The City University of New York foul-up that put students' personal information a Google search away from identity thieves was more widespread than first reported, with school officials saying yesterday that the Social Security numbers of hundreds of employees also got on the Web. The security failure, first reported in Newsday yesterday, prompted a flurry of memos up the chain of command yesterday, ending with CUNY chancellor Matthew Goldstein telling the Board of Trustees that it was "a most regrettable data breach."
As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' secretary for education, Sister Glenn Anne McPhee oversees Catholic education in the United States, from nursery school through post-graduate. For nine months in 2003 and 2004, Sister McPhee also took on the task of clearing her name from the government's no-fly list, an endeavor that proved fruitless until she called on a higher power, the White House. Sen. Edward Kennedy and former presidential candidate John Anderson both found that their names matched names on the no-fly list, but like McPhee, were able only to resolve the problem by contacting powerful officials.
Suspects arrested or detained by federal authorities could be forced to provide samples of their DNA that would be recorded in a central database under a provision of a Senate bill to expand government collection of personal data. The controversial measure was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week and is supported by the White House, but has not gone to the floor for a vote. It goes beyond current law, which allows federal authorities to collect and record samples of DNA only from those convicted of crimes.
The federal government's program to match all airline passenger names against terrorist watch lists should not move forward into the testing phase, an advisory committee to the Transportation Security Administration said in a report released yesterday. The TSA has said it planned to begin testing the airline security program, called Secure Flight, next month with two or more airlines. But the agency's advisory committee has cautioned against that move until the TSA can provide more documentation about how the program's stated goals can be achieved.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a part of the Defense Department, usually toils behind the scenes to provide the images and analysis of what's happening in other countries, including weapons tests. Among the government's most closely guarded secrets, the quality of pictures from its satellites is believed to far exceed the 1-meter resolution available commercially. Since the war on terror began, the agency has expanded its mission inside the United States.
Verizon Communications struck a carriage deal with the Walt Disney Co., the companies said Wednesday. The companies outlined their joint effort to protect content covered under the deal from digital piracy. Verizon pledged to identify copyright violators to Disney only if infringing subscribers were served subpoenas, unless subscriptions weren't canceled outright.
An Arizona court has ruled that a 1991 federal ban
on using autodialers to call cell phones also prohibits sending mobile text messages with unsolicited advertisements -- a technology not in vogue when the law was enacted. The unanimous decision by a three-judge Court of Appeals panel upholds a ruling in favor of a man who had sued a mortgage company in 2001
after it sent two unsolicited text messages to his cell phone.
Two days ago, 1,500 New York City high school students skipped classes, marched for two miles and got what they wanted: a sit-down meeting with school administrators, who have agreed to meet with students again and listen to their demands. The DeWitt Clinton High School students want metal detectors and security cameras be removed, that they be allowed to have lunch outside the school, and that an earlier ban on cellphones be lifted.
The latest post-Sept. 11 security change for commercial planes may be cameras in the cabin and wireless devices for flight attendants to alert the cockpit crew to an emergency. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to propose those ideas Wednesday and then take public comment before deciding whether to mandate the changes, The Associated Press has learned.
A Tennessee company will stop selling personal cell phone records of individuals over the Internet and will provide information on how it acquired such data under an agreement reached last week with Verizon Wireless. The firm, Source Resources Inc. of Cookeville, Tenn., was among dozens of companies advertising that for fees starting under $100, they would provide records of calls placed to and from any phone user.
Under a British scheme being proposed to enforce nationwide congestion charging, more than a million vehicles would be fitted with cameras to photograph the numberplates of those who failed to pay. The �spy cars� would use radio signals to check whether the car driving in front had paid the toll for the road on which they were travelling.
A Miami-Dade police officer allegedly peeked at thousands of private consumer records in what database giant ChoicePoint described as illegal use of its information. The company also announced three other incidents of improper access, two involving private investigators. The Alpharetta, Ga.-based firm maintains records on nearly every adult in the United States.
A federal judge ruled that Indiana's do-not-call law does not violate the U.S. Constitution. At issue was whether nonprofits could have professional fundraisers make calls to numbers registered on the state's DNC file. Indiana's telephone privacy law allows charities to make calls if they use employees or volunteers.
The federal government is making medical information on Hurricane Katrina evacuees available online to doctors, the first time private records from various pharmacies and other health care providers have been compiled into centralized databases. Starting yesterday, doctors in eight shelters for evacuees could go to the Internet to search prescription drug records on more than 800,000 people from the storm-racked region.
John G. Roberts Jr., appearing before a Senate panel considering his nomination to be the new chief justice, said he believes the U.S. Constitution protects a right to privacy and repudiated a view expressed more than two decades ago in a memo in which he referred to a "so-called" right to privacy in the charter. The comments came a day after Roberts delivered an opening statement in which he declared that "judges are not politicians" and vowed to approach any cases brought before the court with an open mind.
British hospital bosses say privacy laws are preventing them from helping police solve the murder 41 years ago of a 13-year-old girl in South Yorkshire. New forensic evidence shows that her killer had gonorrhoea and may have been treated at Rotherham Hospital. But hospital bosses say NHS guidelines on sexually transmitted diseases prevent them naming possible suspects.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said that he will not ask Supreme Court chief justice nominee John Roberts whether he would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., did say he planned to ask Roberts, the president's pick to succeed the late William H. Rehnquist as chief justice, whether there is a right to privacy in the Constitution.
British ministers are being sent on a "charm offensive" tour to educate the public about the technology behind planned ID cards, the Home Office has said. Home Office minister Andy Burnham opens the seven-date "biometric roadshow" tour at Manchester airport on Monday. He hopes the tour will help persuade people identity cards would protect their "personal data and privacy."
The federal government needs new privacy rules and technological methods to police their use of personal data from contractors like ChoicePoint and Acxiom, representatives from within and outside the government suggested Friday. Building public trust in the government's intentions is still a major obstacle, a host of workshop panelists said. The Transportation Security Administration, for one, took heat recently for failing to provide adequate disclosures of personal data usage.
Yahoo, the Internet search company, provided information last year that helped authorities in China convict a Chinese journalist for leaking state secrets to a foreign Web site, court documents show. The journalist, Shi Tao, was sentenced to 10 years in prison this June for sending to a Chinese-language Web site based in New York an anonymous posting that authorities said contained state secrets. His posting summarized a communication from Communist Party authorities to media outlets around the country.
New IT tools such as data mining ought to be used for homeland security only if their intrusiveness on privacy and infringement of due process rights can be adequately addressed in advance, according to a new report from a task force sponsored by the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. The task force also suggested principles to follow to ensure the protections.
Preventing the release of confidential information will be a major challenge for IT directors as they strive to comply with the EU Privacy Directive, analyst firm Gartner has warned. One of the main security issues facing IT directors is how to cope with requests made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, which can affect all public sector bodies and private sector companies contracted to them.
Neelin high school in Brandon, Manitoba, was wrong when it secretly installed hidden cameras three years ago but remedied the situation appropriately after they were discovered, according to the provincial ombudsman. Two cameras were installed in teachers� offices and a third in the school�s entranceway. Apart from the principal and vice-principal, no one at the school knew about the hidden cameras, one of which was disguised as a smoke detector. The school division removed the cameras after a complaint was lodged on Oct. 31, 2002 by a teacher who discovered one in her office.
A Berlin court issued a provisional ruling suppressing the publication of Gregor Gysi's Stasi files. The leader of the new Left party argued its publication would be in breach of his professional secrecy. Judges approved his application for a temporary injunction against publication of the file compiled on him by the East German secret police, or Stasi. A final decision will be made after the elections, once the court has examined further evidence.
Alberta needs to follow Ontario's lead and move ahead with a law requiring hospitals to notify police about gunshot victims coming for treatment, the head of the organized crime unit says. Ontario's new law -- the first of its kind in Canada -- forces hospitals to tell police if someone is being treated for a gunshot wound along with the name, if known.
Following Verizon Wireless' lead, CTIA (The Wireless Association) President and CEO Steve Largent warns telemarketers who infringe on wireless consumers' privacy that they will be "held accountable." Largent's comments come on the heels of two lawsuits filed against telemarketers this week by Verizon Wireless. The carrier is suing Intelligent Alternatives of San Diego, Calif. and Resort Marketing Trends of Coral Springs, Fla. for allegedly illegally soliciting its wireless customers using auto-dialers and pre-recorded messages.
Four Navy SEALs and the wife of a SEAL who sued The Associated Press over photos showing the servicemen posing with Iraqi prisoners have agreed to drop all claims and not appeal a decision by a federal judge in favor of the news organization. Last month, a judge in San Diego dismissed all four counts of the lawsuit and concluded that the claims that the news organization violated privacy and copyright laws by publishing the photos lacked merit.
JetBlue and Sun Country airlines have installed surveillance cameras that allow pilots to monitor passengers in an effort to avert a hijacking. Privacy advocates say that guidelines are needed to ensure surveillance cameras aboard aircraft do not violate a passenger's privacy.
The Real ID Act is a new federal law that establishes strict standards and procedures for the issuance of driver�s licenses by the states. The law requires states to capture digital images of identity source documents for storage in a transferable format. This will create an enormous repository of identification documents that will be an identity thief�s dream.
