Monday, February 14, 2011

Interesting question...

http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=20768

UConn tries to keep donors private

February 13, 2011 by Dissent

The Associated Press reports:

The University of Connecticut is fighting in court to prevent the release of lists naming its supporters, arguing they amount to trade secrets that other institutions could use to lure away Huskies fans’ dollars and loyalties.

Open-records experts say it’s the first time Connecticut’s courts will have to decide whether public entities, not just businesses, can invoke a trade-secret exemption to keep information private – even if it was created at public expense.

Read more on CNN.



I don't think there is a “conservative” v. “liberal” version of security except for the fundamentals: How much government? Who is responsible?

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/026512.html

February 13, 2011

Backgrounder - 10 Conservative Principles for Cybersecurity Policy

10 Conservative Principles for Cybersecurity Policy, by Paul Rosenzweig, George Washington University School of Law; Posted FEbruary 10, 2011

  • "In the age of the Internet, which now determines daily life for Americans, many threats to the U.S. now exist in the cyber domain. Cybersecurity is a near constant theme in Washington, as well as for private companies around the country. Congress and government agencies are clamoring to develop policies and strategies to protect national security and commercial interests. Internet attacks are already a standard feature of modern life, and the threats and their implications—from hacking into company sites to steal credit card numbers to hacking into government computers for espionage—are growing fast. Cybersecurity must be addressed—the right way. This Heritage Foundation paper outlines the basic facts of the Internet—and the policy principles to which they lead."



Does this sound reasonable to you? Aren't they merely automating existing paperwork systems?

http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=20751

Ca: Huge police database in works

February 13, 2011 by Dissent

Karen Kleiss reports:

The Alberta government is quietly building a $65-million police information database that will allow officers across the province to share details about proven and suspected criminal activity in real time.

The Alberta Law Officers’ Network, or Talon, is meant to help police catch increasingly sophisticated criminals, but civil liberties groups and academics worry it unnecessarily invades citizens’ privacy and will be open to abuse.

[...]

Talon will allow them to quickly access information about a person of interest, just as the Canadian Police Information Centre does, though the databases contain different kinds of information.

CPIC contains details about pending charges and a permanent record of convictions, as well as information about recent acquittals and discharges.

Talon contains much more sensitive and personal information, including speculations, unproven allegations, investigation theories, details of 911 calls — virtually any record of a citizen’s contacts with the police.

Police services in Alberta already collect this information and share it thorough traditional channels, but Talon gives them instantaneous, real-time access to information from Lethbridge to High Level, Jasper to Lloydminster.

Unlike CPIC, officers will not have to provide a reason for accessing the information.

Read more on Edmonton Journal.


(Related) As long as we don't totally rely on the computer...

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/02/14/0031200/Virus-Shuts-Down-Australian-Ambulance-Dispatch-Service?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29

Virus Shuts Down Australian Ambulance Dispatch Service

"Computers which co-ordinate ambulances in NSW, Australia, are back online in three of the state's regions after a major virus forced staff to shut them down for more than 24 hours. The virus crept into the Ambulance Service of NSW's dispatch system, prompting staff to co-ordinate paramedics by telephone and handwritten notes. The cause and source of the virus are not yet known."



Interesting that the “support forum” is currently unavailable...

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/02/14/0337211/Recent-HP-Laptops-Shipped-CPU-Choking-Wi-Fi-Driver?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29

Recent HP Laptops Shipped CPU-Choking Wi-Fi Driver

"Computer manufacturers have recently come under fire for the continued practice of shipping machines with excessive bloatware. Software preinstalled on some recent HP laptops was worse than normal though, consuming anywhere from 25-99% CPU by making incessant WMI queries, resulting in overheating laptops and reduced battery life. Users on a computer Q&A site did some sleuthing, and revealed that HP Wireless Assistant — software which does nothing but tell the user when their WiFi adapter is turned on or off — was causing the problem. According to an HP support forum, the problem is fixed in later versions, but thousands of laptops have the software installed, and the software does not get updated automatically."



For my Computer Security students

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/check-stealing-wifi/

How To Check If Someone Is Stealing Your WiFi – And What You Can Do About It

… In my article on Cool WiFi Devices You’ve Probably Never Heard Of, I showed you a $100 commercially available router that would automatically hack your WEP-protected WiFi network in less than half an hour. Apart from the obvious fact that your internet will be slower, the hacker might be using your internet to do nefarious evil things – all of which could easily be traced back to you. So how you can find out if someone is using your WiFi, and perhaps more importantly – what exactly can you do about it?



For my students

http://www.inc.com/tech-blog/small-businesses-seeking-mobile-experts.html

Online Employment Rising Dramatically

… Elance, the online clearinghouse that puts employers and freelancers together, is reporting dramatic growth in the number of online jobs for the fourth quarter of 2010. We're talking about a 38% increase over the fourth quarter from the previous year. Overall the amount of money getting paid out on jobs has increased an average of 11% each quarter over the past year, as well.

Wordpress is the bomb when it comes to content management systems. In fact, skills in Wordpress are worth their weight in gold. It's the number two most desired expertise coveted by online employers, trailing only behind PHP.


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