PogoWasRIght - Privacy News Headlines

NC agency sells cabinet containing personal info

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:15:27 -0500

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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Law firm argues that links to its website abuse its trade marks

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:51:21 -0500

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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New Commerce Chair Bodes Well For Privacy, Net Neutrality

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:48:49 -0500

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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Sienna Miller gets �53k for press intrusion

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:09:19 -0500

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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AR: Private Photos Posted Online, Lawsuit Claims

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:01:10 -0500

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

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:57:06 -0500

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

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:52:58 -0500

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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NC: Personal information of 70 people stolen from tax office

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:50:16 -0500

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

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:39:55 -0500

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

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Connecticut drops felony charges against Julie Amero, four years after her arrest

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:55:01 -0500

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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When Everyone Can Mine Your Data

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:22:37 -0500

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

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:56:53 -0500

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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New guidelines push agencies to build in IT security controls upfront

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:37:55 -0500

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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Marine reports on domestic monitoring of muslims for California intelligence agency

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:35:41 -0500

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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Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information at DHS

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:23:36 -0500

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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UK: Department of Health tops lost laptop rankings

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:12:05 -0500

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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Banking's Data Security Crisis

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:10:23 -0500

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

Source - Forbes

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UK: Stolen laptops contained teachers' details

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:06:00 -0500

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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TX: Personal Information Found on Pawn Shop Computers

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:02:13 -0500

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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First appeal filed against UBS data transfer to US

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:37:24 -0500

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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TN: Student SSNs stolen

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:35:07 -0500

The Jackson-Madison County school system has hired National ID Recovery to monitor the personal information of more than 200 East Intermediate students after a computer disk containing Social Security numbers and test scores was stolen from the principal's car.

Superintendent Nancy Zambito said it will cost the system more than $3,000 for one year of the monitoring service.

Source - The Jackson Sun

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Obama certificate lawsuit dismissed

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:26:01 -0500

A Circuit Court judge has dismissed Internet author Andy Martin's lawsuit seeking to obtain a copy of President-elect Barack Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate.

[...]

And Martin provided "insufficient evidence to indicate that the public interest supports" release of the record, Ayabe ruled.

"There is a reasonable belief that the public would rather preserve confidentiality of vital health records," the judge wrote.

Source - Honolulu Advertiser

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Basu: As he exits, Bush curtailing privacy rights (opinion)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:18:07 -0500

On his way out the door, President Bush wants to accomplish through an administrative rule what he couldn't get by trying to stack the Supreme Court with ideological allies. He's changing the rules so anyone employed anywhere that gets federal funding could refuse to conduct a health-related service, sale, referral or research that he or she considers in conflict with personal moral or religious beliefs. Read abortion or birth control.

Staggering in its scope, the "Provider Conscience Regulation," could be implemented by the Health and Human Services Department within a week.

Source - Des Moines Register

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UK: Councils 'should curtail surveillance'

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:15:13 -0500

Councils should cut down on their use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), intended to combat serious crimes, to carry out surveillance on members of the public for "trivial" issues such as dogs fouling pavements, Home Office minister Vernon Coaker has said.

The Local Government Association agreed, saying that it had been telling councils for months that it was "inappropriate to use these powers for less serious matters".

Source - publicservice.co.uk

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Confidential customer details exposed on Qantas site

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:03:38 -0500

Qantas� online booking site today breached the privacy at least two of its customers, with their personal details revealed to another party when they attempted to access flight check-in information online.

.... The Australian Privacy Commissioner said that under the Privacy Act 1988 there is no requirement for an organisation to reveal the details to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or affected customers if a breach occurs..... The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) put forward a recommendation to the Privacy Commission that data breach notification become mandatory if there is a real risk of serious harm occurring as a result of a breach. The Federal Government will be considering the data breach recommendation in the second stage of its response to a report on privacy law in Australia.

Source - ARN

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UK: EDS goes unpunished for data loss (follow-up and update)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:57:30 -0500

Justice secretary Jack Straw has been accused of letting EDS get away with " a slap on the wrist" after losing a hard drive containing sensitive personal data on prison staff.

... In a Commons statement on the outcome of the inquiry Straw revealed that the hard drive contained bank details, addresses, National Insurance numbers and dates of birth on 256 staff, and not 5,000 as originally reported.

... Straw said that EDS "is taking appropriate action", including disciplinary action "if necessary", and that National Offender Management Service (Noms) staff face disciplinary action for concealing the news from ministers.

Source - computing.co.uk

Se: Justice minister offers concessions on file sharing law

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:53:31 -0500

The Swedish government has indicated it plans to move forward with a controversial anti-file sharing law but that the proposal will be altered in an attempt to appease some of the measure�s many critics.

The proposal, based on the European Union's Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), would make it easier for copyright holders to track down those who download films and music over the internet.

Source - The Local

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Obama's cell phone records breached

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:42:52 -0500

Records from a cell phone used by President-elect Obama were improperly breached, apparently by employees of the cell phone company, his transition team said Thursday.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the team was notified Wednesday by Verizon Wireless that it appears an employee improperly went through billing records for the phone, which Gibbs said Obama no longer uses.

In an internal company e-mail obtained by CNN, Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam disclosed Wednesday that "the personal wireless account of President-elect Barack Obama had been accessed by employees not authorized to do so" in recent months.

Source - CNN

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EFF files new brief in telecom spying lawsuit

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:13:38 -0500

The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a reply brief [pdf] tonight in response to the federal government's and telecoms' motion for dismissal or summary judgement in EFF's lawsuit against telecoms for alleged participation in warrantless surveillance. Congress had given telecoms a "get out of jail free" pass this summer whereby the court would have to dismiss any lawsuits based on certification by the Attorney General. EFF has argued that the new law is unconstitutional.

In its 47-page reply, EFF attorneys argue that Section 802 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (�FISA�) Amendments Act of 2008, (�FISAAA�) "is a blatant attempt to prevent this Court�and every other court, federal or state�from deciding whether the carrier defendants conducted dragnet, warrantless surveillance of millions of Americans� communications and communications records in violation of the Constitution and numerous statutes." They also argue that Section 802 violates the Constitution's "bedrock, structural principle of the separation of powers" by "explicitly giving the Attorney General the power to partially repeal previously enacted law, delegating standardless discretion to the Attorney General, and requiring courts to accept the Attorney General�s factual findings without independent judicial review. It also violates the Constitution by giving the Attorney General the unilateral authority to gag the court and hide court processes from the plaintiffs and the public."

The next hearing date is December 2nd. If Judge Vaughn Walker should grant dismissal or summary judgement for the telecoms, not only will the public never find out what really happened or the extent of any surveillance of Americans, but it would leave unresolved the issue of whether the telecoms violated its customers constitutional rights.

This web site joins with EFF in urging Judge Walker not to dismiss this important lawsuit. The past eight years have been plagued by secrecy. Closing the door on this lawsuit will not allow this country to move forward. Only judicial review will help reassure those of us who care about privacy that our government and businesses cannot collude with immunity to spy on us and that businesses will be held accountable if they violate our rights.

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France drops security database over privacy fears

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:50:09 -0500

The French government has scrapped a security database that could have tracked anyone deemed a possible threat after protests by privacy crusaders.

A decree by the prime minister says the database, called Edvige, has been withdrawn. The decree was published Thursday.

Source - International Herald Tribune

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