May 31, 2006
Large Government databases with no oversight... more misuse and abuse?
The Dallas Morning News posted a great article Sunday warning what huge government databases could result in other than people-tracking... misuse and loss of data.
They used the recent VA stolen data case as a springboard.
"Privacy advocates say concern over government intrusions into personal privacy is exacerbated by the government's use of data obtained by commercial data brokers, which often contains inaccurate information. When the government secretly collects and analyzes personal data, it makes it difficult to challenge a program shielded by public view."
How will we ever know how much inaccurate data the government has?
Posted by Meredith Mazzotta at 01:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 30, 2006
America's fastest growing center of....identity theft
Live in Phoenix? If so, you've got a 1 in 6 chance of your identity having been stolen, at least according to this ABC News report.
The high rate likely has to do with the prevalence of meth use, and a high prevalence of publicly available records information, experts say in the story.
Meth use is a serious issue in many parts of America's heartland, but so is the availability of public records. When local and state officials post information such as court documents or other property information, that data becomes a source for individuals and companies who use the information to compile fairly comprehensive consumer profiles.
Still, the sun is nice, isn't it?
Posted by Christopher Kriva at 03:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 22, 2006
Opinion: the costs of data mining
"Simson L. Garfinkel, an author and postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Center for Research
on Computation and Society, looks beyond the existence of a government database of telephone
numbers to the potential for expanding the cache to include information from other sources. These
vast databases would 'require extensive protections to prevent abuse from low-level insiders and
senior government officials,' according to Garfinkel's op-ed in The Washington Post. Besides the
potential for eroding personal privacy, the costs of collecting, storing and analyzing this
information are expensive. The biggest concern that may arise after spending the money and time to
build these databases is avoiding the 'nagging feeling that you really should be putting it to
use,' Garfinkel writes."
Posted by Meredith Mazzotta at 07:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
DHS: personal privacy, security risks outweigh benefits of RFID technology
"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a draft report that criticizes the privacy and security risks associated with the use of RFID for identifying and tracking people. The report details ways information stored on RFID tags can be accessed or used improperly to spy on people."
Posted by Meredith Mazzotta at 07:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 12, 2006
NSA acquiring phone logs from major telecom companies
USA Today reported on Thursday that AT&T, bellsouth, and verizon have been cooperating with the NSA in providing phone records for all domestic calls in the U.S. since 9/11. While personal information isn't provided as part of the Call database, records records do include every phone call made by every wireless and land-line subscriber. According to sources in the story, that data is then used to identify patterns that might reflect terrorist behaviors. Reportedly, the NSA can then run information against their other databases to identify phone users they perceive as threats.
President Bush quickly defended the program and asserted that the program acts within the law and "fiercely protects" the privacy of Americans.
USA today has additional articles up related to other firms contributing information to the NSA and other government agencies.
Posted by Matt Ford at 06:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 05, 2006
Arline ticket could give away your identity
The Guardian reports that a simple airline ticket stub can give someone access to your personal data, down to passport number.
Posted by Ellen Shearer at 10:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 01, 2006
U.S. government wants AT&T wiretapping lawsuit dismissed
The U.S. government has asked a San Francisco federal district court to dismiss the lawsuit filed against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on the grounds of security concerns. There isn't much in the mainstream press yet. Article links below.
Longer article on E-Commerce Times
Another article, Security Power News
Posted by Beth Davidz at 06:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack