Practical Privacy

Note to Readers: Privacy Lives Takes a Break

carlwright — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:43:08 +0000

I’m taking a few months off to concentrate on some personal developments. Until then, please visit the sites in my blogroll to keep up on privacy and civil liberties news.

Events of Interest: ’60 Minutes’ on Privacy and Facial-Recognition Technology (May 19)

carlwright — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:13:53 +0000

On Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET and PT, “60 Minutes” will have include a segment, “A Face in the Crowd,” on the issue of privacy and facial-recognition technology. Here’s what “60 Minutes” says: The odds are you are not just a face in the crowd any longer. Even if your picture isn’t plastered

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Events of Interest: ’60 Minutes’ on Privacy and Facial-Recognition Technology (May 19)

Wall Street Journal: Cyber Compliance: Data Excess Magnifies Risks

carlwright — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:06:01 +0000

In a series about cyber compliance issues, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at how collecting enormous amounts of data, without securing the private or sensitive information, can lead to large problems when there are security breaches: It’s well-known that many companies aren’t aware when they have had their security breached. Compounding that problem

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Wall Street Journal: Cyber Compliance: Data Excess Magnifies Risks

MediaPost: Android Users Beef Up Privacy Claims Against Google

carlwright — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:13:29 +0000

MediaPost reports on a privacy lawsuit by Android users against Google, the operating system’s creator: A group of Android users who are suing Google for allegedly violating their privacy have beefed up their complaint with new claims that the company wrongly transfers users’ names and contact information information to app developers. The new papers

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MediaPost: Android Users Beef Up Privacy Claims Against Google

Toronto Sun (Canada): Patients sue Ottawa hospital for $40M for lost information

carlwright — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:33:12 +0000

The Toronto Sun reports on a medical data privacy issue in Ottawa: OTTAWA — A group of patients whose personal information was lost is suing Montfort Hospital in Ottawa for $40 million. The suit stems from a lost USB memory stick that contained information on 25,000 patients. The stick was lost in November 2012 before

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Toronto Sun (Canada): Patients sue Ottawa hospital for $40M for lost information

Politico: Digital privacy gets push from the right

carlwright — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:36:43 +0000

Politico reports that Republican lawmakers have shown increasing interest in online privacy rights and proposals to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA,” also known as Title 18 § 2511 of the United States Code): Momentum to update the nation’s antiquated email privacy laws is again coursing through the Capitol — and this time, movement is coming

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Politico: Digital privacy gets push from the right

Justice Department Secretly Subpoenas AP Phone Records

carlwright — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: 212-549-2666,

Associated Press: Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe

carlwright — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:49:22 +0000

The Associated Press announced that the Department of Justice secretly obtained two months’ worth of phone records of its journalists, and the news service wants to know the reason for this surveillance, which could have significant implications for First Amendment civil rights: The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and

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Associated Press: Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe

New York Times: Bloomberg Admits Terminal Snooping

carlwright — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:29:48 +0000

The New York Times reports on a privacy issue connected with Bloomberg News: Reporters at Bloomberg News were trained to use a function on the company’s financial data terminals that allowed them to view subscribers’ contact information and, in some cases, monitor login activity in order to advance news coverage, more than half a dozen

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New York Times: Bloomberg Admits Terminal Snooping

Washington Post: Ways to thwart ID theft when traveling

carlwright — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:05:05 +0000

The Washington Post’s Navigator column discusses ways that individuals can protect themselves from identity theft when they’re traveling: One of the latest threats against travelers is invisible and silent: wireless attacks that siphon your credit card number, personal information and passwords. Anything with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, including your passport or a credit card,

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Washington Post: Ways to thwart ID theft when traveling

NIST Issues Major Revision of Core Computer Security Guide: SP 800-53

carlwright — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:17:03 +0000

The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced a revision of the federal government’s computer security guide, “Security and Privacy Controls for Federal information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-53)” (pdf). The update includes “eight new families of privacy controls that are based on the internationally accepted Fair Information Practice Principles,” NIST said. Also: State-of-the-practice security

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NIST Issues Major Revision of Core Computer Security Guide: SP 800-53

Update: David Medine Confirmed as Chair of Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

carlwright — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:02:53 +0000

To recap: A privacy and civil liberties oversight board was recommended by the 9/11 Commission, and the board was created in 2004 and placed within the White House. In 2008, Congress passed and President Bush signed the “Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007,” which took the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board out of the White House

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Update: David Medine Confirmed as Chair of Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board