“Hey, if we pretend we don't know what is on these computers we can downplay the nastiness of this data spill.” (It's either that or they truly don't know what their employees are doing.)
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080130183924168
CA: Stolen computers may hold hospital billing information
Wednesday, January 30 2008 @ 06:39 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches
... PHNS, a Texas-based insurance-billing firm that handles business operations for Tuolumne General Medical Facility, formerly Tuolumne General Hospital, under contract with the county, said up to 200,000 people, most in California, may be affected..... The theft of four laptop computers and a desktop computer late last year at a PHNS office in Cerritos spurred the warning.
... Authorities have recovered two of the computers. Schunder said company computer experts determined neither of the computers' information had been breached.
Billing information, not patient information, like medical records, was stored on the computers.
Neither of the computers recovered had Social Security numbers on them, Schunder said. He was uncertain if the other machines did, but said the information would have been hidden through encryption. [Good to hear... Bob]
Source - Union Democrat
[From the article:
Nearly 800 former and present Tuolumne General medical customers should receive letters by this week informing them their billing information may have fallen into the hands of thieves. [Shouldn't they notify all 200,000? Bob]
... The investigation delayed an immediate announcement about the thefts, said Larry Schunder, president of PHNS's business process outsourcing division. [Why? Didn't the thieves know they had stolen the computers? What purpose could it possibly serve? Bob]
What happens when a Company is the victim of ID Theft? (If the money is greater, this may become the crime of choice.)
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080131055027956
Puritan Stone suffers company ID theft
Thursday, January 31 2008 @ 05:50 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Other Privacy News
Operators have been warned to ensure they keep their documentation up to date and can account for all their work after a Flint-based operator contacted CM to say it is the victim of identity theft. Puritan Stone runs seven trucks in the North Wales region, but has been receiving calls and letters from companies in Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Greece asking about loads it is supposed to have delivered.
Bailiffs seeking payment of VAT for transactions on the Continent have also visited Puritan's office in Flint and the company has received a summons to appear in court in Greece in relation to a driver's unpaid wages of €6,000 (£4,450).
Source - Road Transport
Is this more of the same thinking that causes organizations to delay announcing theft of data to “aide the investigation?” What is the real goal here?
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/30/2334250&from=rss
Australian Police Chief Seeks Terror Reporting Ban
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 31, @12:02AM from the ignorance-is-bliss dept. Censorship Government
DJMajah writes "News.com.au reports that Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty has called for a media blackout on reporting of terrorism investigations and cases before trial in a speech to the Sydney Institute last night. Although he doesn't believe public institutions be immune from public accountability, he goes on to say that public discussion should be delayed until information is made available by the courts or legal proceedings are complete. This all comes after last years widely reported case of Dr. Mohammed Haneef who was detained then later deported from Australia on evidence described as weak — and seen by some including Haneef as a conspiracy."
Is this a real reaction (at last) from lawmakers or just 'election year' lip service?
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080130120220959
MD: Tougher penalties, prosecution for ID theft
Wednesday, January 30 2008 @ 12:02 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: State/Local Govt.
... Together with Delegate Susan Lee, I served as co-chairperson of the task force. The panel met six times between Aug. 22 and Dec. 6, 2007 to hear testimony from federal, state and local agencies, business and consumer advocates, law enforcement and citizens who have felt the impact of ID theft.
. Among the task force recommendations, which will be considered by the 2008 session, are proposed laws to:
Increase penalties for felony ID fraud from a maximum of five to 15 years imprisonment and from $25,000 to $50,000 fine
Prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully removing, taking, possessing or receiving mail without the permission of the intended recipient or the United States Postal Service
Make unauthorized possession of credit card skimming or re-encoding devices illegal [No doubt they will grandfather in those who already have these devices – like security managers with door cards. Bob]
Source - Community Times
...and this one? (Once they checked to be sure Tony Soprano wasn't behind it, it became possible to push for an investigation?)
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080130170108988
(follow-up) NJ: Lawmakers call for probe into theft of Blue Cross laptop
Wednesday, January 30 2008 @ 05:01 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches
Several state lawmakers today called for an inquiry into a data breach that exposed the personal information and Social Security numbers of more than 300,000 Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield subscribers contained in a stolen laptop computer.
.... Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) said he would refer the case to the state's inspector general.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Sussex), who sits on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, plans to introduce legislation to force Horizon to pick up any legal costs or damages resulting from any identify theft crimes stemming from negligence in the matter.
Source - NJ.com
Practicing for cyberwar? Is the threat of loss of access to eBay sufficient to keep a country in line?
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/31/037204&from=rss
Millions in Middle East Lose Internet
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 31, @02:54AM from the no-web-for-you dept. The Internet
Shipwack writes "Tens of millions of internet users across the Middle East and Asia have been left without access to the web after a technical fault cut millions of connections. The outage, which is being blamed on a fault in a single undersea cable, has severely restricted internet access in countries including India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and left huge numbers of people struggling to get online. Observers say that the digital blackout first struck yesterday morning, with the Egypt's communications ministry suggesting it was caused by a cut in a major internet pipeline linking it to Europe."
There are many reports under this link, but I want to ask a question about the first one. If I'm returning from Canada and somehow (large hammer) my RFID tag was damaged, do I become a stateless person? Will I be allowed into the country anyway? Will they provide a replacement document – with functioning RFID tag? If so, how am I different from a terrorist trying to gain entry?
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080130094727982
Dept. of Homeland Security Privacy Impact Assessment Updates
Wednesday, January 30 2008 @ 09:47 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Fed. Govt.
Use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology for Border Crossings, January 22, 2008 (PDF, 25 Pages – 222 KB) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology that is to be used in cross border travel documents to facilitate the land border primary inspection process. A unique number is embedded in an RFID tag which, in turn, is embedded in each cross border travel document. At the border, the unique number is read wirelessly by CBP and then forwarded through a secured data circuit to back-end computer systems. The back-end systems use the unique number to retrieve personally identifiable information about the traveler. This information is sent to the CBP Officer to assist in the authentication of the identity of the traveler and to facilitate the land border primary inspection process. Multiple border crossing programs use or plan to take advantage of CBP's vicinity RFID-reader enabled border crossing functionality including CBP's own trusted traveler programs, the pending Department of State's (DoS) Passport Card, the Mexican Border Crossing Card, the proposed Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) offered by various states, tribal enrollment cards that could be developed by various Native American Tribes, and the proposed Enhanced Driver's Licenses being developed within the various provincial authorities in Canada.
...and the problems will likely be in Florida. (Who would you like to win and by how much?)
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/017323.html
January 30, 2008
Experts Respond to Questions On Potential E-Voting Problems and 2008 Election
Stateline.org asked two experts whether states are ready for the 2008 election?
Todd Rokita, Indiana Secretary of State: "States will be ready when voters cast their ballot for our next U.S. president. This will be no small feat given the uncertain landscape they are facing. With presidential primaries beginning in early January, major changes to our electoral system could still happen before November 2008."
Dr. Robert A. Pastor, director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University, Washington, DC.: "While there has been some progress in the five years since passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, most states have not fully implemented, let alone embraced, the reforms needed to restore full confidence in the electoral system. So a number of problems are still likely to occur in this year’s primary and general elections."
Related postings on e-voting
Very cool! I see this expanding to more languages, quickly!
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/CodeIDEcom---You-Too-Can-Code/
CodeIDE.com - You Too Can Code
CodeIDE is a web-based application that lets you code. If you’re not exactly proficient in the language of code, perfect. If you want to learn, but are daunted but the utter un-sexiness of code. No problem. CodeIDE is designed precisely for novices and those in the intermediate range of coding wisdom.. CodeIDE is multilingual; it knows all coding languages and lets you choose whatever language you want to code in be it Basic, or C++, or klingon (well, maybe not so much klingon). Need a little help with code? Chat with fellow coders and get some advice. Sign up and you’ll get access to a wide array of tools and features. There’s even a wiki and forum for you to get informed .
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