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Calls to put the DNA of every UK resident on a national database are impractical, the government has said. A senior police officer has argued for a universal register, after two killers were convicted on DNA evidence. But the Home Office said a mandatory database "would raise significant practical and ethical issues."
Mandatory DNA database rejected, BBC News, February 23, 2008.
A group led by a Princeton University computer security researcher has developed a simple method to steal encrypted information stored on computer hard disks. The technique, which could undermine security software protecting critical data on computers, is as easy as chilling a computer memory chip with a blast of frigid air from a can of dust remover. Encryption software is widely used by companies and government agencies, notably in portable computers that are especially susceptible to theft. The development, which was described on the group�s Web site Thursday, could also have implications for the protection of encrypted personal data from prosecutors.
Researchers Find Way to Steal Encrypted Data, New York Times, February 22, 2008.
The European Commission has sketched out guidelines designed to help get RFID (radio frequency identification) technologies up and running in the European Union, but stopped short of proposing formal legislation in the area. The Commission recommends that producers of RFID chips conduct a privacy assessment before marketing their wares, while industries that plan to use the chips should sign up to a code of conduct outlining how the chips should be used. Industries using RFID technology should agree on a symbol to attach to the goods that carry the chips to alert customers to their presence, the Commission proposed. It also suggests that the chips should deactivate automatically at the point of purchase. The draft is open for public consultation until April 25, 2008.
EU Drafts RFID Guidelines, PC World, February 21, 2008.
The Supreme Court dealt a setback Tuesday to civil rights and privacy advocates who oppose the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. The justices, without comment, turned down an appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union to let it pursue a lawsuit against the program that began shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The action underscored the difficulty of mounting a challenge to the eavesdropping, which remains classified and was confirmed by President Bush only after a newspaper article revealed its existence. "It's very disturbing that the president's actions will go unremarked upon by the court," said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's national security project. "In our view, it shouldn't be left to executive branch officials alone to determine the limits."
Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps, Associated Press, February 20, 2008.
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider whether evidence must be suppressed when authorities base an arrest on incorrect information from police files. The Coffee County, Ala., sheriff's department took Bennie Dean Herring into custody after being told by another county he was wanted for failing to appear in court on a felony charge. In a subsequent search, the sheriff's department found methamphetamine in Herring's pockets and an unloaded gun under the front seat of his truck. It turned out that the warrant for Herring's arrest had been recalled five months earlier.
Court to Consider Suppression Case, Associated Press, February 19, 2008.
A technical glitch gave the F.B.I. access to the e-mail messages from an entire computer network � perhaps hundreds of accounts or more � instead of simply the lone e-mail address that was approved by a secret intelligence court as part of a national security investigation, according to an internal report of the 2006 episode. F.B.I. officials blamed an �apparent miscommunication� with the unnamed Internet provider, which mistakenly turned over all the e-mail from a small e-mail domain for which it served as host. The records were ultimately destroyed, officials said.
F.B.I. Gained Unauthorized Access to E-Mail, New York Times, February 17, 2008.
A nursery has installed fingerprint scanning at its entrance to increase the safety of its young pupils. The nursery has been running for five-and-a-half years and has 100 children on its books, aged from four months to four-and-a-half years old. It believes it could be the first nursery in Wales to adopt such a system for staff and parents.
Fingerprint scan at nursery door, BBC News, February 16, 2008.
The House broke for a week�s recess Thursday without renewing terrorist surveillance authority demanded by President Bush, leading him to warn of risky intelligence gaps while Democrats accused him of reckless fear mongering. The refusal of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, to schedule a vote on a surveillance measure approved Tuesday by the Senate touched off an intense partisan conflict over the national security questions that have colored federal elections since 2002 and are likely to play a significant role again in November.
House Leaves Surveillance Law to Expire, New York Times, February 15, 2008.
The US Senate yesterday voted to shut down a series of high-profile lawsuits against telecommunications companies that facilitated President Bush's warrantless surveillance program, taking a major step toward closing the last forum in which critics have challenged the operation's legality. In a victory for the White House, the Senate voted to grant retroactive immunity from lawsuits to telecom companies - including industry giants AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint - that have been sued by customers for allegedly allowing the government to eavesdrop on private calls and e-mails despite communications privacy laws.
Senate OK's immunity on wiretaps, Boston Globe, February 13, 2008.
All non-Europeans would need to submit biometric data before crossing Europe's frontiers under sweeping European Union proposals to combat illegal migration, terrorism and organized crime that are to be outlined this week. The plans - arguably the biggest shake-up of border management in Europe since the creation of an internal travel zone - would apply to citizens of the United States and all other countries that now enjoy visa-free status. They would, however, allow EU citizens and "low risk" frequent travelers from outside the bloc to pass through automated, fast-track frontier checkpoints without coming into contact with border guards. Voluntary programs for prescreening such visitors, who would register fingerprints and other data, would be stepped up.
EU plans to require biometrics of all non-European visitors, International Herald Tribune, February 10, 2008.
STAMFORD - The union for paid firefighters has filed a grievance with the city over the installation of security cameras at the volunteer Springdale Fire Co., saying it's an illegal invasion of privacy. The Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association, which has 16 members working in the Springdale firehouse, says the security cameras will create a "big brother" environment and make paid firefighters uncomfortable. The union said it was never notified of the surveillance system and learned about it only after a paid firefighter saw the fire chief on a ladder in the firehouse and asked what he was doing, union President Brendan Keatley said. The union filed the grievance Jan. 29.
Security camera plan sparks privacy fight at Stamford firehouse, Stamford Advocate, February 9, 2008.
Every year, about 1,000 domestic violence victims legally change their Social Security numbers in an attempt to elude people who may pose threats, and many more change their legal names, according to figures compiled by advocacy groups. But hiding from stalkers may become more difficult under a federal law called the Real ID Act that's scheduled to take effect on May 11. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new regulations mandate specific standards for what personal information states must print on the face of Real ID drivers licenses and encode on their machine-readable zones. Although there's some consideration for people who qualify for special confidentiality treatment, critics argue the protections don't go far enough.
Real ID worries domestic violence groups, CNet News.com, February 8, 2008.
Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Asian Law Caucus, two civil liberties groups in San Francisco, plan to file a lawsuit to force the government to disclose its policies on border searches, including which rules govern the seizing and copying of the contents of electronic devices. They also want to know the boundaries for asking travelers about their political views, religious practices and other activities potentially protected by the First Amendment. The question of whether border agents have a right to search electronic devices at all without suspicion of a crime is already under review in the federal courts. The lawsuit was inspired by two dozen cases, 15 of which involved searches of cellphones, laptops, MP3 players and other electronics. Almost all involved travelers of Muslim, Middle Eastern or South Asian background.
Clarity Sought on Electronics Searches, Washington Post, February 7, 2008.
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