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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in PogoWasRIght - Privacy News Headlines' LiveJournal:

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    Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
    1:15 pm
    NC agency sells cabinet containing personal info

    The Department of Health and Human Services says a man who bought a filing cabinet from the state agency got something extra: dozens of client files.

    Agency spokesman Mark Van Sciver told the News & Observer of Raleigh the buyer found 57 files in the file cabinet purchased last month from the Caswell Developmental Center, a state facility in Kinston for people with mental retardation.

    Two of the 20 files reviewed so far had personal information. Another had a client's Medicaid number.

    Source - WRAL

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    8:51 am
    Law firm argues that links to its website abuse its trade marks

    One of the world's biggest law firms is suing a small Chicago-based website for naming the firm and linking to two of its associates' biographies. A judge rejected an attempt to have the case thrown out last week.

    Jones Day, a firm with more than 2,200 lawyers, argues that BlockShopper.com is giving a false impression that the firm is affiliated with or endorses its business.

    Source - Out-Law.com

    Related - EFF, who according to this story was not permitted to submit an amicus brief, has some of the court documents on this case on this case on their site.

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    8:48 am
    New Commerce Chair Bodes Well For Privacy, Net Neutrality

    Digital rights advocates are cheering the news that Henry Waxman (D. Calif.) will replace John Dingell (D. Mich.) as chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee. Advocates think Waxman's appointment could result in new protections for net neutrality and online privacy. For one thing, Waxman has a reputation as a leading consumer advocate, unafraid to take on big business. Also, at least according to today's Wall Street Journal, Washington observers are predicting that Waxman will delegate many telecom matters to Rep. Ed Markey (D. Mass.), who has long been a staunch supporter of both net neutrality and online privacy rights.

    Source - MediaPost

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    5:09 am
    Sienna Miller gets £53k for press intrusion

    Sienna Miller has reached a settlement with an agency of paparazzi photographers over claims of harassment and invasion of privacy.

    The actor had sued Big Pictures and its founder Darryn Lyons over what she described as intolerable intrusions by pursuing photographers.

    Yesterday the agency agreed to pay £53,000 in damages and costs as part of a settlement. It includes an undertaking that the agency will not pursue Miller - by car, motorcycle or on foot - or "doorstep" her at her home or that of her family. The agency will be allowed to take pictures when she goes to bars, nightclubs or restaurants, is out in public, or at a "red carpet" event.

    Source - Guardian

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    4:52 am
    UK: Revenue in storm over disclosure of taxpayer data to researchers

    A year after HM Revenue & Customs lost 25m people's personal data it is writing to some taxpayers telling them it will pass on their names and details to a market research company – unless told not to do so before next Tuesday.

    Source - Telegraph

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    4:39 am
    MD: Stolen laptops held data of 1,300 state employees

    Police are investigating the theft of two laptop computers containing the names and Social Security numbers of more than 1,300 people formerly employed by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

    The laptops were reported stolen from the state office building at 300 W. Preston St. in Baltimore on Nov. 12, a spokesman for the MDE, Robert Ballinger, said in a statement yesterday.

    Source - Chicago Tribune

    Related - Maryland DOIT Press Release and web site on breach

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    4:50 am
    NC: Personal information of 70 people stolen from tax office

    New Bern police say a computer stolen from a tax-preparation business in the city this week contains identity information of about 70 people.

    The computer was stolen from B.J. Accessories and Tax Preparation on Neuse Boulevard. The business shares a building with Platinum Angel Hair Design on the 3000th block of the street.

    Source - ENCToday.com

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    4:57 am
    4 more Ohio officials punished in 'Joe' data search (follow-up)

    Four more high-ranking employees of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services were punished yesterday for their roles in searching Joe the Plumber's background.

    Gov. Ted Strickland previously disciplined the agency's chief.

    Source - Toledo Blade

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    5:01 am
    AR: Private Photos Posted Online, Lawsuit Claims

    A Bella Vista couple has sued McDonald's for at least $3 million after nude photographs of the woman were allegedly taken off her husband's misplaced cell phone and posted on the Internet.

    Phillip and Tina Sherman say Phillip left his cell phone at McDonald's on Sixth Street in Fayetteville on July 5. Tina Sherman then began receiving offensive calls and text messages about the pictures, then learned her pictures, which she had sent her husband, had been posted on-line along with her name, address and phone number.

    The Web site allegedly described how McDonald's employees retrieved the pictures from a phone left at the restaurant.

    Source - NWAonline.com

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    Friday, November 21st, 2008
    5:55 pm
    Connecticut drops felony charges against Julie Amero, four years after her arrest

    The unbelievable story of Julie Amero concluded quietly Friday afternoon at Superior Court in Norwich, with the state of Connecticut dropping four felony pornography charges.

    Amero agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. Amero, who has been hospitalized and suffers from declining health, also surrendered her teaching license.

    Source - Hartford Courant

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    5:22 pm
    When Everyone Can Mine Your Data

    Roelof Temmingh has a knack for stirring up trouble. The 35-year-old South African electronic engineer has fought legal battles with financial institutions, developed theoretical models for cyberterrorism and served as a technical adviser for a book about how hackers could take over the continent of Africa.

    But Temmingh's latest exploit could make the most last impact. He has created a tool he calls Maltego that lets just about anybody do the kind of data mining that in the past only fraud investors, government specialists and hackers typically could do.

    Source - Forbes

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    2:56 pm
    WA: Former 'mystery man' gets 30 months for ID theft (follow-up)

    A man who used so many identities that prosecutors initially couldn't tell who he was has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

    Scott Andrew Shain, 53 and originally from Chelsea, Mass., was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court on fraud, identity theft and gun charges. Prosecutors said he stole more than 20 identities since 1985, including from dead people.

    Source - KNDO
    Prior coverage

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    2:35 pm
    Marine reports on domestic monitoring of muslims for California intelligence agency

    wo years after his arrest, a former Marine gunnery sergeant is talking about the FBI, CIA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement files he stole from Camp Pendleton for a civilian agency.

    In interviews with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Gary Maziarz, 39, said “dozens of files” he gave the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group while serving as an intelligence specialist at the base were dossiers on Muslims and Arabs living in Southern California.

    This marks the first time Maziarz has spoken to the media about the files since pleading guilty in July 2007 to mishandling classified material and stealing government property.

    Source - IndyBay

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    2:37 pm
    New guidelines push agencies to build in IT security controls upfront

    Guidelines on evaluating information security at agencies soon will be revised to better address concerns about protecting personal information and to incorporate risk assessments into processes for building computer systems, said a panel of government officials on Thursday.

    In December, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will release for comment an updated version of Special Publication 800-53, "Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems," which will include a new appendix of controls agencies can put in place to ensure privacy. The appendix lays out guidelines for considering identifiable personal information when developing security plans for IT systems. Applications that contain Social Security numbers, for example, would incorporate stricter access controls to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing or downloading the data.

    Source - NextGov

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    9:10 am
    Banking's Data Security Crisis

    During the past year, banks have lost more of their customers' personal data than ever before.

    Source - Forbes

    Related - In Pictures: The Year's Biggest Data Breaches

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    9:06 am
    UK: Stolen laptops contained teachers' details

    LAPTOPS containing the personal details of nearly 2,000 education workers in Manchester have been stolen from the town hall.

    The computers - which had passwords, but were not encrypted - contained the names, dates of birth and national insurance numbers of 1,754 teachers, teaching assistants and support staff.

    Source - Manchester Evening News

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    9:02 am
    TX: Personal Information Found on Pawn Shop Computers

    NEWSCHANNEL 5 went undercover to find out how private information from a Valley lawmaker's computer ended up for sale at a pawn shop, leaving many people's personal information up for grabs. The Texas Attorney General's Office is looking into possible criminal wrong doing.

    It all centers around a tiny jump drive, which can be easily purchased at local stores. The jump drive allows a user to simply plug it into a computer and steal a massive amount of personal information such names, addresses, phone numbers and even social security numbers.

    ... NEWSCHANNEL 5 spent hours going through the files and discovered they came from a former law office of Texas State Representative, Aaron Pena, Jr. His office declined an on-camera interview, but Orlando Salinas, a spokesperson for Aaron Pena, Jr. e-mailed us this statement.

    .... One of the files found on the computer contained 627 names and many had social security numbers. They were all former employees of the old Haggar Manufacturing Plant. Pena's law office was involved in a lawsuit against Haggar in the late 90's.

    Source - NEWSCHANNEL 5

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    9:23 am
    Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information at DHS

    The DHS Privacy Office "Handbookfor Safeguarding Sensitive PII at DHS" applies to every DHS employee,contractor, detailee and consultant. The document sets minimum standards forhow personnel should handle Sensitive PII in paper and electronic formduring their everyday work activities at DHS.

    Source - Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information At The Department of Homeland Security [pdf, 19 pages]

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    9:12 am
    UK: Department of Health tops lost laptop rankings

    The Government loses a computer a week, according to figures unearthed by the Conservative Party.

    Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps wrote to ministers in six departments asking them "What (a) equipment and (b) data was lost by [their] Department in the last 12 months?"

    Cumulatively, he discovered the Government has lost 53 computers and laptops over the course of 2008. He also found that 36 BlackBerries had gone missing, together with 30 mobile phones and four memory sticks. However the losses could be greater, as the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office declined to provide figures.

    The Department for Health was the biggest culprit losing 14 laptops, though quite what happened to these machines we may never know as the "Department does not differentiate between stolen, missing or lost equipment."

    Source - IT PRO

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    6:37 am
    First appeal filed against UBS data transfer to US

    A U.S. client of UBS has appealed against Berne's plans to pass Swiss-based bank account data to U.S. authorities as part of a tax fraud probe that could weaken bank privacy, a Swiss court spokesman said on Friday.

    Source - ForexPros.com

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