Try this! Something for my Computer Security students.
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=21033
SelectOut Founder Analyzes 1,000 Privacy Policies to Make Online Privacy Easier, Part 1
February 22, 2011 by Dissent
Elaine Rigoli writes:
Calvin Pappas is just 19-years-old but thinks online privacy is one of the hottest topics today. While Congress debates regulating the online advertising and tracking industry, the Computer Engineering student has created a site called SelectOut to teach consumers how companies really gather and use their online data.
As companies are working to become more transparent before any legislation is enacted, however, Pappas is keeping one step ahead of them with his Consumer Opt-Out list that shows people how to choose their own privacy options.
His site couldn’t be simpler. When you click on www.selectout.com, the site instantly determines how many websites are tracking you. It then gives you the option to “select out” of all or just some of the tracking.
Read more on privatewifi.com
“In addition to the data we actually need to rin the business, we like to keep lots of older data just to clog things up...”
http://www.databreaches.net/?p=16867
(update) OSU searches for possible hacking victims
February 22, 2011 by admin
Remember back in December when Ohio State University announced that it had detected a breach at the end of October and would be notifying 760,000 people who had personally identifiable information on the server? It seems that they are still trying to notify some of them.
Encarnacion Pyle reports in The Columbus Dispatch:
A hacker hasn’t hit another computer server at Ohio State University. But the school has sent 226,000 letters, mostly to alumni, in the past couple of weeks about free credit-monitoring services.
Ohio State uncovered a breach in late October and began notifying people whose data might be at risk. The original list of 760,000 students, professors and others who do business with Ohio State contained some outdated addresses, officials said yesterday. So the university recently has sent out new letters to what officials hope are their current addresses.
“Let me tell you, it’s hard to find 760,000 people,” said Jim Lynch, OSU’s spokesman.
Well yes, I imagine it would be. Which seems to be yet another excellent reason not to keep so much non-current data on a server connected to the Internet. By now, it’s somewhat discouraging that some entities still don’t seem to have learned that lesson. Maybe there should be a penalty surcharge for breaches involving data that are past their freshness date but were left connected to the Internet. [In addition to wasted storage space and increased processing time? I like it! Bob]
So do we bail out or ride a bit longer?
Has the Second Dotcom Bubble Started?
An article at the Guardian asks whether the exceedingly high valuations of social tech companies signify the arrival of a second dotcom bubble. Quoting:
"Every week, one of the new generation of internet firms seems to attract a sky-high valuation. Zynga, the social-network games company that has tempted millions to grow virtual vegetables in its FarmVille game, has been valued at $9bn (£5.54bn). Profitless Twitter is said to be worth $10bn. Groupon, vendor of online discounts, rejected a $6bn offer from Google and is considering a flotation with a potential valuation of $15bn. Tech-watchers say this is just the start: the real boom will come when Facebook, the head boy of the new dotcom frenzy, goes public, probably next year. ... The last dotcom boom really took off after the flotation of the internet software company Netscape in 1995. Patrick says this time it's likely to be Facebook that lights the fuse. So far, private investors have been locked out of the New Thing. But JP Morgan is setting up a fund, and Goldman Sachs recently tried to get its clients' money into Facebook."
Think about it. Why would your auditors be concerned with Privacy?
http://www.phiprivacy.net/?p=5995
Privacy and Security in Health Care: A fresh look
By Dissent, February 21, 2011
A new issue brief by Deloitte reviews previous research and generates figures based on breaches reported to HHS.
This Issue Brief from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (DCHS):
Provides an update about current and emergent privacy and security challenges in health care;
Examines notable hot spots where current policies, rules, and regulations are a focus of industry risk;
Reviews the state of preparedness for privacy and security risk throughout the industry;
Suggests an approach to assessing an organization’s current preparedness.
Download the paper from Deloitte.
For the Stalker's Toolkit.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20034586-71.html
The Facebook Breakup Notifier: Stalk someone you like
This astounding, beautiful, utterly utilitarian piece of technology allows you to be instantly informed when someone you have loved/liked/been desperate to stalk for a very long time finally becomes available.
We used to use the US government as a 'minimum' set of tech rules. They have gotten much better, so now you need to look world-wide for the minimums...
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=21009
Update: Privacy and the Protection of Personal Information in China
February 21, 2011 by Dissent
Hunton & Williams have updated their analysis of data protection laws in China:
In the past year and a half, new laws affecting personal information protection in China have arisen in various forms, including a consumer protection law and regulations, a tort law, a medical records regulation, a social insurance law, a credit reference regulation and even an anti-money laundering banking regulation.
See A Summary of Developments in Personal Information Protection in China, originally published on the DataGuidance website.
Gee, da whole woild don't speak English?
Testing Free English Anti-Malware On Non-English Threats
"Brazilian technology news site O Globo posted an interesting comparison on how free anti-malware behaves against non-english threats (Google translation of Portuguese original). By using a database of over 3000 samples from Brazil's Security Incident Contact Center, the numbers are quite different from all US anti-malware reviews. While Avira achieved the best score, 78%, Microsoft Security Essentials stopped less than 14%. This can be a headache for some large multinational corporations, whose IT departments deploy US anti-malware on the entire network, but have network segments outside US with many 'unknown' threats roaming around. I wonder what the results would be in other countries."
No doubt Microsoft will find a way to mention this in their advertising... I'd like to see more details – this sound fishy to me.
German Foreign Office Going Back To Windows
"The German government has confirmed that the German Foreign Office is to switch back to Windows desktop systems. The Foreign Office started migrating its servers to Linux in 2001 and since 2005 has also used open source software such as Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice on its desktop systems. The government's response to the SPD's question states that, although open source has demonstrated its worth, particularly on servers, the cost of adapting and extending it, for example in writing printer and scanner drivers, and of training, have proved greater than anticipated. The extent to which the potential savings trumpeted in 2007 have proved realizable has, according to the government, been limited – though it declines to give any actual figures. Users have, it claims, also complained of missing functionality, a lack of usability and poor interoperability."
It's not used as a 'primary source,' but rather as a place to find primary sources...
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/026574.html
February 21, 2011
Pew Report: Wikipedia, past and present
Wikipedia, past and present, by Kathryn Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, Jan 13, 2011
"Wikipedia, the “multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project,” was created in 2001 and celebrates its tenth anniversary on January 15, 2011. The percentage of all American adults who use Wikipedia to look for information has increased from 25% in February 2007 to 42% in May 2010. This translates to 53% of adult internet users. Education level continues to be the strongest predictor of Wikipedia use. The collaborative encyclopedia is most popular among internet users with at least a college degree, 69% of whom use the site. Broadband use remains another predictor, as 59% of those with home broadband use the service, compared with 26% of those who connect to the internet through dial-up. Additionally, Wikipedia is generally more popular among those with annual household incomes of at least $50,000, as well as with young adults: 62% of internet users under the age of 30 using the service, compared with only 33% of internet users age 65 and older."
For my Math students...
Online Multiplayer Games On TI Calculators?
"A calculator enthusiast has managed to allow TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus graphing calculators to connect to the Internet with the help of an Arduino board. It is called Global CALCnet 2.2 and there is already a chat program demonstrating it. Multi-player games for gCn such as a Scorched-Earth clone are currently in the works. Maybe in the near future we will be playing some variant of Ztetris against our friends on the other side of the world?"
Somebody also took the time to port Doom to a TI-Nspire calculator. A YouTube video demonstration is available.
It's a rare week when I have two items for my Math students, let alone two in one day!
http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2011/01/jeopardy-ibm-and-wolframalpha/
Jeopardy, IBM, and Wolfram|Alpha
No comments:
Post a Comment