Medical ID theft is the new black.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080210130455236
Computer stolen from Administrative Systems, Inc. contained sensitive personal information
Sunday, February 10 2008 @ 01:43 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches
A desktop computer stolen from an Administrative Systems, Inc. (ASI) office in Seattle on December 29th contained names and sensitive information about customers or employees of several of the firm's clients: Continental American Medical, EyeMed Vision/Kelly Services Vision, and Jefferson Pilot Financial Dental.
ASI provides third party administrative services to insurance and financial firms, such as processing employee applications for insurance coverage, issuing of insurance plans and employee certificates, managing premium billing and collection for insurance plans, responding to customer service requests and other record-keeping functions.
Individuals who were affected by the theft were notified by letter on February 9th.
According to a web site created to provide some information and resources about the incident, personal details may have included name, date of birth, mailing address, and Social Security number, depending on the service being provided. According to ASI, information on the stolen computer did not include credit card information or driver’s license numbers.
In its notification letter, ASI did not indicate whether the data were encrypted nor why it took over a month for individuals to be notified of the theft, but the letter signed by William J. Hill, President of Administrative Systems, Inc., noted that "We have tightened our security measures to provide greater protection for the information we maintain and are working closely with local authorities to minimize future risks."
Great thanks to Joanne Solliday for alerting us to this incident.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080210084304795
(follow-up) Davidson Co.'s security breach reminds that personal data isn't as safe as we'd like
Sunday, February 10 2008 @ 08:43 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches
PogoWasRight.org note: included in news because it gives a glimpse of handling the aftermath and keeping good will...
... Most of Davidson Companies' financial consultants have made contact with a majority of their clients so they can answer questions about the breach.
The Great Falls-based financial services company also set up two call centers, which have handled more than 15,000 calls since news of the breach was released Jan. 29, Burchard wrote.
The call center is staffed with about 60 Davidson employees from various parts of the Great Falls operations.
"Our Great Falls center has done an outstanding job in answering client questions and providing special assistance to out clients and former clients who need it," Burchard wrote. "We know this because of the many favorable comments we have received."
Davidson Companies initially offered affected clients a one-year enrollment in a credit-monitoring service, but have since changed that to two years
Source - Great Falls Tribune
[From the article:
The No. 1 cause of security breaches isn't hackers, Smith said.
"It's lost stuff."
Because...
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=2008021107500173
Data “Dysprotection:” breaches reported last week
Monday, February 11 2008 @ 07:55 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches
A recap of incidents or privacy breaches reported last week for those who enjoy shaking their head and muttering to themselves with their morning coffee.
Source - Chronicles of Dissent
Good business model? Bad ethics?
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/11/0159238&from=rss
Security Research and Blackmail
Posted by kdawson on Sunday February 10, @10:36PM from the pay-to-play dept.
harryjohnston alerts us to a story picked up by a few bloggers in the security space. A Russian security research company, Gleg, has discovered a zero-day in the latest version of RealPlayer 11. But they won't reveal details to Real, or to CERT, despite repeated requests. Details are available only to their clients who pay a lot of money for early access to such knowledge. To describe Gleg's business model Daniweb rather cautiously puts forward the word "blackmail." The story was first exposed in Ryan Nariane's Securitywach blog.
I don't know if I trust these yet...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/SignOncom---Login-Service-for-the-Internet/
SignOn.com - Login Service for the Internet
SignOn is an identity management service. It allows users to easily log into OpenID enabled websites with one unique identifier—something along the lines of jill.signon.com. Thus your URL becomes your sign on. The site goes further in offering information cards—essentially digitized versions of those in your wallet. These are stored on your computer; one card works with multiple sites. The cards are grouped by an Identity Selector, software which allows you to created and organize all your Information cards. It’s free to install. Creating a card requires that you fill in your name and email address and register it on your account. Once that’s done, it will be attached to your Signon account. Additionally, you’ll be given an optional public profile which can be ended and adjusted among with settings on your account page.
Is this a trend? (Baen has been doing this for years with apparent success.
HarperCollins Will Post Free Books on the Web
By MOTOKO RICH February 11, 2008
In an attempt to increase book sales, HarperCollins Publishers will begin offering free electronic editions of some of its books on its Web site, including a novel by Paulo Coelho and a cookbook by the Food Network star Robert Irvine.
The idea is to give readers the opportunity to sample the books online in the same way that prospective buyers can flip through books in a bookstore.
“It’s like taking the shrink wrap off a book,” said Jane Friedman, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide. “The best way to sell books is to have the consumer be able to read some of that content.”
Starting Monday, readers who log on to www.harpercollins.com will be able to see the entire contents of “The Witch of Portobello” by Mr. Coelho; “Mission: Cook! My Life, My Recipes and Making the Impossible Easy” by Mr. Irvine; “I Dream in Blue: Life, Death and the New York Giants” by Roger Director; “The Undecided Voter’s Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come from and How You Can Choose” by Mark Halperin; and “Warriors: Into the Wild” the first volume in a children’s series by Erin Hunter.
Mostly SciFi?
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/10/213221&from=rss
Tor Books Is Giving Away E-Books
Posted by kdawson on Sunday February 10, @04:32PM from the what's-not-to-like dept. Books Sci-Fi
stoolpigeon writes "Tor Books is launching a new site and running a campaign in which they are giving away e-books (free as in beer) until the site goes live. To get in on the deal, fill out the form at their site, and each week you will receive a newsletter containing links to download a new book. The first two books are Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson followed by Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Scalzi's site says: 'My understanding is that they don't have DRM on them. Or at least, mine isn't supposed to have, and I don't think they're planning mine to be special in that regard.'"
How it used-to-was
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/n/nietz/
Full-Text Collection
The Full-Text Collection contains 140 schoolbooks from the Nietz Old Textbook Collection.
For my web site students...
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/index.php/2008/01/31/10-principles-of-effective-web-design/
10 Principles Of Effective Web Design
January 31st, 2008
for my surg.tech students
http://www.killerstartups.com/Video-Music-Photo/ICYoucom---Youtube-for-Healthcare/
ICYou.com - Youtube for Healthcare
ICYou. Think hospital wards, think videos. ICYou is a video site focusing on healthcare. The site fulfills the role of support group, medical advisor, lifestyle guru, entertainer and inspirational life coach. Topics neatly categorized on your left hand side range from aging and blood disorders to organ transplants and wellness. You’ll find doctors discussing eye conditions, bypass surgery and diet; there are boy bands talking about living with diabetes. There are cancer survivors giving others hope. Videos are grouped as either Patients and People, Doctors and Experts or News Reports. A tag cloud displays popular topics. Users can upload videos, comment, and lend support.
I can think of a few people who deserve one of these...
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/017457.html
February 10, 2008
Connecticut Farmers Selling Dairy Fiber Pot Containers
Audubon Naturalist Society: "Gardeners have long wanted pots made of biogradable and renewable materials. And now, at least for seedling pots, this alternative exists: CowPots™, invented by two Connecticut dairy farmers, are durable fiber pots made of cow poo. So far, though, these odorless pots are only available to us online."
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