Tuesday, September 27, 2011


Google reminds us that it is 13 years old today. Would someone remind me what we did before Google?


Gathering intelligence (not just raw data) about you is important to advertisers.
Facebook: We do track logged-out users, but trust us
There are those for whom Facebook is a way of life.
They commit themselves to it because it's automatic and just so self-empowering.
Many would not have been concerned when, this weekend, a hacker called Nik Cubrilovic offered the interesting information that Facebook seemed to be sucking in data from even those users who have actually logged out.
Indeed, Cubrilovic claimed that even if you log out, Facebook "still knows and can track every page you visit," as its cookies burrow away in your laptop's entrails, consumed by the compulsion to share.
You might think Facebook immediately issued denials at this seemingly pickpocketish process. You might think that flies will only feast on foie gras.
For the company confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that, yes, indeed, Cubrilovic's information was accurate.
But, don't worry, Facebook reportedly said, trust us.

(Related) Golly gee willikers! What could be more fun than sending a data request to Facebook? Suing them – which is what we have to do in the US.
Get your Data! Make an Access Request at Facebook!
September 26, 2011 by Dissent
I would love to be a fly on the wall at Facebook if even 1/10 of their users all submitted such requests in the same time period:
According to European data protection law every individual has the right to get a copy of all personal data a company holds about him (right to access). This law is applicable to facebook too, since every European user has a contract with “Facebook Ireland Limited”, based in Dublin, Ireland.
Facebook has a well hidden page, where you can send them an access request.
Generally all nonusers have the same right to access data that Facebook might hold about them.
Read more on Europe vs. Facebook.


What must be secure and what must be made public? (anything in between those extremes?)
"Today Google and the Israel Museum have made the famed Dead Sea Scrolls available for online viewing. This is a great step forward for scholars and those curious about the oldest known copies of many biblical texts. But why has it taken nearly 50 years for the contents of this material to be made fully public? Blogger Kevin Fogarty thinks the saga of the scrolls since their discovery — along with the history of religious texts in general — is a good example of how people seek to gain power by hoarding information. In that regard, it holds some important lessons for the many modern debates about information security and control."


So, “public data” isn't public?
Fr: CNIL Cites French Yellow Pages Operator for Illegal Use of Social Media Data
September 26, 2011 by Dissent
Winston Maxwell writes:
France’s Data Protection Authority, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) announced on September 23, 2011 that it had found the French provider of universal telephone directory services, “Pages Jaunes,” guilty of violating several provisions of the French data protection law. The CNIL did not fine Pages Jaunes, but published a detailed warning, listing each privacy violation that the CNIL had identified during its investigation of Pages Jaunes’s activities.
Read more on Hogan Lovells Chronicles of Data Protection. It’s interesting that CNIL flatly rejected Yellow Page’s claims that it could crawl social media sites and use the data because the TOS of those sites warned users that public profiles could be crawled.


If at first you don't succeed, sue, sue again! (Remember, it's not about winning.)
After a major copyright settlement case featuring The Expendables was found to be fatally flawed last month, United States Copyright Group and client Nu Image dropped the case. Now, sidestepping an uncooperative judge in Columbia, the team are hoping to get more joy from one of his counterparts in Maryland, but they still haven’t learned their lesson. Tests by TorrentFreak reveal that 98% of 4,165 potential defendants in the case are being sued in the wrong jurisdiction.


For my Ethical Hackers
"An Australian IT security company, Command Five Pty Ltd, has just released a detailed analysis (PDF) of the recent SK Communications hack in which the personal details of up to 35 million users were stolen. This new analysis gives details of the attackers' malicious infrastructure and contains as-yet unreported technical details of the malware used in the attack (including the fact that it has the capability to sniff raw network packets on infected machines). The report also identifies links with other malware and malicious infrastructure, demonstrating that the attack is likely to be part of a broader concerted effort by well organized attackers." [Criminals or a government intelligence service? Bob]


Data Mining and Data Analysis. Everyone should be doing this... But, “Real Time?” What would they be looking for that requires an immediate reaction? Is the economy that fragile?
Federal Reserve looking to monitor social media
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) has invited companies specializing in sentiment analysis the chance to bid on a contract, which will allow the regional bank to monitor what people are saying about the Fed online. The solutions designed by hopeful vendors will need to track reactions and opinions expressed by the public in real time.


I'll worry when robots train robots at Robot U.
"For years, robots have been replacing workers in factories as technology has come to grips with high-volume, unskilled labor. An article in Slate makes the case that the robot workforce is poised to move into fields that require significantly more training and education. From the article: 'In the next decade, we'll see machines barge into areas of the economy that we'd never suspected possible — they'll be diagnosing your diseases, dispensing your medicine, handling your lawsuits, making fundamental scientific discoveries, and even writing stories just like this one. Economic theory holds that as these industries are revolutionized by technology, prices for their services will decline, and society as a whole will benefit. As I conducted my research, I found this argument convincing — robotic lawyers, for instance, will bring cheap legal services to the masses who can't afford lawyers today. But there's a dark side, too: Imagine you've spent three years in law school, two more years clerking, and the last decade trying to make partner — and now here comes a machine that can do much of your $400-per-hour job faster, and for a fraction of the cost. What do you do now?'" [Sue the bastards! Bob]

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