Wednesday, June 29, 2016

For my Computer Security students.  When the process is well understood and simple to execute, the failure is due to poor management.
It’s been what – at least a decade? – since we started seeing reports of personal and corporate information left on drives that were being resold on eBay?  And yet even now, 2/3 of drives contain personal or corporate data, according to a new study.


Local
Brian Krebs first broke the story in May that casual food chain Noodles and Company had likely had a payment card breach. Now the company has confirmed it:
Press Release
Noodles & Company Provides Notice of Data Security Incident
Broomfield, Colorado, June 28, 2016 – Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS) today announced that a recent data security incident may have compromised the security of payment information of some guests who used debit or credit cards at certain Noodles & Company locations between January 31, 2016 and June 2, 2016.  Credit and debit cards used at the affected locations are no longer at risk from the malware involved in this incident.
What Happened? On May 17, 2016, Noodles & Company began investigating unusual activity its credit card processor reported to the Company.  Noodles & Company immediately began working with third-party forensic experts to investigate these reports and to identify any signs of compromise on its computer systems.  On June 2, 2016, Noodles & Company discovered suspicious activity on its computer systems that indicated a potential compromise of guests’ debit and credit card data for some debit and credit cards used at certain Noodles & Company locations.
   The information at risk as a result of this event includes the cardholder’s name, card number, expiration date, and CVV.  A list of impacted Noodles & Company locations is available at www.noodles.com/security.  This incident did not involve online debit or credit card transactions at www.noodles.com.  
For More Information. Noodles & Company has established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident.  Guests can call 888-849-1067, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday (excluding U.S. holidays).  Guests can also find information on this incident and what they can do to better protect against fraud and identity theft at www.noodles.com/security.
For more information and a list of affected locations, see their FAQ on the incident.


Oh goodie.  Now I can check to see if anyone has noticed that I’m an idiot.
Jason C. Gavejian writes:
Beginning January 1, 2017, employees in Colorado will now have a right to inspect and copy their personnel files.  Prior to this law, Colorado had no law granting private-sector employees access to their personnel records.
Under the new law, upon a current employee’s request, an employer must allow that employee to inspect and obtain a copy of any part of the employee’s personnel file at least once annually.


From where do such ideas arise?  Simple expansion of the bureaucracy?  Sinister ulterior motives? 
Shane Vander Hart reports:
The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) that governs the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has announced it will expand beyond assessing students’ academic content knowledge to also include subjective, non-cognitive, socioemotional parameters.  Such factors will include “grit,” “desire for learning,” and “school climate.”  Assessing “mindsets” of students potentially will allow the government to determine and possibly reshape children’s moral and religious beliefs about controversial social issues.
American Principles Project, Eagle Forum and Education Liberty Watch along with five additional national organizations, as well as, 69 state organizations in 29 states have joined Liberty Counsel to object what they see as illegal changes to the NAEP.  (Disclosure: This author is among those who have joined Liberty Counsel.)
Read more on Caffeinated Thoughts.   (And could I NOT love a blog with that name!)
[From the article:
As Liberty Counsel demonstrates in its letter to three congressional committees, if these factors are assessed as part of the NAEP test itself, their inclusion violates federal law prohibiting assessment of “personal or family beliefs and attitudes” via 20 USC section 9622.  If they are instead part of the background survey given to students, their inclusion violates the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, 20 USC section 1232(h), which requires that such material be made available for parental inspection before administration.


The future of lawyering?  I have some students who are learning to write Apps, I wonder where I could find lawyers who know of other simple legal applications?
This Teen's Lawyer-Bot Is Busting Thousands Of Parking Tickets
   Browder’s web-based bot DoNotPay has appealed 250,000 parking tickets in London since last September, and in New York since March 2016.  It has successfully overturned 160,000 of them.
“When I got to the legal driving age of 18 I got a lot of parking tickets,” he admitted in a phone interview.  “I started appealing them.  Then I started helping my friends.”
Browder thought it would fun to build an automated bot — essentially software that understands human language well enough to hold a basic conversation — that could talk his friends and family through the process of appealing a ticket.

(Related)  Or lawyers could build their own.
MIT App Inventor


Perspective.
Leaked Lyft numbers show it had a record May, but growth could be 'flat' after that
Lyft had a record May, completing 12.7 million rides in the month, according to a leaked investor update viewed by Business Insider.
   At that pace, the ride-hailing company said the net value of its rides — that's the ride value minus tips and tolls — is on track for a nearly $1.9 billion run rate, or a total net value of its rides over 12 months.
·  Loss: Lyft remains on track to not lose more than $600 million per year
·  Monthly ride volume: Rides increased by nearly 1.3 million month-over-month to 12.7 million, a new record for the company. At that pace, Lyft predicts its will complete around 152 million rides this year


For those days when I don’t feel like lecturing.
10+ Alternatives to TED Talks You May Not Have Seen Yet
   TED Talks aren’t the only way to get you closer to big ideas.  The alternatives to TED Talks enable you expand your world view in little ways too.  Some of the links below will take you to events that are much easier on the pocket (without watering down the knowledge), and some are free.  Of course, you can catch them all for free on the web.

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