(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

Caspian just released a paper documenting the research showing the causal link between RFID implants and cancer in lab animals. The reason they issued this report is because of the recent news press about the issue. They wrote and issued this report because "a lot of misinformation about the cancer research has circulated since [the original cancer research] was published". Damage control by Verichip perhaps?

In almost all cases, the malignant tumors, typically sarcomas, arose at the site of the implants and grew to surround and fully encase the devices.

That's not subtle is it? Neither is this:

Either VeriChip and the makers of HomeAgain actually don't understand the difference between a benign fibroma and a malignant fibrosarcoma," noted Dr. Albrecht, "or they're deliberately lying to the public. Either way, it's clear they can't be trusted. We hope our new report will set the record straight.

Check out the "Recent Industry Misstatements about Implant-Cancer Research" section near the bottom of the page for specific examples of lies/ignorance told by chip makers and CASPIAN's factual rebuttals.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Rather than preventing the problem, many companies are satisfied (and make tons of profit) by inventing new services to attack the symptoms rather than the problem.

Don't waste your time or money. Get a credit freeze and don't worry about all the snake oil.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

As it should. No better way to encourage voters than to give them e-voting machines that have been proven faulty.

Anyway, let's hope a well placed lawsuit or two can set them back on the right track.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

"DHS is essentially whittling Real ID down to nothing—all in the name of denying Real ID is a failure," said ACLU senior legislative counsel Tim Sparapani. "Real ID is in its death throes, and any signs of life are just last gasps."

Let's hope so.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Finally, some federal guidelines for e-voting have been released. Of course, they're voluntary so we'll see if they actually do any good.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 4.0 [SRC][Mod])

Schneier has a great summary article of how citizen informants combined with officials who won't take responsibility for over-reacting over the last few years is making America look dumber and dumber every day.

Here's an excerpt:

Causing a city-wide panic over blinking signs, a guy with a pellet gun, or stray backpacks, is not evidence of doing a good job: it's evidence of squandering police resources. Even worse, it causes its own form of terror, and encourages people to be even more alarmist in the future. We need to spend our resources on things that actually make us safer, not on chasing down and trumpeting every paranoid threat anyone can come up with.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

In the wake of every tragedy come scammers looking to profit off the victims. It's sad, but true.

Fortunately, California (historically a very forward–thinking state), is prepared:

“Unlicensed contractors who offer their services during this state of emergency will face up to three years in state prison – and we will show no mercy, ? Dumanis said. “This is a felony crime, not a misdemeanor. ?

Brown issued a warning to those who might try to illegally raise prices for goods, services, or hotels. "Anyone who tries to wrongfully profit from the suffering of others will be investigated by the California Department of Justice, ? he warned.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 3.0 [SRC])

Well this is different. I knew that posting online can have severe negative effects on the poster, but I hadn't considered the effect on the parents.

"Whether we're talking about dad's work secrets or problems between mom and dad with their relationship," Sgt. MacDonald said.

We asked him to show us just how easy it is to find incriminating posts. It didn't take long.

"Not only do I have to live with my nagging mom, my dad does drugs. This person, Tara, says her parents are lazy alcoholics," reads Sgt. MacDonald.

He says it's not hard for police, or employers, to uncover the identity of teens from the details in their profiles

While those people might deserve to get fired (if the teen poster is telling the truth and not just venting), the article lists another example of a mortgage broker finding out that one of his customers lost his job.

Privacy is starting to become harder and harder to protect, but also more important at the same time.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Due to the data breaches and high profile cases of laptops gone missing, people can easily forget that ID theft is easy to pull off without high technology skills.

[the study] found that, by and large, much of today's identity theft is still carried out using old-school methods, such as mail theft and dumpster diving. Thieves also used information from public records to piece together an individual identity, and many stole information from retail outlets like stores and gas stations.

Be sure to read my Identity theft/Identity protection guide for more information about preventing people from getting and using your data.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

In some slightly overblown reporting online, Microsoft has been caught downloading updates to its software without user knowledge or consent. In this case, they were just updating the Windows Updater, but the key complaint here is that the users didn't get to choose.

In the past many people delay updating (or avoid it altogether) because the updates can sometimes cause less security or add features that we don't want.