.

Proof that ID theft can work in both directions, not just US data being used overseas. Strange that only US citizens are being hit – does this suggest a reverse discrimination or are UAE cards flagged in some way that protects them?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080904144224447

Hackers break into UAE credit network to fund US purchases

Thursday, September 04 2008 @ 02:42 PM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

An international investigation is under way to find hackers believed to have stolen information from financial servers in the UAE to make fraudulent credit and debit card purchases in the US.

The scheme came to light after a number of employees at the US Embassy – and a handful of other US citizens – had unauthorised purchases show up on their credit and debit cards in recent months, prompting the embassy to issue a warning on its website.

Source - The National

What does this suggest? Google just didn't make an effort to review the EULA earlier? See if they squawk and if so we'll change it?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080904144439922

Google changes Chrome EULA over privacy concerns

Thursday, September 04 2008 @ 02:44 PM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Within seconds of me posting about privacy concerns and other fixes in Chrome, I discovered that Google has now removed the clause where that said they could look under your bed, run DNA tests on your spouse, and inspect behind the ears of your kids after a bath. Or maybe it was just something about: they could collect and store you private data and re-distribute it.

I obviously know my posts had nothing to do with it, or that these other stories elicited much of a response. I do suspect that a debate on Slashdot fueled some speculation at Google about how much information the company can collect about you and your online travails.

Source - Computerworld

Apparently Pogo has been doing some reading. Here are the articles I'll probably read (more on their website.)

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905052010424

Article: The Rise and Fall of Invasive ISP Surveillance.

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:20 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews Internet & Computers

Ohm, Paul,The Rise and Fall of Invasive ISP Surveillance(August 30, 2008).

Free full-text article available for download here

Related. Wired picked up on this one too..

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/isps-will-all-s.html

ISPs Will All Spy on Their Customers, Professor Warns

By Ryan Singel September 04, 2008 8:27:20 PM

If there's a candidate for the worst future violator of your privacy, look no further than the company you pay for broadband.

So says University of Colorado law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Ohm, who argues in a new article that ISPs have the means, motive and opportunity to kill your online privacy.

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905054156585

Article: Facebook and the Social Dynamics of Privacy

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:41 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Full-text article available for free download from SSRN

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905054327556

Article: Engineering Privacy

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:43 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Full-text article available for free download from SSRN

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905054722166

Article: Regulation of Converged Communications Surveillance

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:47 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Full-text article available for free download from SSRN

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905055054455

Book Review: Do We Need a New Fourth Amendment?

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:50 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Full-text article available for free download from SSRN

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905055355984

Article: Outrageous Invasions: The Defamation and Harassment Surrounding Media Invasion of Celebrities' Private Lives

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 05:53 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

Source - SSRN

Complexity wrapped in obscurity based on technology.

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/019235.html

September 04, 2008

New on LLRX.com - E-Discovery Update: Producing Spreadsheets in Discovery

E-Discovery Update: Producing Spreadsheets in Discovery – 2008

• In spite of great financial investment to produce these documents in a way that satisfies competing litigation needs of authenticity and full native functionality, litigants continue to disagree on a production format for these documents, according to Conrad J. Jacoby.

There seems to be a trend to adopt “industry standard” security guidelines as state law. This is simply another example. Are legislatures going to far in order to be seen “doing something?”

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080904144034474

'I'll be back': Vetoed data breach bill goes to Schwarzenegger again

Thursday, September 04 2008 @ 02:40 PM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

An amended version of a closely watched data breach bill that was vetoed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last October is once again headed to his desk for approval.

The bill — known as the Consumer Data Protection Act, or AB 1656 (download PDF) — basically would require retailers that accept payment card transactions to take specific precautions for protecting cardholder data and disclose more details about data breaches to consumers affected by them. But an earlier provision that would have required retailers to reimburse financial institutions for the costs involved in replacing credit and debit cards compromised in breaches has been dropped.

Source - Computerworld

Redefining “unlimited”

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/04/221228&from=rss

Comcast Appeals FCC's Net Neutrality Ruling

Posted by timothy on Thursday September 04, @06:12PM from the makes-one-long-for-tin-cans-and-string dept. The Internet The Courts

Ian Lamont writes

"Comcast has filed a court appeal of an FCC ruling that says the company can't delay peer-to-peer traffic on its network because it violates FCC net neutrality principles. A Comcast VP said the FCC ruling is 'legally inappropriate,' but said it will abide by the order during the appeal while moving forward with its plan to cap data transfers at 250 GB per month."

This is the first ruling of its kind? Sounds obvious to me!

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080904105813456

No 'Legitimate' Privacy Expectation in Data on Office Computer, Court Says

Thursday, September 04 2008 @ 10:58 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

An employee has no reasonable expectation of privacy in personal files stored on a company-owned computer and an employer's consent makes a police search lawful, an appeals court says in a ruling of first impression in New Jersey.

The Aug. 29 ruling affirms a former bookkeeper's conviction of stealing over $650,000 in electronic fund transfers, records of which were found through warrantless searches of the laptop and desktop computers he used at work.

"We conclude ... that neither the law nor society recognize as legitimate defendant's subjective expectation of privacy in a workplace computer he used to commit a crime," Judge Marie Simonelli wrote for the three-judge panel in State v. M.A., A-4922-06.

Source - Law.com

[From the article:

Attorney General Anne Milgram's spokesman, Peter Aseltine, says she is pleased the court recognized that there is no expectation of privacy in criminal matters, just as there is none in civil matters. "That ruling was compelled under the particular facts of this case," he says. "[T]he defendant had been advised the computers were company property, the computers were connected to the company's network system and the defendant's office was never closed or locked."

Related?

Also “obvious” but not clearly defined?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080905060958753

Judge Shielding IDs of Online News Commenters

Friday, September 05 2008 @ 06:09 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews

A Montana state judge is ruling that the identities of anonymous commenters posted on news sites are protected by a state's media shield law.

While Wednesday's decision does not carry legal weight with other judges across the United States, media lawyers said Thursday they believed it was the first ruling of its kind.

Source - Threat Level blog

I watch what satellite capabilities are mentioned online, no matter how bizzare.

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/05/1157243&from=rss

Shadow Analysis Could Spot Terrorists

Posted by kdawson on Friday September 05, @08:24AM from the made-in-the-shade dept. Privacy

Hugh Pickens writes

"An engineer at Jet Propulsion Labs says it should be possible to identify people from the way they walk — a technique called gait analysis, whose power lies in the fact that a person's walking style is very hard to disguise. Adrian Stoica has written software that recognizes human movement in aerial and satellite video footage by isolating moving shadows and using data on the time of day and the camera angle to correct shadows that are elongated or foreshortened. In tests on footage shot from the sixth floor of a building, [Is this truly comparable to satellite resolution? Wow! Bob] Stoica says his software was indeed able to extract useful gait data. Extending the idea to satellites could prove trickier, though. Space imaging expert Bhupendra Jasani at King's College London says geostationary satellites simply don't have the resolution to provide useful detail. [Spy satellites are not geostationary. Bob] 'I find it hard to believe they could apply this technique from space,' says Jasani."

Comments on the article speculate on the maximum resolution possible from KH-11 and KH-12 spy satellites.

...and for simple satellite watching...

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/05/1231228&from=rss

Every Satellite Tracked In Realtime Via Google Earth

Posted by kdawson on Friday September 05, @09:12AM from the bejeweled-coterie dept. Space Earth

Matt Amato writes

"With the recent discussion of the ISS having to dodge some space junk, many people's attention has once again focused on the amount of stuff in orbit around our planet. What many people don't know is that USSTRATCOM tracks and publishes a list of over 13,000 objects that they currently monitor, including active/retired satellites and debris. This data is meaningless to most people, but thanks to Analytical Graphics, it has now been made accessible free of charge to anyone with a copy of Google Earth. By grabbing the KMZ, you can not only view all objects tracked in real-time, but you can also click on them to get more information on the specific satellite, including viewing it's orbit trajectory. It's an excellent educational tool for the space-curious. Disclaimer: I not only work for Analytical Graphics, but I'm the one that wrote this tool as a demo."