Could we pay Putin to
leave the Ukraine alone? What would it cost? (Think “greenmail”)
Abducted
international military observers freed in east Ukraine as crisis
spirals
(Related) Tell it loud
and tell it often! What ever we say is the truth!
What a concept! Does
the government have standards before the politicians say, “Sic
'em!”
Jaikumar Vijayan
reports:
The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can be compelled to disclose details
of the data security standards it uses to pursue enforcement action
against companies that suffer data breaches, the agency’s chief
administrative law judge ruled Thursday.
The
decision came in response to a motion filed by LabMD, a now-defunct
medical laboratory that has been charged by the FTC with unfair trade
practices for exposing sensitive information belonging to 10,000
patients in 2010.
LabMD
has accused the FTC of holding it to data security standards that do
not exist officially at the federal level. It has
maintained that the agency must publicly disclose the data security
standards it uses to determine whether a company has reasonable
security measures in place.
Read more on
Computerworld.
In a statement to
PHIprivacy.net, Michael Daugherty, CEO of LabMD, writes:
LabMD,
a medical facility, is cautiously optimistic that the FTC will be
forced to step into an era of fairness and transparency in notifying
the business community, both large and small, what their data
security standards are. vLabMD still strongly objects to the FTC’s
overreach into the medical regulatory environment overseen by HHS via
HIPAA.
Note: The
FTC’s complaint alleges that the file-sharing exposure occurred in
May 2008 (not 2010, as Jai reports). The date is important when one
considers whether the FTC had published any guidances or data
security standards for businesses prior to the incident resulting in
the complaint.
Update:
I’ve uploaded the ruling here
(pdf). I’ve also uploaded a second ruling that denies
an FTC motion in limine to strike the Deputy Director of
Bureau of Consumer Protection as a trial witness.
Tools for Privacy! If
this works as planned, we should ensure everyone uses it.
The
EFF wants your help testing a browser add-on that blocks spying ads
Like many privacy
advocates, the Electronic
Frontier Foundation isn't a big fan of advertisers and sites
following
you around the web. So, it's doing something about this nosy
behavior -- it's launching a browser add-on, Privacy
Badger, that lets Chrome and Firefox users limit site tracking.
The tool automatically stops sites' attempts to shadow your surfing
activity and lets you selectively grant permission when you're not
worried. To get on the Badger's good side, a web host has to honor
Do Not Track requests -- a not-so-subtle dig at
Facebook,
Google, Yahoo and others that so far insist on tracking visitors.
If you like the idea,
the Foundation could use your help. Privacy Badger
currently exists only as a rough alpha release, and the
EFF would like some real-world testing before it recommends the
software to the public at large. Should you have no problems with
living dangerously, though, you can try the anti-snooping software
today.
Perspective. A
milestone.
Bill
Gates Now Owns Less of Microsoft Than Steve Ballmer
… In an April
30 filing, Gates revealed that he sold 4.6 million shares for
roughly $186 million pre-tax. He now owns 330 million shares, 3
million less than Ballmer, his Harvard pal who later joined him at
the Seattle company. Gates’ cofounder Paul
Allen, who apparently had a smaller stake than Gates from the
outset, sold most of his shares years ago.
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