Interesting, not for the volume but for the possibility there is a leak in a banks IT systems that allows this. If I was the WaMu CIO, I'd be sweating.

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071228042637100

HI: Thief Snags Identity of 900 People

Friday, December 28 2007 @ 06:26 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

Police need your help catching a sophisticated identity thief.

He has racked up 900 victims nationwide and stolen $88,000 from ATM's all over Oahu. All the victims have accounts with Washington Mutual Banks.

Police think he gets victim’s personal information, changes their pin numbers and requests duplicate ATM cards. [Not a fast way to the cash, but safe? Where do they send the cards? Bob]

"He somehow got information from victims, whatever information needed, and on his cell phone was able to call Washington Mutual Bank and change pin numbers for over 900 victims," said Kim Buffett, CrimeStoppers.

Source - KGMB9

A shame this requires a law, rather than a “standard medical procedure.” Does the information stay with the Doctor or go to the State?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071228055011260

N.J. Orders HIV Testing For Pregnant Women

Friday, December 28 2007 @ 06:31 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: State/Local Govt.

New Jersey this week launched one of the most ambitious efforts in the country to control mother-to-child transmission of HIV, making screening tests mandatory for all pregnant women in the state beginning next year.

A bill signed into law Wednesday by the Senate president, Richard J. Codey, in his capacity as acting governor, requires two tests for pregnant women, at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester, unless the mother objects. [So much for mandatory... Bob] If the mother objects, the objection will be noted and the newborn will then be tested for HIV, with the only exception being on religious grounds. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive.

Source - Washington Post

Convergence. Who should pay and with what rules?

http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/60931.html

iPhone and the Business-to-Personal Gadget Migration

By David Pendered Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12/28/07 4:00 AM PT

There's no doubt that wireless devices are everywhere. They chirp in theaters and tablecloth restaurants. People with laptops access the Internet in restaurants and other public places. What's new is the growing migration of the full contingency of wireless devices from the business world into the personal realm. Devices like the iPhone come in handy for both business and pleasure.

Perhaps better packaging next time?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071227173115584

(update) Missing NY state employee data tapes found

Thursday, December 27 2007 @ 05:31 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

Five computer tapes containing the Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal information for about 900 employees and retirees are back in the hands of the state Dormitory Authority after going missing for more than a week.

Authority spokesman Marc Violette says UPS found the tapes at its Missouri warehouse for lost items, where they were sent after getting separated from their packaging at a sorting facility in Manhattan. They were returned Thursday.

He says the tapes were checked and found undamaged and free of tampering. [Copying leaves no evidence... Bob]

Source - Newsday

An important research tool?

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9837983-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Ig Nobel Prize publisher to go free online

Posted by Candace Lombardi December 27, 2007 9:00 AM PST

The Annals of Improbable Research, best known as the host of the Ig Nobel Awards, will now offer a free online version of its journal.

The Ig Nobel Prizes ceremony, an annual event held at Harvard University and parody of the Nobel Prizes, honors discoveries in science and technology that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."

Past winners include: Mayu Yamamoto of the International Medical Center of Japan who invented a way to extract vanilla fragrance and flavoring from cow dung; an Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, who invented a chemical weapon that when dropped causes heterosexual men to become attracted to each other; and Howard Stapleton for his so-called electromechanical teenager repellent device that produces a sound audible only to those 30 or younger.

The Annals of Improbable Research journal, while now available free online will still continue to be offered in a print version "for subscribers who like their electrons blended with protons and neutrons," the publisher said in a statement.

No doubt the first of many....

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/12/the-year-in-thr.html

THREAT LEVEL's Year in Review -- 2007

By Kevin Poulsen EmailDecember 27, 2007 | 5:34:32 PM

Hard to kill, but they keep trying.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071227/lath028.html?.v=101

SCO Receives Nasdaq Notice Letter

Thursday December 27, 1:24 am ET

LINDON, Utah, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The SCO Group, Inc. ("SCO") (Nasdaq: SCOX - News), a leading provider of UNIX® software technology and mobile services, today announced that it received a Nasdaq Staff Determination letter on December 21, 2007 indicating that as a result of having filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has determined to delist the company's securities from the Nasdaq Stock Market and will suspend trading of the securities effective at the open of business on Thursday, December 27, 2007.