Chicago again... Is Capone back?
Stolen laptop contains NU alumni data
May 20, 2007
A laptop computer belonging to Northwestern University's financial aid office in Chicago recently was stolen, and the Social Security numbers of some alumni may have been compromised, school officials said.
In a letter dated May 11, Associate Provost Michael E. Mills contacted an undisclosed number of potential victims, informing them one of the computer's files contained their names and Social Security numbers.
... The incident is the third since March 2005 in which individuals affiliated with the school may have had their Social Security numbers accessed by hackers or through computer thefts.
This is why we don't trust these people with sharp objects...
http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/112283.html
Hospitals wrongly send out information
BY JOHN DORSCHNER Posted on Sun, May. 20, 2007
At his Miami Beach home, David Neal received a fax revealing excruciating details about the rectal problems of a 67-year-old woman. In Kendall, Helen Lie's home fax machine spewed out the results of someone's blood test for a sexual disease.
Both Neal and Lie say they have repeatedly received such faxes, including patients' names and other personal details -- clear violations of strict federal privacy laws on healthcare records.
Experts say such mistakes happen frequently. In most cases, the cause appears to be a healthcare worker mis-dialing a phone number on a fax machine -- a device that remains a basic standard of communication in the healthcare industry despite being utterly out-of-date in the 21st century, experts say.
Laurence Gardner, executive dean of education at the University of Miami medical school, says such mistakes occur at UM/Jackson Memorial and many other places. ''We don't like to think it does, but it happens everywhere with a level of frequency we don't like to admit,'' he says.
''This is one of the big problems we have,'' says Kevin Kearns, chief executive of Health Choice Network, a Miami-based firm providing health information technologies for clinics in Florida, New Mexico and Utah. ``There's not only the question of dialing the wrong number, but there's paper lying around where people can see it. The healthcare industry has been slow to catch up.''
... In Kendall, Lie says she's been receiving faxes ''for a couple months'' from Cronos Clinical Laboratory in the Doral area that are intended for Patient Care and Diagnostic Center in West Dade -- a center that has a phone number similar to hers.
... When she called the lab to complain, she found ''no one speaks English,'' she says. ... David Neal, a Miami Herald sports reporter, says that for quite a while he received faxes from Mount Sinai Medical Center intended for the office of Henry Wodnicki, a physician specializing in colon and rectal surgery.
... Neal says he complained to Mount Sinai several times, but the faxes kept coming. It was only after he told the hospital that they were sending the results to a Miami Herald reporter that the faxes stopped.
Typical argument expected from anyone who wants to be a surveil-er... What argument might we hear from the surveil-ee?
Data Protection Ombudsman calls for rules on use of surveillance cameras in restaurants
In dozens of Helsinki’s nightclubs and discos clients are subject to video surveillance. Often the customers are not informed of the presence of the cameras, even though the Personal Data Act stipulates that all such systems should have prominently displayed notices to make the clients aware that their image is being recorded.
On Friday night, Helsingin Sanomat accompanied Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio while he was making his rounds in Helsinki nightclubs. [What a great job! Bob] Aarnio feels that the increase in camera surveillance is alarming.
"The camera surveillance of clients is problematic, as usually there is no immediate reason for it", says Aarnio.
The Data Protection Ombudsman also expressed concern over the way the recorded material is stored, and who has access to it. Moreover, who will guarantee that the images from the in-house surveillance cameras do not fall into the wrong hands, Aarnio queried. While the installing of surveillance cameras is not subject to any permit, the law does have stipulations on the use of recorded material.
The nightclubs argue that video surveillance is needed mainly to guarantee the legal protection of both personnel and customers alike.
The images from the in-house surveillance cameras can be used to find out what really took place between customers, whether or not the doormen were guilty of assault, or whether the customer really left an expensive coat in the cloakroom as he or she claims.
According to Aarnio, the recorded material should not be stored for more than a few days, unless there is an acceptable reason for the storage.
Interesting application of existing technology. Soon to be an option on any car?
May 21, 1:21 AM EDT
Avis to Offer Wireless Internet Gear
NEW YORK (AP) -- Avis Rent A Car System is offering customers a wireless Internet service to use in its rented cars, hotel rooms and other places a traveler might go.
The new Avis Connect service, priced at $10.95 per day, can transmit a Wi-Fi signal to multiple laptops and other mobile devices at the same time.
The service is provided with a portable device developed by Autonet Mobile that gets its Internet connection from a cell phone network. The company declined to disclose which one, though the cellular technology involved suggests that it is being provided by either Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel Corp.
Signs I'm getting old: I actually found this on a web site tutorial... Next stop, Geezerville!
Do you know what a typewriter is? Well, a typewriter is a mechanical device which was used last century to produce printed documents.
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