http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081116063016945
Security breach upsets UF clients (commentary)
Sunday, November 16 2008 @ 06:30 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
An article in The Gainesville Sun by Nathan Crabbe contains some interesting figures that shows us -- yet again -- how little we find out about. -- Dissent
[...]
[University of Florida] records show 15 privacy breaches occurred in the year prior to the latest incident. They range in size from a prospective student's UF application that was accidentally viewed by another applicant to the posting of more than 11,500 students' personal information on a Web site.
While data security breaches are common for all institutions, universities comprise fewer than 5 percent of those incidents, said Rodney Petersen, security task force coordinator for Educause. The nonprofit promotes the intelligent use of information technology in higher education.
Petersen said three to five incidents in the last couple years is a typical number for a large university.
Source - The Gainesville Sun
GPS on trial? More like bad personnel procedures, and violation of the Union agreement.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081115093808160
Firing based on faulty data, ex-city employee's lawsuit says
Saturday, November 15 2008 @ 09:38 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
A former Fremont maintenance worker has filed suit against the city charging that his firing was based on faulty data from a Global Positioning System device that had been installed in his city vehicle to track his whereabouts.
The city fired Jim Dunn last year claiming that he wasn't working nearly half of the time he was on the job, according to Dunn's complaint filed in Alameda County Superior Court.
However, Dunn, who suffers from diabetes and previously had been diagnosed with sleep apnea, contends the GPS data compiled by the city is flawed.
The complaint also contends that Fremont has targeted older workers and those with medical conditions for GPS surveillance and subsequent discipline, although it offers no examples other than Dunn's case.
City officials wouldn't comment on the lawsuit, which was filed last month.
Source - InsideBayArea.com
Not clear from the article if the tax preparer provided the social security numbers...
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081115093238103
CO: Weld officials claim 1,338 ID theft cases
Saturday, November 15 2008 @ 09:32 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Weld County authorities say they have uncovered 1,338 possible cases of identity theft by illegal immigrants after seizing records from a Greeley-based tax preparer.
The tax records were for 2006 and 2007 and were suspected of containing false or stolen identity information.
Source - reporterherald.com
Attention White Hat Hackers! (Would they be willing to provide the raw data from their logs if my attorney asked politely? It would make for an interesting handout in the Security classes...)
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/15/1413247&from=rss
$1M Reward Offered To Nab Data Breach Extortionist
Posted by Soulskill on Saturday November 15, @10:17AM from the i've-seen-this-it's-gary-sinise-send-me-a-check dept. Security Businesses The Almighty Buck
alphadogg writes with this excerpt from NetworkWorld:
"Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefits management company which recently disclosed an extortionist is demanding money by threatening to expose millions of patient records the company holds, Wednesday said it has decided to offer $1 million to nab the perpetrator. 'We're going on the offense with this reward,' an Express Scripts spokesman said. The $1 million will be paid to anyone who provides information leading to the capture and conviction of the extortionist who sent a letter to Express Scripts in early October that contained personal information on 75 people, considered members, who use the company's pharmacy-benefits services. The extortionist claims to have information on millions more Express Scripts members and wants money to not reveal it."
[Note: One comment suggests the extortionist could load his files on someone else's computer, then rat him out for the reward! (He may have used someone else's computer in the first place.) Bob]
An interesting (and obvious-in-retrosprct) use of the Internet. I'm suprized that the TV networks (or any news organization) is not doing something similar – but perhaps they are concentrating too much on the entertainment side...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web20/crisiswire-com-crisis-information-in-real-time
CrisisWire.com - Crisis Information In Real-time
As its name suggests, CrisisWire is an online resource that gathers together information about crises of all denomination that are affecting the country. This information is actually presented in real-time so that you know that by checking the site you are abreast of the latest developments as regards any emergency that arises. This is most useful if you have friends or relatives in the close vicinity of any of these locations, and wish to know the way things are shaping up.
The site has just been launched, and so far the one crisis that is featured is the Santa Barbara fires. Whenever any other situation arises, the same will be aggregated so that citizens from all over the nation can stay updated and see if there is a way they can help and alleviate the situation in any way.
Moreover, links to sites such as the RedCross portal are provide along with the telephone numbers that you should always bear in mind to request professional assistance in such situations. Official Twitter feeds are likewise included for further reference.
Supression of facts v. the Streisand Effect?
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/15/1944211&from=rss
Politician Forces German Wikipedia Off the Net
Posted by kdawson on Saturday November 15, @05:51PM from the inconvenient-truth dept. Censorship The Internet
Stephan Schulz writes
"A German Member of parliament for a left-wing party, Lutz Heilmann, has obtained a preliminary injunction against the local chapter of the Wikimedia foundation, Wikimedia Deutschland e.V., forbidding the forwarding of the popular http://wikipedia.de to the proper http://de.wikipedia.org. Apparently Heilmann is not happy with the fact that his Wikipedia article (English version) contains information on his work for the former GDR Stasi, the much-hated internal secret service. Wikimedia Germany displays a page explaining the situation, and has announced that it will file an objection to get the injunction lifted. The German Wikipedia has more than 800,000 pages, and is hosted, like all Wikimedia projects, by the Florida-based Wikimedia Foundation, and hence beyond the effective reach of at least German politicians and judges."
Suspicions confirmed!
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20081115093404346
Survey: Employee Data More Vulnerable Than Constituent Data
Saturday, November 15 2008 @ 09:34 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Personal information about employees is more than twice as likely to be compromised in government security breaches than is constituent data, according to an online survey released by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The survey also found that most governments don't keep accurate inventories of where their data is stored in their organization.
PwC, in partnership with CIO and CSO magazines, conducted the Global State of Information Security 2008 survey from March 25 to June 26, 2008. It included more than 7,000 CEOs, chief financial officers, CIOs, chief security officers and other high-level respondents from 119 countries via e-mail. Five hundred fifty-three came from the public sector, but PwC would not disclose how many came from U.S. government.
Forty-two percent of the public-sector respondents reported that employee data was more likely to be impacted by security breaches than constituent data. Only 19 percent reported otherwise.
Source - Government Technology
[Links:
PwC white paper on survey findings: Safeguarding the new currency of business (125kb)
Interesting. I didn't know so many people were impersonating me!
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/usernamecheck-com-check-your-username
UsernameCheck.com - Check Your Username
A simple service that might nonetheless come in handy sometime, the suitably-titled UsernameCheck will let you find out where is your username registered in a more or less instant way.
The programmer himself claims that he concocted this service to answer a recurrent question: “Do I have my username registered across every site that I should?”. That is a valid question, because how would you feel if the next Internet humiliation that comes along happens to share the same username that you have been using since the dawn of the web? That would mean that all of a sudden you will be bombarded with e-mails asking “Is that you?”, and your credibility has gone out the window.
This site, then, will let you check where you username is registered just by supplying it and hitting the “check” button. A service by service rundown is then carried out, and you will then find out whether your back is covered or not.
The future of computers? (At least one step in their evolution...)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/15/1813229&from=rss
Plastic Logic E-Newspaper
Posted by kdawson on Saturday November 15, @03:39PM from the getting-there dept.
Ostracus writes with news of another contender for a next-gen device suitable for displaying a newspaper page. It's very thin but weighs a bit more than a Kindle.
"Plastic Logic, a spin-off company from the Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory, has recently released its design of a future electronic newspaper reader. This lightweight plastic screen copies the appearance, but not the feel, of a printed newspaper. This electronic paper technology was pioneered by the E-Ink Corporation and is used in the current generation Sony eReader and Amazon.com's Kindle. Plastic Logic's device, yet to be named, has a highly legible black-and-white display and a screen more than twice as large compared to current versions available on the market."
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/15/1636209&from=rss
Success Not Just a Matter of Talent
Posted by Soulskill on Saturday November 15, @12:22PM from the ninety-nine-percent-something-something dept. Businesses Education Technology
NinjaCoder writes
"The Guardian has an interesting article based on a new book (Outliers: The Story Of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell) which examines some persons of interest to computer technology (Bill Joy, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, amongst others). It examines reasons for their successes and strongly suggests a link between practice (10,000 hours by age 20 being the magic milestone) and luck. This maybe an obvious truism, but the article does give interesting anecdotes on how their personal circumstances led to today's technological landscape. It points out that many of the luminaries of the current tech industry were born around 1955, and thus able to take advantage of the emerging technologies.
Geeky Hacker stuff
http://digg.com/microsoft/Useful_Tools_to_Bring_Power_to_the_RightClick_Menu_Windows
Useful Tools to Bring Power to the RightClick Menu [Windows]
makeuseof.com — Who doesn ’t love a shortcut? Thanks to the guy who programmed in the right click menu, we get to take some of them while working or browsing on the computer. Here at MakeUseOf we have looked at some of the ways to add more power to the right click menu.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-more-tools-to-bring-power-to-the-right-click-menu-windows/
In the battle of the sexes, there are some books that a male should NEVER recommend to a female!
http://digg.com/gaming_news/How_to_Condescend_to_Women_About_Technology_the_Book
How to Condescend to Women About Technology, the Book
heartlessdoll.com — According to its press release, this is a book that "shows every woman how to sort out the complicated world of technology. Whether she's buying a computer, shopping for a cell phone, trolling electronics aisles, or simply surfing the Internet, How to Be a Geek Goddess makes sense of it all with wit, intelligence, and attitude."
http://www.heartlessdoll.com/2008/11/how_to_condescend_to_women_about_technology_the_bo.php
There is hope for us old dogs!
Elderly dogs to be offered genetic enhancement to make them young again
Frail elderly dogs could be injected with genes which allow them to run around like puppies, with technology which could be approved by next year.
Simon Hart and Laura Donnelly Last Updated: 12:09AM GMT 16 Nov 2008
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