Times has an article on the R programming language. The Times describes it as: "a popular programming language used by a growing number of data analysts inside corporations and academia. It is becoming their lingua franca partly because data mining has entered a golden age, whether being used to set ad prices, find new drugs more quickly or fine-tune financial models. Companies as diverse as Google, Pfizer, Merck, Bank of America, the InterContinental Hotels Group and Shell use it.""



I suspect this will be used in other ways as well. Imagine the music the Gettysburg Address would generate (or Nixon's Checkers speach)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10135749-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Microsoft releases SongSmith: Karaoke in reverse

Posted by Josh Lowensohn January 8, 2009 12:01 AM PST

Microsoft Research on Thursday is releasing software that gives musicians, both casual and professional, a new way to speed up song development Called SongSmith, the $29.99 application creates musical accompaniment based on whatever is sung into the computer's microphone.



Looks like a toy (tool) for the Swiss Arny Folder...

http://www.killerstartups.com/Video-Music-Photo/snapter-atiz-com-scan-using-your-digital-camera

Snapter.atiz.com - Scan Using Your Digital Camera

http://www.snapter.atiz.com

If you are looking into ways of expanding the power of your current digital camera, a visit to this site might just be what the doctor ordered. In principle, Snapter is a solution whereby you can use any digital camera as a mobile scanner, and capture documents as diverse as books and business cards instantly.

Snapter creates PDF files which come complete with sharpening and color improvement, and it is also possible to stretch or crop the document in a manner not dissimilar to that of Photoshop and related applications. In addition to that, other file types such as JPG, PNG and TIFF are duly supported, and you can specify the input format at the relevant step of the process.

This new solution can be tried for free, and once the provided 14-day trial period ends you can choose to upgrade to one of the paid plans. It is worth pointing out that Snapter will remain fully functional, though the output will contain a watermark and some tagline. The paid plans, incidentally, go by the names of “Lite” and “Full”, and you can quickly realize which one will be the right one for you by visiting the “Buy” section and looking at the provided charts.


Ditto

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10135465-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Tiltshiftmaker turns photos into miniature scenes

Posted by Josh Lowensohn January 7, 2009 2:54 PM PST

Tilt-shift photography is a technique that requires a special lens to change both the perspective and focal field of an image. A similar effect can be created in PhotoShop and other high-end image editing programs, but it's a lengthy effort that casual photographers will probably find daunting. Web-based photo editor Tiltshiftmaker has automated most of this process, letting you achieve a similar effect right in your browser.

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