City Surveillance Cameras Show Slaying
Schneier reports on a murder that was captured on a city camera system. He clearly thinks that such systems are pointless though the article seems to present it as being good (it caught a thief after all).
By using the worst possible scenario, however unlikely, it becomes easy to scare people into supporting something you personally want. When .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Big Brother, Camera Surveillance, CamerasHow’s The Cloned Meat Taste?
Sixwise reports on the FDA approval of cloned meat and milk. Most notably, there will be no notification required. Quoted from the article:
"When they deny us mandatory labels, they don't just deny us the right to choose", said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety (CFS). "They also deny .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]E-voting in Trouble Again
According to EFF:
Colorado-based Ciber, Inc., the largest laboratory that tests software used in U.S. voting systems, has been temporarily banned from approving new systems following problems discovered last summer by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
The EAC found that Ciber was not following proper quality- control procedures and could not document that it was conducting all .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
ID Theft Tops FTC List of Consumer Complaints for the 6th Year
EPIC reports in their newsletter that for the 6th year in a row, Identity Theft is the #1 consumer complaint for the year. It's interesting to know that despite the massive and growing problem, the Credit Freeze remedies that would greatly curb the problem aren't .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: FTC, Identity Theft, IncompetenceGovernment Will (Finally) Encrypt All Laptops
Schneier reports that the government will begin encrypting all laptops. This is in response to case after case of stolen laptops leading to loss of personal data such as in the case with the Veterans Administration.
Considering that the typical response is to offer worthless credit monitoring services to make .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Identity Theft, Lost Laptops, Security TheaterSony Settles for $4.5 Million for their Illegal CD-Virus
Consumer Affairs reports a settlement with 39 states for Sony's use of a "rootkit" to try and prevent users from copying their music. This forced DRM was detected by computer experts and quickly raised a stir.
Most importantly,
Sony said it was "pleased" .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]New State Laws Allow Security Freezes
According to Consumer Affairs, Hawaii, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin now have Credit Freeze laws. However, it sounds as if you must be a victim before you can use the law (which is really, really stupid). A friend said once that this is like having to wear a seatbelt, but only after you've been in a car wreck. Sounds like a good analogy to me.
.... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Tags: Identity TheftMicrosoft Finally Adds Stupidly Obvious Security Feature
The Washington Post reports that IE 7 will not have the long known flaw that allows a website to steal the data that may be hanging out in your clipboard.
For those who don't know, the clipboard is where anything you cut and paste hangs out. The trick is, it stays there until you cut or copy something else. .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Bad Design, Internet Explorer, MicrosoftThe Electronic Frontier Foundation Takes on the DHS’s Secret Profiling Program
The EFF (who is also the organization spearheading the lawsuits against AT&T) is now taking on the secret profiling program that has hit the news recently. From their e-newsletter:
The Automated Targeting System (ATS) creates and assigns "risk assessments" to tens of millions of citizens as they enter and leave the country. .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Ancient Telephone Tax Repealed – Three Year Refund Due Consumers
In the CAGW newsletter, they report that:
In a widely-heralded and very long-sought victory for CAGW and all taxpayers, the Treasury Department announced last May that it would stop collecting the excise tax on long distance telephone service. Known as the Spanish-American War Tax, this "temporary" tax on phone service, considered .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]