http://www.databreaches.net/?p=12260
Spain uses stolen HSBC data for tax probe
June 25, 2010 by admin
Spain has become the latest country to tap data stolen from HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm by an IT employee to hunt down tax evaders…. according to local media reports, details on around 3000 accounts, which could hold around EUR6 billion, have been given to Spanish authorities.
More on Finextra.
This would change quickly if more than a very small percentage of customers refused the pizza on those terms. Unfortunately this suggests that they don't. Looks like a great tool for identity theft!
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=11854
Domino’s Delivery Guy Demanded My Social Security Number
June 25, 2010 by Dissent
Is Domino’s trying to cut down on credit card fraud by demanding customers provide some ID? Phil Villarreal writes on the Consumerist:
Brent says the Domino’s dude wouldn’t let him pay with a credit card unless he offered up his Social Security Number or driver’s license number. Since Brent was smart enough to know you only give such information to Girl Scouts and those guys who go to door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions, he checked it out with his local Domino’s, which told him the nosyness is store policy.
Read more on The Consumerist.
Domino’s is not the only one to do this, of course. A few months ago, The Consumerist posted a similar complaint about Pizza Hut.
My understanding is that merchants can request cardholder ID but cannot decline a card-present transaction if the customer doesn’t produce ID. Is that your understanding, too?
I'm shocked! Are they actually insisting that you deliver what you promise? What a concept!
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=11834
Twitter Settles Charges that it Failed to Protect Consumers’ Personal Information
June 24, 2010 by Dissent
Social networking service Twitter has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk by failing to safeguard their personal information, marking the 30th case the FTC has brought targeting faulty data security, and the agency’s first such case against a social networking service.
The FTC’s complaint against Twitter charges that serious lapses in the company’s data security allowed hackers to obtain administrative control of Twitter, including access to tweets that consumers had designated private, and the ability to send out phony tweets pretending to be from then-President-elect Barack Obama and Fox News, among others.
“When a company promises consumers that their personal information is secure, it must live up to that promise,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Likewise, a company that allows consumers to designate their information as private must use reasonable security to uphold such designations. Consumers who use social networking sites may choose to share some information with others, but they still have a right to expect that their personal information will be kept private and secure.”
...so, is being a bigot sufficient? What criteria would qualify for anonymity?
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=11841
U.S. Supreme Court: No right to privacy for signing petitions
June 24, 2010 by Dissent
Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog reports on the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of those who wanted to keep their signatures on a petition shielded from public scrutiny:
By a broad eight-to-one majority in an opinion by the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court today held in Doe v. Reed that signatories of referendum petitions generally do not have a constitutional right – i.e., a right that would trump state open government laws – to keep their identities private. But the Court held – again, by the same broad majority – that courts should consider in any given case whether a particular referendum presents sufficiently unique circumstances that anonymity is required. It therefore permitted the claim to anonymity in this case, which involves a referendum on gay rights, to proceed in the lower courts. But their chances of prevailing appear very slim, as five members of the Court either expressed significant doubts about their claim or expressly rejected it.
Read more on SCOTUSblog. The opinion is online on the Supreme Court’s web site, here (pdf).
[From the SCOTUS Blog:
Signing a petition, the Court reasoned, is an expressive act – expression of a political view – that implicates the First Amendment. That said, the level of scrutiny must account for states’ wide latitude in implementing their voting systems, as well as the fact that disclosure does not itself prevent speech.
In some ways this is 1984-like In some ways this is Google-like Could it be a case of the Emperor preempting comments on his wardrobe?
Canadian Arrested Over Plans to Test G20 Security
Posted by timothy on Thursday June 24, @03:25PM
"Byron Sonne, of Toronto, was arrested today by a task force of around 50 police officers associated with the G20 summit taking place this week. An independent contractor, IT security specialist and private investigator, he had notable ties to the Toronto technology and security communities. According to friends and associates, he had been purchasing goods online and speaking with security groups about building devices to collect unencrypted police broadcasts and relay them through Twitter, as well as other activities designed to test the security of the G20 summit. By all accounts, it would appear that Mr. Sonne had no actual malicious intent. In Canada, the summit has been garnering significant press for the cost and invasive nature of the security measures taken." "
By all accounts" may not be quite right; the charges against Sonne, exaggerated or not, involve weapons, explosives, and intimidation.
[From the article:
Sonne appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, but the details are subject to a publication ban.
[Interesting too, is this:
This story is closed to commenting.
Speaking of Google-like, is this the act of a friend? “We don't think that app is very cool, so we deleted it for you.” on the other hand, this would be a fun application to hack!
Google Remotely Nukes Apps From Android Phones
Posted by timothy on Friday June 25, @08:05AM
"Google disclosed in a blog post on Thursday that it remotely removed two applications from Android phones that ran contrary to the terms of the Android Market. From the post: 'Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a security researcher for research purposes. These applications intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did not have permission to access private data — or system resources beyond permission.INTERNET. As the applications were practically useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after downloading them. After the researcher voluntarily removed these applications from Android Market, we decided, per the Android Market Terms of Service, to exercise our remote application removal feature on the remaining installed copies to complete the cleanup.' The blog post comes a day after security vendor SMobile Systems published a report saying that 20% of Android apps are malicious."
Worth more review that I've given it so far.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/024564.html
June 24, 2010
The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010
The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010 - This webpage links to facts sheets, summaries, comparisons and other relevant documents on this controversial legislation.
United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman, Senator Susan M. Collins, Ranking Member: "Our proposed legislation would modernize efforts to safeguard the nation’s cyberspace networks by creating a more robust organizational structure. This framework would enhance public-private partnerships to build preparedness and resiliency, strengthen the security of federal systems and improve awareness of cyberthreats across the country."
Headlines like this catch my attention and generally disappoint, but in this case it may point to a tool for data analysis (and not just for Big Brother) Wouldn't e-Discovery benefit from a tool like this?
… Palantir did not disclose whether it’s profitable, the company says revenues have at least doubled every year for the last three years. And yet this nearly billion dollar company— yes, that’s billion with a big fat “B”— remains a wallflower in Silicon Valley.
… It is an obtuse, difficult-to-explain product that is mainly used in Washington— the government makes up 70% of its business and the rest is dominated by private financial institutions. That may sound painfully boring but Palantir’s user-friendly analysis program is becoming a major player in the war against terrorism and cyber espionage, stimulus spending accountability (Palantir is literally powering the administration’s efforts to identify fraud in stimulus projects), health care, and even natural disasters like the recent earthquake in Haiti.
,,, The fundamental point of Palantir is to take reams of data and help non-technical users see critical connections and ultimately, the answers to complex problems. The product is a child of PayPal, born from the start up’s methodology for combating fraud:
… If everyone’s an engineer, who sells the product?
The answer is no one.
There is no publicist, no sales or marketing team and Karp adamantly believes that there will never be one. He says he is perfectly content to let word of mouth drive his business, in press and in sales.
Dilbert illustrates one of the small joys of a long PowerPoint presentation...
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