...but, everything is politics. I wouldn't be able to call these idiots, idiots? We couldn't point out that the Emperor (see small print, micro-line two) has no clothes?
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/17/2030229&from=rss
Political Bloggers May Be Forced to Register
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday January 17, @04:44PM from the papers-please dept. Censorship Politics
Thebes writes "Under Senate Bill S.1, political bloggers with a readership of over 500 who comment on policy matters or hope to incite 'grassroots' action amongst their readers would be forced to register with the Federal Government as lobbyists." 
Perhaps this is why? Who wants to see Hillary Clinton rapping on Youtube?
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/013634.html
January 17, 2007
Americans Increasingly Turn to Internet for Campaign Coverage
Pew Internet and American Life Project, rress release: "The number of Americans who cited the internet as their primary source of campaign news in 2006 doubled since the last mid-term election. Twice as many Americans used the internet as their primary source of news about the 2006 campaign compared with the most recent mid-term election in 2002. Some 15% of all American adults say the internet was the place where they got most of their campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002." Election 2006 Online, January 17, 2007
What in the world caused them to do this? What significant benefit do they gain?
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/013631.html
January 17, 2007
Oversight of Domestic Surveillance Program Shifts to Secret Court
In a letter today to Senators Leahy and Specter, Chair and Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Gonzales stated, "...a Judge of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA)issued orders authorizing the Government to target for collection international communications into or out of the United States where there is a probable cause to believe that one of the communicants is a member or agent of al Qaeda or an associated terrorist organization. As a result of these orders, any electronic surveillance that was occurring as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court."
Related documents and information:
Comment Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee On Revisions Of The NSA Domestic Surveillance Program, January 17, 2007
AP: Secret Court to Govern Wiretapping Plan
If a map is not the territory, a security plan – no matter how good – is no good until it is implemented. (all in all, a pretty good press release.)
January 17, 2007 03:22 PM Eastern Time
The TJX Companies, Inc. Victimized by Computer Systems Intrusion; Provides Information to Help Protect Customers
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) today announced that it has suffered an unauthorized intrusion into its computer systems that process and store information related to customer transactions. While TJX has specifically identified some customer information that has been stolen from its systems, the full extent of the theft and affected customers is not yet known. This intrusion involves the portion of TJX’s computer network that handles credit card, debit card, check, and merchandise return transactions for customers of its T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and A.J. Wright stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and its Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada, and may involve customers of its T.K. Maxx stores in the U.K. and Ireland.
... With the help of leading computer security experts, TJX has significantly strengthened the security of its computer systems. While no computer security can completely guarantee the safety of data, these experts have confirmed that the containment plan adopted by TJX is appropriate to prevent future intrusions and to protect the safety of credit card, debit card and other customer transactions in its stores.
... Actions Taken By TJX
* Upon discovery of the intrusion in mid-December, 2006, TJX immediately notified and began working closely with law enforcement authorities, including the United States Department of Justice and Secret Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Company has coordinated its actions with these authorities and provided all assistance requested to seek to identify the criminals responsible for this incident. TJX maintained the confidentiality of this intrusion as requested by law enforcement.
* The Company immediately engaged General Dynamics Corporation and IBM Corporation, two leading computer security and incident response firms. TJX has been working aggressively with these firms to monitor and evaluate the intrusion, assess possible data compromise, and seek to identify affected information. These firms have assisted TJX in further securing its computer systems and implementing security upgrades.
* TJX promptly notified and began working closely with the major credit card companies (American Express, Discover, MasterCard and VISA) and entities that process our customers' transactions. The Company has been providing them information including all requested credit and debit card information.
Information About the Intrusion
Through its investigation, TJX has learned the following with respect to the intrusion:
... * To date, TJX has been able to specifically identify a limited number of credit card and debit card holders whose information was removed from its system and is providing this information to the credit card companies. In addition, TJX has been able to specifically identify a relatively small number of customer names with related drivers' license numbers that were also removed from its system, and TJX is contacting these individuals directly.
You don't suppose this is related to the previous story?
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/NEWS/701170343/1002/BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2007
Debit cards canceled after security breach
Fitchburg Savings Bank replaces cards after warning from Visa USA
By Andi Esposito Business Editor aesposito@telegram.com
FITCHBURG— About 1,300 debit-ATM cards issued by Fitchburg Savings Bank were deactivated yesterday after the bank was told by Visa USA that a “large-scale data compromise” may have included its check cards.
... Mr. Connors said he was aware of at least one other financial institution in Worcester County with far more cards affected by the security breach. A broader problem was confirmed by the Massachusetts Bankers Association yesterday.
“It appears that Visa has notified a number of banks in Massachusetts that a large-scale retailer has had a problem with some of its customer data,” [Bingo! Bob] said Bruce E. Spitzer, an MBA spokesman. “Quite a few banks are replacing cards or notifying customers to be extra vigilant in monitoring their accounts. If a card needs to be reissued, the bank will do it.”
Another source indicated that the breach may be broader than Visa cards.
... Visa is not required to report card security breaches to the state, said Mr. Cotney.
Visa is also not required to reveal the source of the breach to financial institutions.
Meanwhile, a bit farther east...
London, Wednesday 17.01.07
Patients' details stolen in hospital computer theft
17.01.07
Computers containing patients' details have been stolen from a disused hospital site, health officials have said.
About 30 new computers [...that apparently came preloaded with patient data? Bob] were taken from a storeroom at the now-closed Lymington Infirmary in Lymington, Hants, earlier this month.
... The PCT spokeswoman explained: "Following the theft our technical experts have been reviewing what was stored on, and moved from, each computer's hard drive.
"There were no complete medical records on the stolen machines. Our policy is that no information about individuals should be stored on the hard drives of computers. In order to ensure this was the case we had asked staff to remove any information from hard drives in September 2006 and given them written guidance about how to do this. This exercise was then repeated in December 2006.
...and this one out west. Why was the data still there?
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070117-9999-1mi17rincon.html
Customer data stolen from water district
By Linda Lou UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER January 17, 2007
ESCONDIDO – The credit-card numbers of about 500 customers in the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District were stolen yesterday in an early-morning break-in, officials said.
Thieves smashed a glass wall at the district's offices on North Iris Lane and stole two computers, one from the customer services department and the other from engineering, said Darlene Lynn, interim general manager.
Customers' names and credit-card numbers were contained in software on the customer services computer, but their Social Security numbers and birth dates were not on either computer, Lynn said. She said the number of stolen credit-card numbers could increase because officials are still determining the extent of information that was taken.
... To increase security, the district is working with a software provider to encrypt data [“We should be done in ten or twelve years...” Bob] on its computers and is planning to install fences around its building, according to a statement issued by the district yesterday.
...and one down south...
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/article/0,2545,TCP_16736_5286223,00.html
PSL attorney's sensitive documents found in Jensen Beach Dumpster
By GABRIEL MARGASAK gabriel.margasak@scripps.com Posted at 7:37 p.m. January 17, 2007
JENSEN BEACH — Deputies on Wednesday were investigating how a Port St. Lucie attorney's case files — with social security numbers, medical records and other personal information — ended up in a dumpster outside a Jensen Beach mechanic's shop.
The four boxes of private paperwork from Ronald M. Rowars were found Monday in the private dumpster of Hunter Marine Diesel in the 900 block of Northeast Industrial Boulevard.
Federal law states that businesses, including lawyers, must properly dispose of consumer reports such as credit history and medical records. Such sensitive documents fall under the Disposal Rule of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, according to the FTC.
Rowars, who was in good standing with the Florida Bar Association, did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday.
...and one... Where the hell is Iowa?
http://www.ketv.com/newsarchive/10775394/detail.html
Pile Of Sensitive Paperwork Found Outside Bluffs Cafe
Insured Man Worries About Identity Thief
POSTED: 2:43 pm CST January 17, 2007 UPDATED: 3:10 pm CST January 17, 2007
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- A mound of discarded personal information was found dumped outside a Council Bluffs cafe this week, apparently the result of a cleaning crew's work inside an old insurance office.
Diane Bauer, of the Main Street Cafe, said when she found the pile of documents, the paper trail was evident. The documents had come from a filing cabinet abandoned outside the cafe in Council Bluffs.
"I told him, 'Put it inside our building, beings it had pertinent information pertaining to people we even know,'" Bauer said.
Bauer said she saw Social Security numbers, bank statements and title information. She said she took one look and knew they'd come from the insurance agency next door that had just shut down.
The piles Bauer found outside her business weren't the only documents left for anyone to find. A Dumpster full of files was nearby and more files were strewn up and down the alley.
"You wouldn't think she'd just abandon her office and go on her merry way and leave all this information behind," Bauer said of the insurance agent.
Bauer reached the agency's previous owner, who told Bauer that a cleaning crew disposed of the files.
... The Iowa Attorney General's Office and the state's insurance department said there are no laws governing how an insurance agency should dispose of old files, only a strong recommendation to shred personal information.
“Mom. Dad, I want a Big Brother...”
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/18/0239226&from=rss
MySpace to Offer Spyware for Parents
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 18, @12:36AM from the think-of-the-children dept. The Internet Privacy
mrspin writes "Following continuing pressure from politicians (and parts of the media), MySpace is planning to offer parents the chance to download software which will monitor aspects of their children's activities on the social networking site. From a business point of view, the move appears to be a highly risky one. The young users of social networking sites are notorious for their lack of loyalty — and history suggests that a change like this could tempt many to abandon MySpace for the 'next cool thing'."
Will Calif still want to deport him?
http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-6150997.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news
HP investigator argues California can't try him
By Greg Sandoval Story last modified Wed Jan 17 18:03:16 PST 2007
An investigator charged with felonies connected to the Hewlett-Packard spying scandal told a judge Wednesday that he's immune from prosecution in California because he's already pleaded guilty to the same crimes in federal court.
Bryan Wagner is charged in California with four felonies, including identity theft and conspiracy.
... Wagner's attorney announced that he would file a motion to dismiss California's charges against Wagner, citing the state's double jeopardy laws, Barankin said.
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=103329
Reports on Online Identity Theft Trends
January 16, 2007 News Release
McAfee, Inc. announced the availability of a white paper titled "Identity Theft" highlighting global identity theft trends, including a dramatic increase in online and computer-based identity theft.
http://www.mcafee.com/us/local_content/white_papers/wp_id_theft_en.pdf
Is “Never mind!” really a legal term? (“We had to do it, thousands of people from New Jersey were moving in...”)
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1168941736750
Pa. Court Withdraws Holding on Internet Viewing of Child Porn
Asher Hawkins The Legal Intelligencer January 17, 2007
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has withdrawn its recent first-impression holding that merely to look at child pornography on the Internet -- without intentionally saving or downloading any images viewed -- does not amount to "knowing possession" of child pornography as proscribed under state law. The court also granted a prosecution request for an en banc re-argument.
Anthony Diodoro had admitted viewing several hundred photographs depicting child pornography after intentionally visiting specific Web sites for that purpose, according to Judge Richard B. Klein's November opinion.
However, the prosecution in Commonwealth v. Diodoro was never able to put forward any evidence that the defendant had intentionally downloaded or saved those images to his hard drive, or been aware that the images were being automatically added to his Internet browser's cache, Klein had reasoned.
"We note that it is well within the power of the Legislature to criminalize the act of viewing child pornography on a Web site without saving the image," Klein had written. "The language used in [the relevant statute], however, is simply 'possession.' Because this is a penal statute with an ambiguous term when it comes to computer technology, it must be construed strictly and in favor of the defendant.
"A defendant must have fair notice that his conduct is criminal. Because of the ambiguity, sufficient notice was not provided here. For this reason, we are constrained to reverse [Delaware County Common Pleas Judge Joseph P. Cronin Jr.] and leave it to the Legislature to clarify the language if it intends to make the mere 'viewing' of child pornography a crime."
Section 6312(d) of the Crimes and Offenses Code prohibits possession or control of any type of media -- including computer images -- that depict children under the age of 18 engaging in sexual acts.
Klein had been joined in his opinion by Judge John L. Musmanno and Senior Judge Patrick R. Tamilia.
But in an order filed recently, the Superior Court officially withdrew Klein's opinion and granted the Delaware County District Attorney's Office's petition for en banc re-argument.
Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Michelle Hutton has been handling the matter on appeal.
District Attorney G. Michael Green did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
In a statement, Green argued that physically manipulating a computer for the purposes of viewing child pornography is clearly outlawed under Section 6312's provisions.
Green's statement also noted that the Superior Court's next en banc session is not expected to take place until this September.
Diodoro's attorney in the matter, Media, Pa., solo practitioner Mark Much, did not immediately respond late Friday to a call seeking comment.
Another case that will never reach the Supremes... Where was the video camera when we needed it?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0701130195jan13,0,3172070.story
2 cleared in hot-tub case sue neighbors
January 13, 2007
COOK COUNTY -- A Cook County sheriff's lieutenant and her boyfriend filed a defamation lawsuit Friday against sheriff's officials and neighbors who accused them of having sex in a back-yard hot tub in 2005.
Lt. Kelly Mrozek of Lockport and her boyfriend, Mark Sumner of Orland Park, were found not guilty of public indecency in September.
... In reaching her verdict, Viola said "common sense tells you those acts occurred." But the judge said prosecutors had failed to prove that Mrozek's back yard was a "public place" where the couple should have expected to be seen.
Think of it as a scorecard! “Collect 'em all! In five years, no high school student will recognize any of these names...”
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/013617.html
January 16, 2007
Guide to Presidential Contenders 2008
The Wall Street Journal's chart, Circling the Oval Office, available free, and updated as new candidates announce their intentions: "a look at who's in the race, who's out and who's somewhere in the middle for 2008."
We can, therefore we must! (If you are born poor, you must stay poor – it's the American way!) Even India is breaking down the caste system...
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20070117165037651
The spread of the credit check as civil rights issue
Wednesday, January 17 2007 @ 04:50 PM CST - Contributed by: PrivacyNews - Workplace Privacy
Lisa Bailey worked for five months at Harvard University as a temp entering donations into a database. When the university made the job a salaried position, Ms. Bailey, who is black, saw a chance to lift herself out of dead-end jobs.
Bailey's superiors encouraged her to apply, she says, but turned her down after discovering her bad credit history.
Bailey, with her lawyer, has lodged a complaint against Harvard charging racial discrimination. The reason: Studies show that minorities are more likely to have bad credit, but credit problems have not been shown to negatively affect job performance.
Some privacy and minority advocates are now seeing credit as a civil rights issue as minorities start to fight employers and insurers who base decisions on credit histories. Their effort could slow the near doubling in credit checks by employers in the past decade, which impacts millions of Americans who are struggling with debt.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0118/p01s03-ussc.html
This works particularly well if you are cute. (What, not politically correct?)
http://education.zdnet.com/index.php?p=776
January 17, 2007
Law students move towards online video resumes
Education Technology Higher Ed Careers
An enterprising entrepreneur has taken a good idea and made it better. David Schnurman, a recent law school graduate from New York Law School, has springboarded from interviewing prominent entrepreneurs on television to helping law students post their interviews on the W, reports Law.com
Schnurman is founder of "TrueNYC," a public access cable television program on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network that features interviews with prominent entrepreneurs. Taking the interviewing concept one step further, Schnurman is now helping law students create video resumes.
"The whole process of looking for a job is a daunting task," Schnurman says.
Searching for that first job fresh out of law school, job-seekers face a very competive market. It's difficult to pull away from the pack of applicants. That's where a professionally made video resume can come in handy.
Schnurman approached New York Law School's administration and they decided to beta-test his concept. Ten students signed up immediately.
Schnurman is going to use YouTube for mass distribution of the resumes and hopes to convince law schools in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to incorporate this project into their career development offerings.
"I see more tools like what I'm doing," he says. "The younger lawyers are more in tune with how to use the Internet."
Important for those of us with “always on” Internet connections
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/17/2338201&from=rss
Six Rootkit Detectors To Protect Your PC
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 17, @10:05PM from the rate-them dept. Security Software
An anonymous reader writes "InformationWeek has a review of 6 rootkit detectors.This issue became big last year when Sony released some music CDs which came with a rootkit that silently burrowed into PCs. This review looks at how you can block rootkits and protect your machine using F-Secure Backlight, IceSword, RKDetector, RootkitBuster, RootkitRevealer, and Rookit Unhooker."
No comments:
Post a Comment