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Daily Archives: January 26, 2017

Pew – Americans and Cybersecurity

“Cyberattacks and data breaches are facts of life for government agencies, businesses and individuals alike in today’s digitized and networked world. Just a few of the most high-profile breaches in 2016 alone include the hacking and subsequent release of emails from members of the Democratic National Committee; the release of testing records of dozens of athletes conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency; and the announcement by Yahoo that hackers had accessed the private information associated with roughly 1 billion email accounts. Finally, in late 2016 and early 2017 U.S. intelligence agencies (the FBI, CIA and Department of Homeland Security) both issued statements and testified before Congress that the Russian government was involved in the hack of the DNC with the aim of influencing the 2016 presidential election. Previous Pew Research Center studies of the digital privacy environment have found that many Americans fear they have lost control of their personal information and many worry whether government agencies and major corporations can protect the customer data they collect. As part of this ongoing series of studies on the state of online privacy and security, the Center conducted a national survey of 1,040 adults in the spring of 2016 to examine their cybersecurity habits and attitudes. This survey finds that a majority of Americans have directly experienced some form of data theft or fraud, that a sizeable share of the public thinks that their personal data have become less secure in recent years, and that many lack confidence in various institutions to keep their personal data safe from misuse. In addition, many Americans are failing to follow digital security best practices in their own personal lives, and a substantial majority expects that major cyberattacks will be a fact of life in the future.”

Federal Reserve Issues Progress Report on Efforts to Improve the US Payment System

“The Federal Reserve on Thursday, January 26, 2017 released a progress report outlining accomplishments and anticipated steps moving forward related to the ongoing initiatives to enhance the speed, efficiency and security of the U.S. payment system. The progress report highlights collaborative efforts in support of five strategies outlined in the January 2015 publication of Strategies… Continue Reading

Lorcan Dempsey on the reorganization of library collections in the networked environment

“Digital environments are changing the nature of research and learning, and the library collections and services that support research are being reorganized to meet the needs of researchers in these environments. Dempsey describes the expanding role of academic libraries in managing research outputs, as well as their expanding role in facilitating access to local, external… Continue Reading

Days of Remembrance – Why We Remember the Holocaust

United States Holocaust Museum: “The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. Each year state and local governments, military bases, workplaces, schools, religious organizations, and civic centers host observances and remembrance activities for their communities. These events can occur during the Week of Remembrance, which runs from the… Continue Reading

ProPublica – How to Protect Your Digital Privacy in the Era of Public Shaming

Americans face unprecedented threats to the digital safety of their personal information. “We offer nine tips to foil hackers, ransomware, online trackers, data brokers and other menaces,” by Julia Angwin, ProPublica, Jan. 26, 2017. “We are living in an era of widespread hacking and public shaming. Don’t like your political rivals? Beg Russia to hack… Continue Reading

CRS – Executive Authority to Exclude Aliens: In Brief

Executive Authority to Exclude Aliens: In Brief, Kate M. Manuel, Acting Section Research Manager. January 23, 2017. “The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that individual aliens outside the United States are “inadmissible”— or barred from admission to the country—on health, criminal, security, and other grounds set forth in the INA. However, the INA also… Continue Reading

CRS – Sentencing Reform at the End of the 114th Congress

CRS Reports & Analysis Legal Sidebar Sentencing Reform at the End of the 114th Congress 01/24/2017:  “On December 23, 2016, the House Judiciary Committee reported the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 3713). The Senate Judiciary Committee had previously reported a corresponding proposal, as Title I of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015… Continue Reading

GAO report on VA administration of human capital challenges

Veterans Health Administration: Management Attention Is Needed to Address Systemic, Long-standing Human Capital Challenges, GAO-17-30: Published: Dec 23, 2016. Publicly Released: Jan 23, 2017: “The Veterans Health Administration is facing key human capital challenges that hamper its ability to effectively serve veterans—including skills gaps within medical centers’ HR offices and inadequate training for HR staff.… Continue Reading

It Is Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight according to the Doomsday Clock

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: “The probability of… Continue Reading

McClatchy – Trump team compiles infrastructure priority list

“This story has been updated to add details on the origin and circulation of information about potential infrastructure investments and White House comment.” Please read the entire article as it provides significant information and related documents on an evolving plan that includes precluding the participation of and benefits for states such as California. “President Donald… Continue Reading