Interesting procedure for keeping data safe...
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080822055402824
UK: Data on 130,000 criminals lost
Friday, August 22 2008 @ 05:54 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Confidential information on almost 130,000 prisoners and dangerous criminals has been lost by the Home Office, sparking yet another Government data crisis.
.... A Home Office spokesman said that the memory stick had been lost by PA Consulting, a private company they employed to track and analyse serious and prolific offenders in the "JTrack" programme. The Home Office sent the personal details on the criminals to the company on a secure encrypted email, which was then transferred in an unencrypted form on to the memory stick, which was then lost.
Source - Telegraph
[From the article:
The loss of the details, which were stored on an unencypted computer memory stick, has raised fears that the taxpayer may now face a multi-million pound compensation bill from criminals whose safety may have been compromised and police informants who could be at risk of reprisals.
Related: Big Brother loves you!
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/22/0343217&from=rss
UK Gov't Lost Personal Data On 4M People In One Year
Posted by timothy on Friday August 22, @04:36AM from the of-which-they-are-aware dept. Privacy Data Storage Databases Government
An anonymous reader writes
"The U.K. government has lost the personal information of up to four million citizens in one year alone. The astonishing figures, calculated by the BBC, added up as Whitehall departments slowly released their annual reports for the year to April. And the trend has not stopped — in the latest revelation, HM Revenue Customs, which infamously lost the details of 25 million child benefits claimants last November on two unencrypted discs, experienced 1,993 data breaches between 1 October last year and 24 June."
(More below.)
They must be following some pre-breach script. Perhaps they should THINK before mouthing platitudes?
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080822060141700
Cost Plus reports breach in security
Friday, August 22 2008 @ 06:01 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Cost Plus World Market got the first hint of trouble in mid-June when two employees reported unauthorized transactions on their debit card accounts.
By early July, bank card companies and other financial institutions were reporting a spate of fraudulent debit card transactions linked to several of the Oakland-based company's Southern California stores, including three in San Diego.
Cost Plus, a retailer of food, wine and furniture, began alerting customers July 22 that the debit card PIN pads at select stores had been tampered with between February and April. As a result, an unknown number of account numbers and PINs were hijacked, according to the company.
“We have now identified 11 stores,” Cost Plus spokesman Ronald Low said yesterday. “We believe this is an isolated incident involving a very small number of stores over a specific period of time.”
Source - SignOnSanDiego
[From the article:
There have been no reports of any credit card fraud associated with the incident, he said. [Except the fraud they reported in paragraphs one and two. Why didn't the reporters notice this? Bob]
... “Cost Plus is working with its bank and with the payment card companies to ensure that affected customers are identified in a timely manner,” Low said.
... Law said the company is working with law enforcement officials to identify those involved in the crime. [Translation: We have no record of customer payments... Bob]
... Cost Plus has now changed its point-of-sale procedures and has begun replacing the PIN pad devices throughout all of its 300 stores nationwide, Low said. That process will be completed by the end of this month. [A “rush” security upgrade is cheaper than allowing the fraud to continue? Interesting. Bob]
The flip side of Identity Theft – one group of 'end users' (If “guest workers” come to the US, could we “rent” them our SSANs for the increased retirement benefits?)
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080822065544534
Agriprocessors identity theft puts data of 230-plus at risk
Friday, August 22 2008 @ 06:55 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
The Social Security numbers used to employ illegal immigrants at Postville's meatpacking plant were stolen from people in at least 25 states, including two people from Iowa, and from 38 people who are dead, an analysis by The Des Moines Register shows.
The identity theft exposed during the federal raid at Agriprocessors Inc. may have imperiled the private information of more than 230 citizens and lawful immigrants whose Social Security or resident alien numbers were used by the illegal workers.
One federal official declined to say whether victims of the identity theft had been notified. Another said immigration officials generally do not notify victims. [Well, that clears that up! Bob]
Source - Des Moines Register
Xenophobia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/20/uksecurity.terrorism1
MI5 report challenges views on terrorism in Britain
Exclusive: Sophisticated analysis says there is no single pathway to violent extremism
Alan Travis, home affairs editor The Guardian, Thursday August 21 2008
If we don't get the answers we like we might 'counsel' the parents (or we could ignore the whole thing and just party on our grant money.)
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080822060528729
School officials ponder privacy issues involving section of Healthy Youth Survey
Friday, August 22 2008 @ 06:05 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Substance abuse prevention groups in Cowlitz County are asking for more in-depth screening on students attitudes on drugs, alcohol and smoking.
Since 2004, students in all Cowlitz County school districts have been taken the Healthy Youth Survey every other year to provide substance prevention groups with information. Districts have had the option to tear off a sheet with more detailed and personal questions, but prevention groups say federal programs are requiring them to get answers to those questions to qualify for grants.
Source - TDN
[From the article:
Questions for elementary school students
• Do your parents give you lots of chances to do fun things?
• Do you enjoy spending time with your mother? Father?
• If you had a personal problem, could you ask mom or dad for help?
• How often do your parents tell you they are proud of something you have done?
For middle and high school students only
• Does your family have clear rules about alcohol and drug use?
• Would your parents know if you did not come home on time?
• If you carried a handgun without your parents’ permission, would you be caught by them?
• How wrong do your parents feel it would be for you to drink beer? Wine? Hard liquor? Smoke cigarettes? Smoke marijuana?
• If you skipped school, would you be caught by your parents?
“We'd like to instill a 'copyright phobia' in the youth of America.”
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/nonprofit-distr.html
Nonprofit Distributes File Sharing Propaganda to 50,000 U.S. Students
By David Kravets August 21, 2008 | 6:06:37 PM
We're referring to an educational comic strip (fat .pdf) on unlawful file sharing of music developed by judges and professors to teach students about the law and the courtroom experience.
It was produced by the National Center for State Courts, a nonprofit describing itself as an "organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to court systems in the United States."
But the story line here is a miscarriage of justice at best -- even erroneously describing file sharing as a city crime punishable by up to two years in prison.
Related? Non-profits are not the only ones re-inventing the law.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080822061934328
Comments of the World Privacy Forum regarding the Border Crossing Information System
Friday, August 22 2008 @ 06:19 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
The World Privacy Forum submitted public comments today to the Department of Homeland Security regarding its proposed Border Crossing Information System. The BCI system would set up a database of all border crossings via car, rail, air and other means, including collecting identifiable data on the activities of American citizens. Information collected includes biographical and other information such as name, date of birth, gender, a photograph, itinerary information, and the time and location of the border crossing. The WPF comments focus entirely on the proposed Routine Uses of the system. As currently written, the DHS proposal contains some Routine Uses that directly contravene the Privacy Act of 1974 and are illegal. Other Routine Uses are overbroad and vague, and still others contravene guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). One example of an overbroad Routine Use is Routine Use J, which will allow DHS to release data collected for the Border Crossing Information System for hiring decisions or contract awards. This information may be requested by Federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or international agencies. Another Routine Use, G, impermissibly duplicates and weakens the Privacy Act's condition of requirement for notice when information is disclosed in certain circumstances.
Source - WPF Comments [pdf]
An industry out of control? “We can change our Privacy Policy at any time (or ignore it completely) and if we sell you “unlimited high-speed Internet access” we can substitute “limited low-speed” whenever we want.”
A regulatory body that won't? No fine, no audits, just make you customer abuse “fair.”
Comcast to slow down heaviest 'Net users to DSL speeds
By Nate Anderson Published: August 21, 2008 - 11:43AM CT
The FCC yesterday issued its Order officially directing Comcast to stop using its current P2P-focused delaying technology to relieve network congestion. The company has until the end of the year to switch to a new throttling system that doesn't discriminate based on protocol, and Comcast is now offering more details about how it will do this. Heavy Comcast Internet users: prepare to be deprioritized.
“Hey! Comcast got away with it! That means we can too!”
Verizon: we need freedom to delay P2P traffic when necessary
By Nate Anderson | Published: August 21, 2008 - 05:10AM CT
... Lynch laid out Verizon's view on the matter: time-sensitive packets like VoIP should be prioritized over less-sensitive packets like P2P, but the company remains committed to "deliver any and all data requested by our customers." [...eventually. Bob]
I like guides. Sometimes I can even understand them!
Legal group releases guide to GPL compliance
Software Freedom Law Center says most GPL compliance violations stem from a few common mistakes that can be easily avoided
By Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service August 21, 2008
Something to tease my website students... (Never underestimate the power of cute! )
A Small Empire Built on Cuddly and Fuzzy Branches Out From the Web
By DAN MITCHELL Published: August 19, 2008
... Stranger still, the birth of Cute Overload was almost purely accidental. Meg Frost, a 36-year-old design manager at Apple, started cuteoverload.com three years ago to test Web software. Within months, it became an online institution, drawing about 88,000 unique visitors a day — about the same as the political gossip blog Wonkette.
... Viewers send her about 100 submissions a day, and in doing so, grant her full republishing rights, she said. Ms. Frost is free to reuse the photos as she pleases. The calendar’s success may be just the beginning. She hints at other projects, possibly including a video channel. [Quick! Lock up CutePuppy.com! Can we patent cuteness? Bob]
... According to Blogads, a “premium” ad on Cute Overload costs about $2,000 a week, with an estimated 808,000 page views.
The site also offers “standard” ads for $500 a week. Those are taken up mostly by small companies serving what might be called the “cute market.” Sublime Stitching, for example, sells “cute embroidery patterns,” like “Forest Friends,” while Shanalogic offers clothing and accessories emblazoned with cute imagery.
According to Blogads, there are nine “standard” ads currently running on Cute Overload. [Nine times $500... Not too shabby. Bob]
... It is all about niches and demographics, said Henry Copeland, founder of Blogads. The audience is overwhelmingly female and between 18 and 34. “For these women,” he said, “recently graduated from college and sitting in grim corporate America, Cute puts them in touch with their nonwork selves. It’s escapism.”
Hacking for fun and profit! (Sure to complicate those patent applications?)
http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/justhackit-com-hackers-come-together
JustHackIt.com - Hackers Come Together
Justhackit.com is a website on which hackers can come up with hacking projects and present them to their friends and peers. This will allow hackers from around the world to hack their way to a new friendship. If you have an idea, you’ll be able to submit it. If people find it interesting, your idea will be ranked higher. The higher an idea is ranked, the higher are the chances that it’ll get done by someone. Creative hackers will also be able to post ideas for new start ups, in order for investor to find them and start doing business. The ideas on the site range from simple startups to really complicated ideas that if put to work, could really change the way the internet is used. All in all, this site could be a place for investors to find the next Bill Gates.
http://justhackit.slinkset.com/
Interesting, but with many shortcomings. Be sure to watch the video! (And the site was overloaded!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/technology/personaltech/21pogue.html
From Snapshots, a 3-D View
By DAVID POGUE Published: August 21, 2008
... Wednesday, Microsoft introduced yet another way to represent a place: Photosynth. This sophisticated technology does a simple thing. It turns a bunch of overlapping photos into a 3-D panorama.
http://mslabs-086.vo.llnwd.net/d5/oss/index.html
Global Warming! Global Warming!
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/21/2316252&from=rss
2008 Is the Coldest Year of the 21st Century
Posted by timothy on Thursday August 21, @08:20PM from the problem-with-complexity-is-all-the-complexity dept. Earth Science
dtjohnson writes
"Data from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office suggests that 2008 will be an unusually cold year due to the La Nina effect in the western Pacific ocean. Not to worry, though, as the La Nina effect has faded recently so its effect on next years temperatures will be reduced. However, another natural cycle, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, is predicted to hold global temperatures steady for the next decade before global warming takes our planet into new warmth. If these predictions are correct, there must be a lot of planetary heat being stored away somewhere ... unless the heat output from the sun is decreasing rather than increasing or the heat being absorbed by the earth is decreasing due to changes in the earth's albedo."
Dilbert hate PowerPoint! (or perhaps bad PowerPointers)
No comments:
Post a Comment