Sunday, January 05, 2014

Would they be in a better position to track terrorists if this all happened in India? Or if they were more like the NSA: “We don't need no stinking treaties!”
Naveen Ammembala has a report on DNA of a hack that may or may not have terrorism connections:
Unidentified callers from a West Asian country managed to hack the firewall of an international video conferencing equipment of an IT company in the city, and make calls to Afghanistan.
Police say that the hacking by the West Asia-based callers was obviously an attempt to communicate with their Afghan associates, while avoiding being detected and located. Police are looking at possible terror links, but refuse to make guesses.
Finding who made the calls could be difficult as Indian police are handicapped by the lack of treaties for exchanging information with police forces in many countries, more so in West Asia.
The anonymous callers hacked the phone lines of Sonata Software Limited, situated at Sonata Towers in Global Village in Pattanegere near Kengeri.
Read more on DNA.


So true...
Despite a recent ruling making it harder for plaintiffs to get statutory damages under the California Medical Information Act, lawyers still seem to be eager to file class action lawsuits against California hospitals. Given California’s stricter breach notification requirements, I can almost see why. See this press release recruiting potential plaintiffs or class members as an example of sharks circling in the water should you have a breach. And then ask yourselves again whether maybe it’s time to start encrypting PHI and doing more to prevent laptops with PHI from being stolen from employees’ unattended vehicles…

(Related) Requiring encryption? Probably not.
Kaiser Health News has a roundup of media coverage on the GOP’s intention to propose legislation requiring more security controls for HealthCare.gov. If you’re a supporter of Obamacare, you’ll likely see this as a move to undercut it. But even if you’re a supporter of Obamacare, is there any merit to the proposal?
This may all be political gamesmanship as usual, but wouldn’t requiring breach notification to individuals in the event of a breach actually be a good thing?
And if Congress is willing to require enhanced security controls and breach notification for a site that doesn’t collect a heck of lot of personal information, how about requiring it for sites that do collect a lot of sensitive personal information?
Will we actually get a federal breach notification law out of this or will this be limited to healthcare.gov if it passes? I suspect we should keep a close eye on the bill to see if it’s something that might serve a broader purpose.


Perspective (As usual for Harvard, a bit wordy, but some interesting thoughts.)
Internet Monitor 2013: Reflections on the Digital World
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on January 2, 2014
Internet Monitor 2013: Reflections on the Digital WorldUrs Gasser….a collection of essays from roughly two dozen experts around the world, including Ron Deibert, Malavika Jayaram, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Molly Sauter, Bruce Schneier, Ashkan Soltani, and Zeynep Tufekci, among others. The report highlights key events and recent trends in the digital space.
“This publication is the first annual report of the Internet Monitor project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Instead of offering a traditional project report, and to mirror the collaborative spirit of the initiative, we compile — based on an open invitation to the members of the extended Berkman community — nearly two dozen short essays from friends, colleagues, and collaborators in the United States and abroad.


Yet another embarrassment of riches. I don't have time to look at every person in detail. If they don't look interesting in 5 seconds, I move on.
100+ Influential Learning Professionals Worth Following
… The below list of influential learning professionals comes via the hard work of Zaid Ali Alsagoff who diligently assembled this list of (at last check) nearly 150 influential learning pros who know a thing or two about the future of education and e-learning.


Humor (sarcasm?) is the best legal defense? I'll wager Starbucks won't push it... Next time I drive east, I'll have to pick up a case or three.
Brewery to Starbucks: Here's $6
A small Missouri brewery has responded to a cease and desist letter from Starbucks by sending the coffee chain giant a check to cover what it calls the profit from use of the word "Frappicino" — a check for $6.
… In his sarcastic response letter, Exit 6 owner Jeff Britton also wrote that the brewery "never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores located a few blocks away."
Exit 6 posted the letter on its Facebook site and responded with a letter to Kramer and "Mr. Bucks." The letter said Exit 6 would no longer use the term "Frappicino" and would instead refer to its beer as the "F Word."
Britton said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he brewed up a new batch of "The F Word" last Friday. By then, the dispute was already drawing attention on social media, and the beer sold out in three hours.

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