GOP Sen.
Chuck Grassley Asks Hillary Whether 'Guccifer' Hacked Emails
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley
has asked Hillary Clinton if she knew whether her emails were hacked by
"Guccifer" — the noted Romanian who first revealed that the former
secretary of state had used a private server.
In a letter Tuesday to Clinton's
lawyer, David Kendall, the Iowa Republican referenced a "Meet the
Press" interview she gave on Sunday in which she reiterated earlier
positions that she was willing to answer "any questions that anybody might
have" about the server.
"I hope this means you are reconsidering your refusal
to answer the questions I asked you, through your attorney," Grassley
said, referring to a January query on the issue. "I also hope it means you will
substantively respond to this letter as well."
… "Mr.
Lazar’s public release of hacked emails between Sidney Blumenthal and you was
the first public revelation of your @clintonemail.com address," Grassley
said in the letter.
… "It is
unclear from court documents and press reports whether Mr. Lazar ever attempted
to hack your @clintonemail.com account or if he only had indirect access to
your email via Mr. Blumenthal’s account.
"In an interview, Mr. Lazar purportedly claimed he 'had
memos Hillary Clinton got as a State Secretary, with CIA briefings [that] were
being read by her [and] two other people from the U.S. Government.
An interesting dichotomy.
Facebook
capture of medical info from web searches by users violates HIPAA and other
laws, suit says
Martha Neil reports:
A 2012 federal lawsuit over
Facebook tracking of users filed by attorney Paul Kiesel was dismissed last
year, with leave to refile.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila
said the plaintiffs in the San Jose, California, case didn’t make clear how
they suffered “a realistic economic harm or loss” due to continued tracking by
advertising cookies after they logged out of their Facebook accounts, as Bloomberg reported at the time.
But Kiesel is trying again. In another federal court complaint filed in
San Jose last month, he accuses Facebook and a number of medical groups of
violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act by disclosing
medical information about Facebook users without their express consent, reports
the International Business Times.
The problem, according
to the suit, is cookies that track web searches made by Facebook users on
cancer organization sites. Although the user’s name may not be provided
to third parties along with the subject of their searches, HIPAA prohibits
gathering or sharing medical information without express consent from the
individual, explains the Richmond Journal of Law & Technology.
“Facebook is capturing users’
searches for medical information from medical websites without users ever
knowing this sensitive data is being shared with Facebook, for marketing and
other purposes,” Kiesel told the IBT.
The suit also accuses Facebook of
violating the privacy laws of multiple states and federal wiretap law by
collecting data without appropriate authorization. It says Facebook creates marketing profiles
for its 225 million users that enable companies to target them with advertising
for conditions including pregnancy, diabetes, addiction and HIV/AIDs,
reports Courthouse News.
Read more on ABA
Journal. As I commented on Twitter
tonight, Facebook is not a HIPAA-covered
entity, therefore if the complaint alleges they violated HIPAA, that should get
tossed (in the world according to Dissent). The hospitals, on the other hand, may
find themselves in a difficult situation. Even if they didn’t know that their sites were
transmitting data to Facebook, they are responsible for protecting
information.
Under HIPAA, the sites may be responsible for
protecting patients’ protected health information (PHI). There are 18 elements to PHI that can
personally identify a patient, including IP address and URL. So if site
visitor’s IP address and urls they visit are transmitted to
Facebook without the individual’s express consent, the plaintiffs may
have some actual grounds to claim HIPAA violation.
Yes, I realize that site visitors are not necessarily patients, and
that the site’s web site privacy policy should control and not HIPAA,
but as has been pointed out in other situations, if you’re a HIPAA-covered
entity in one situation, you’re a HIPAA-covered entity, so maybe HIPAA
protections also apply to those who are just web site visitors.
This will be an interesting case to watch.
For discussion with my Computer Security students.
Cyber
Security Oversight: Why it Belongs in the Board Room
… boards have
started changing their view of cyber security as being a core function of IT
management, and are now demanding that C-suites treat cyber threats as an
enterprise risk that should be addressed from a strategic, company-wide, and
economic perspective. They are now
taking a very active interest in cyber security, and want to be kept informed
of current and evolving risks, as well as the organization’s security
preparedness and response plans. As a
matter of fact, according to a recent study by accounting firm EisnerAmper
(EA), directors of boards are most worried about cyber security risk (70
percent), reputational risk (66 percent), regulatory compliance risk (64
percent), and senior management succession planning (51 percent).
… Operating in
this new environment is not easy. A
recent study by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) revealed
that over 90% of respondents believe their board’s understanding of cyber
security risks still needs to improve. In
this context, the U.S. Senate recently proposed a cyber security
disclosure bill that would require public companies to describe what cyber
security expertise their boards have, and, if they don't have any, what steps
the companies are taking to add this type of expertise to their boards.
Eventually, we will have a decision.
Kim Janssen reports:
A lawsuit brought by an Illinois
man who accused photo-sharing website Shutterfly of violating his privacy by
using facial recognition software to identify his face has been settled for an
undisclosed amount.
The case, which was given the
go-ahead to proceed in January by a federal judge in Chicago, was being closely
watched because if it had gone to trial it could have had implications
for Facebook and other companies that use facial recognition software.
[…] A similar case brought by
another Illinois resident, Carlo Licata, remains pending against Facebook in
federal court in California.
Read more on Chicago
Tribune.
Can we call this digital-illiteracy, or is there a more
scientific term?
California
phone decryption bill defeated
A national debate over smartphone encryption arrived in
Sacramento on Tuesday as legislators defeated a bill penalizing companies that
don’t work with courts to break into phones, siding with technology industry
representatives who called the bill a dangerous affront to privacy.
The bill did not receive a vote, with members of the
Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection worrying the measure
would undermine data security and impose a logistically untenable requirement
on California companies.
Not sure what to make of this yet. Could be a safe way for the White House to
disagree with the DoJ.
White
House Announces Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity
The new Commission on Enhancing National
Cybersecurity will be expected to recommend “bold, actionable steps”
that the U.S. government and private sector can take to strengthen
cybersecurity.
… The first public meeting will be held on Thursday at the
U.S. Department of Commerce, where commission members will be joined by
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Assistant to the President for Homeland
Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco, and others.
Free Internet.
Apparently there is a race to be the first to offer it.
Facebook
to Facilitate Global Internet Connectivity with Terragraph
… Facebook
Engineering Vice President Jay Parikh described the new project as a wireless
network, which is aimed at replacing Google Fiber in the remote areas. The social-networking giant said that it is
currently testing the new system at its Menlo Park headquarters. Also, the company announced that it has plans
to test the service in downtown San Jose by the end of 2016.
… Millimeter waves
travel at a much faster speed than Wifi signals, and it also offers 10 times
faster Internet speed. The company
claims that the new technology offers Internet speed up to 2.1 Gbps. In
addition, Millimeter waves are non-permeable. Therefore, the social network giant plans to
install its new wireless system on the streets, as at present, it offers
outdoor Internet connection only.
Is this true or Union dis-information? (Would they fix copper after users switch and
don’t use it anymore?)
Verizon
won’t fix copper lines when customers refuse switch to fiber
Verizon has reportedly switched 1.1 million customers from
copper to fiber lines over the past few years under a program it calls
"Fiber Is the Only Fix." But
some phone customers have refused the switch to fiber because they prefer to
keep their copper lines—even though Verizon apparently is refusing to fix
problems in the copper infrastructure.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports
that it obtained internal company documents that describe the effort to switch
problematic copper lines to fiber. Verizon
customers with copper-based landline phones who call for repairs twice in
18 months "will be told that their 'only fix' is to replace decades-old
copper line with high-speed fiber as Verizon won't fix the copper," the
report said.
Interesting video
Snapchat
augments reality with 3D Stickers
Today Snapchat revealed its new 3D stickers that can be
pinned to objects in a video and stick with them no matter how they or
your camera move. Add an emoji face
to your pet as it walks around, or give the moon sunglasses that grow with it
as you zoom in.
Free eBook! Offer ends
Tomorrow!
Windows 10 at Work for Dummies
(regular price $17.99, free for limited time)
Download: Windows 10 at Work for Dummies. Offer ends April 15.
Anything to get rid of my students.
Quick Tips
You Can Use to Make a Better CV
… how can you make your CV stand out? Just follow the 7 tips outlined on the infographic
below, and you’ll be good to go!
(Related)
15 Free
Creative Resume Templates for Photoshop and Illustrator
… To start using Adobe Photoshop, you can download a
30-day free trial — plenty of time to prepare your resume. To continue
using the app, it will cost from $10 per month.
… The content of
your resume also has to stand out. That means gaining extra qualifications, working on
interesting projects, and mastering
your industry.
So that’s what my students are doing…
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