http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=9726
Lower Merion releases webcam investigation report
May 4, 2010 by Dissent
Richard Ilgenfritz reports:
An internal investigation into the Lower Merion School District’s use of the computer tracking software confirms that tens of thousands of images were found and investigators are putting a lot of the blame on the district’s tech staff.
According to the findings of the investigation that was released to the public Monday night, the district’s Information Services employees withheld information about the capabilities and the use of the TheftTrack system from the board, the administrators and students.
Read more on Mainland Media News.
The entire report can be found on scribd.
What a fascinating idea!
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/024163.html
May 03, 2010
Study: Economic Impact of Privacy on Online Behavioral Advertising
BusinessWire: "A new study of 90 organizations actively engaged in online marketing concludes that in spite of an acknowledged return on investment, hundreds of millions of dollars are being held back from online behavioral advertising (OBA) over concerns that a lack of consumer trust in the practice could damage brand reputation. The study, Economic Impact of Privacy on Online Behavioral Advertising, conducted independently by the Ponemon Institute, found that although 70 percent of companies agreed that behaviorally targeted advertising substantially increases marketing and sales performance, and in spite of an overall favorable return, most companies surveyed have limited their online advertising budgets over privacy concerns. In fact, extrapolated results suggest that budgets would be as much as four times higher if not for these concerns. Among the study’s noteworthy results:
98 percent of companies surveyed said they have restricted OBA because of privacy concerns;
63 percent of companies surveyed rated OBA as their most effective form of marketing; and,
Overall, companies surveyed reported under-spending on OBA budgets by 75 percent due to privacy concerns.
For the 90 companies benchmarked, the total amount not spent on OBA was $604.9 million."
(Related) Interesting viewpoint. Perhaps she should consider how the public would react if “private industry” could send customers to Guantanamo or sic the IRS on them.
Former Head of CIA Think Tank Talks Privacy, Technology
Posted by Soulskill on Monday May 03, @02:59PM
blackbearnh writes
"Carmen Medina, until recently, helped run the analysis side of the house at the CIA. She also ran the agency's think tank, the Center for the Study of Intelligence. A self-proclaimed heretic, she has a number of controversial views about how we gather intelligence and how technology is changing the game. She talked to O'Reilly Radar about this and other topics, including the possible ways that intelligence analysis could be crowdsourced, why government technology procurement is so broken, and how the public may need to readjust its views on what things such as privacy mean. Medina said, 'Government is viewed as inefficient and wasteful by American citizens. I would argue that one of the reasons why that view has grown is that they're comparing the inefficiency of government to how they relate to their bank or to their airline. Interestingly enough, for private industry to provide that level of service, there are a lot of legacy privacy barriers that are being broken. Private industry is doing all sorts of analysis of you as a consumer to provide you better service and to let them make more profit. But the same consumer that's okay with private industry doing that is not okay, in a knee-jerk reaction, with government doing that. And yet, if government, because of this dynamic, continues not to be able to adopt modern transactional practices, then it's going to fall further behind the satisfaction curve.'"
(Related) No one quoted in the article seems surprised that Amazon can tap into their Kindles...
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=9702
Amazon Starts Sharing What You’ve Highlighted on Your Kindle
May 3, 2010 by Dissent
Mathew Ingram writes:
Amazon, in a potentially controversial move, has started collecting information on what readers highlight in the e-books they’re reading on the company’s Kindle reader, and sharing it with others. The service doesn’t say which sections of which specific books a reader has highlighted, but it aggregates that information and displays it — including the most popular passage of all time, a selection from one of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. Judging by the initial reaction from Kindle users, some feel that Amazon may have crossed a line, although others seem to like the idea.
Read more on GigaOm.
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=9710
New breach notification requirements in effect in Canada
May 3, 2010 by Dissent
From the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Alberta:
Amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) were proclaimed in force on May 1, 2010, and added a new requirement for organizations to notify the Information and Privacy Commissioner of incidents “involving the loss of or unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal information where a reasonable person would consider that there exists a real risk of significant harm to an individual.” PIPA was also amended to give the Commissioner the power to require organizations to notify individuals to whom there is a real risk of significant harm as a result of such an incident.
Section 37.1(3) of PIPA requires the Commissioner to establish an expedited process for determining whether to require an organization to notify individuals [That could be incorporated into Privacy Policies in the US. Bob] in circumstances where the real risk of significant harm to an individual as a result of the loss or unauthorized access or disclosure is obvious and immediate. The Commissioner’s process is set out here.
The following resources are available on the OIPC website to assist organizations in complying with the new provisions, including:
Reporting a Breach to the Commissioner, which sets out the minimum requirements for what must be included in a Report to the Commissioner,
Breach Report Form, which can be used to submit a report to the Commissioner,
Notifying Affected Individuals, which sets out the minimum requirements for what must be included in a notice to individuals of a breach, and
Key Steps in Responding to Privacy Breaches, which provides guidance to organizations for dealing with a security breach.
Additional resources are also available on the Access and Privacy, Service Alberta website at www.pipa.alberta.ca, including Information Sheet 11: Notification of a Security Breach.
What are the odds that a government bureaucracy would voluntarily give up power? Don't we still have a “Powdered Wig Control Board?”
The FCC May Decide Not To Regulate Broadband
Posted by kdawson on Monday May 03, @07:56PM
This morning the Washington Post reported that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is leaning toward letting the telecomms have their way — not asserting greater authority to regulate the Internet by reclassifying broadband as a Title II service. The blogs are atwitter (HuffPo, StopTheCap) that not voting to apply Title II regulation to Internet carriers is tantamount to giving up on net neutrality — which has been a centerpiece of the Obama administration's tech policy. The Post paraphrases its sources, who are reading the chairman's mind, that Genachowski believes "the current regulatory framework would lead to constant legal challenges to the FCC's authority every time it attempted to pursue a broadband policy." The FCC will say only that the chairman has made no decision yet.
Free Guide - Making Videos on the Web
This guide was created for those teachers who would like to have their students make videos but don't have access to editing software and or video equipment. All of the resources in this guide are completely web-based.
If you thought “Elf Yourself” was fun, you're gonna love this one...
JibJab Re-Creates The Original Star Wars Trilogy, Now Starring Your Friends
The Force is strong with JibJab. The humor site, which often puts together goofy animated adventures that you can customize with photos of your friends’ faces, has really outdone itself this time: in honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, the site has gotten the rights to re-create the original Star Wars Trilogy. Except instead of the familiar faces of Han, Luke, and Leia, you’ll be watching your friends take on the Empire.
Dilbert explains how to ensure your technology is upgraded...
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