EPIC's letter to the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee document's the organizations opposition to substantial FY 2006 budget increases for the "Transportation Security Administration's surveillance programs."
A survey reviewing the time spent by business owners around the world dealing with email related issues indicates that U.S., India and the Phillipines top the list, averaging two hours per day.
From Benjamin Edelman, links to his analysis of the SPY Act as well as his review of proposed state legislation on the issue.
"The report entitled "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." We have also included reports on several countries that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement."
Press release: Senators Clinton and Boxer, Representative Tubbs Jones And Others Unveil Major Election Reform Bill:
From the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, this February 2005 update to their guide, Online Data Brokers: How Consumers Can Opt Out of Directory Assistance and Non-public Information, includes a chart detailing the specific procedure required by 17 free and fee-based websites and services which aggregate and provide access to a range of personal data. Take some time and review the information that these sites maintain on you, and be aware that they do not comprise all available online sources. Also note that unlike the Do-Not-Call Registry, opting out of these websites is not a one time request. As the database content is refreshed throughout the year, ensuring that your information is permanently removed may be an insurmountable challenge.
Following up on my posting February 16, Open Government Act of 2005 Introduced Today With Bipartisan Support, see this DOJ analysis of the legislation's specific proposals.
From Wired, a critique of the Wall Street Journals' adherence to a fee based subscription strategy that prevents search engine indexing of their extensive, authoritative, and highly regarded content. This in turn results in very limited linking to their articles by a ever expanding community of bloggers and website publishers. The debate should and will continue about fee vs. free content, but what really resonates is the bigger picture: those who interpret web search results as an accurate cross section of facts and commentary on specific events and issues (and this number is growing exponentially) may not even be cognizant of the amazing volume of relevant information they do not have the opportunity to assess.
What follows is a group of recent, relevant articles and documents associated with the escalating critical evaluation of database aggregation and sale of personal data and associated digital scams and ID theft.
Press release, February 16, 2005: "Secretary of State Matt Brown today unveiled a groundbreaking web data-sharing initiative, which will give citizens and Rhode Island government agencies real-time, ongoing access to the databases maintained by his office. RSSonate...was developed to provide easy access to constantly updated data, which users can then use to create customized information. For example, users will have constant, real-time access to databases listing such information as who is lobbying at the State House and which businesses have incorporated in the state. At the same time, users will have the power to generate information by combining data from separate databases. For example, users would be able to create a data feed letting them know if there are any lobbyists who incorporated a new business."
"Welcome to the Nooked RSS Directory (beta). You can search for corporate RSS feeds by keyword or browse the categories below. If you publish corporate RSS feeds, you can submit them to our directory." [Moonwatcher]
On February 23, 2005 the UK Home Office launched ITsafe "to provide both home users and small businesses with proven, plain English advice to help protect computers, mobile phones and other devices from malicious attack."
The Latest Initiative in Congress: Blogging
Press release: "U.S. adults are divided right down the middle on whether the potential privacy risks associated with a patient electronic medical record system outweigh the expected benefits to patients and society, according to Dr. Alan F. Westin, Professor of Public Law & Government Emeritus, Columbia University and Director of a new Program on Information Technology, Health Records & Privacy at Privacy & American Business (P&AB)."
Related references:
Press release: Department of Homeland Security Announces Appointments to Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee
The NewPR Wiki, resources on legal problems, provides news, links and documentation that relates to blogging on and off the job.
Memorandum of Understanding On Mutual Enforcement Assistance In Commercial Email Matters Between the Federal Trade Commission of the United States of America and the Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos [Link]
From the Comptroller of the Currency: Other Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations (139 pages, PDF), a revision of a booklet in the Comptroller's Handbook for Consumer Compliance, updates interagency examination procedures for such laws and regulations as the Homeowners Protection Act, the Consumer Leasing Act, the "Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-Related Agreements," and the "Prohibition Against Use of Interstate Branches Primarily for Deposit Production."
With LLRX.com's terrific After Hours columnist Kathy Biehl in mind, here is a link to the first annual 2005 Independent Food Festival Awards [via Hot Links], awarded by a jury comprised of food bloggers, with winners in over two dozen categories.
Looking for quick, easy and direct ways to use search engines, directories and online services to locate local information, sell unwanted items from you home, find bargains and good restaurants, arrange trips, comparison shop and more? Take some time to review these articles from PC World, Smart Searches, Without Google and New Names Shake Up Web Searching, and you will no doubt find some sites that will serve your needs.
Press release: Leahy Calls For Hearings On Information Brokers That Are Emerging As Private Intelligence Agencies Tuesday, February 22, 2005:
Social Security Administration: Actions Needed to Strengthen Processes for Issuing Social Security Numbers to Children GAO-05-115, January 31, 2005, Highlights.
From NeOn, An open conversation with Michael Wiley, Director New Media, GM Communications about: "GM FastLane Blog, GM's experiments with podcasting and GM's plans for further developments with communication channels like blogs, podcasting and RSS."
"Welcome to Seekport (beta), the new Internet search engine optimised to meet the needs of users in the UK. Proven technology and a British indexing team ensure high-quality searching with much less spam and far fewer hits from the US." [via URL Wire]
"Leading IT companies including Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and Symantec are promoting a rating system that will standardize the measurement of the severity of software vulnerabilities." [Link]
From the Project on Government Oversight, this press release today: Justice Department Caves In: Allows Publication of Retroactively Classified Information. "
Press release: U.S. Corporations Misuse or Underuse Competitive Intelligence, Outward Insights Survey Shows: "A majority of U.S. based companies that claim to use competitive intelligence (CI) to guide their decision-making processes either don't use intelligence enough or use it the wrong way. This excludes nearly 30% of companies that don't even have, or don't feel the need for, a CI system, despite today's ultra-competitive environment." [thanks Claudia]
From the Cato Institute, Peer-to-Peer Networking and Digital Rights Management: How Market Tools Can Solve Copyright Problems, February 17, 2005:
By Chris Jay Hoofnagle, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Putting Identity Theft on Ice: Freezing Credit Reports to Prevent Lending to Impostors.
There are two feeds available via this Microsoft PressPass RSS Feeds link: Microsoft PressPass - Press Releases and Microsoft PressPass - Top Stories.
Health Industry Under Pressure to Computerize: "The federal government has delivered a warning to the health care industry: move into the computer age or the government will probably impose a solution."
Related resources:
From Mobile PC Magazine, The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time. You will be surprised at how many of these gadgets you may have owned over your lifetime, as well as the evolution in the technical sophistication represented in current items in the various categories.
From the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: The ChoicePoint Data Security Breach: What It Means for You, and How to Find Out What ChoicePoint Knows about You
Related resources:
From GPO: "The Economic Report of the President is an annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. It overviews the nation's economic progress using text and extensive data appendices. The Economic Report of the President is transmitted to Congress no later than ten days after the submission of the Budget of the United States Government. Supplementary reports can be issued to the Congress which contain additional and/or revised recommendations. Documents are available as ASCII text and PDF files."
As a follow-up to postings on the extensive ID theft that took place last fall but was only widely reported this week, EPIC today sent a letter which includes additional information on the case. The letter includes the information that the criminal ID theft group that obtained personal data records on an as yet undetermined number of Americans, did so after establishing bogus user accounts, which they in turn used to purchase the information in question.
The New York Times sort of catches the wave on the increasingly popular new grass roots broadcasting format, in this article, Tired of TiVo? Beyond Blogs? Podcasts Are Here. Created by tech pioneers Adam Curry and Dave Winer, podcasting offers "amateurs" a means by which they can create and disseminate information on issues great and small, special interests and news, that listeners download and listen to on their PCs, iPods or handhelds. A How-To Guide is available from iPodder.org.
From the press release, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, February 16, 2005: "Joined by several other state Attorneys General, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has written to a Georgia company that collects vast amounts of personal and financial data urging that the company immediately notify any Illinoisans whose information may have been breached following the theft of such information from the company by identity thieves. Others signing the letter include Attorneys General of Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington."
Related references:
There have been a number of articles in recent months on privacy issues associated with search engine queries. This one, Is It Too Easy To Find People On Google? from Investor.com offers a quick review of how data from public sources is aggregated and returned in search results via services from Google, Yahoo and MapQuest.
From the press release: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)...called for a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on legislation that she sponsored which would require businesses or government agencies to notify individuals if a database has been broken into and personal data has been compromised, including Social Security numbers, driver's licenses and credit cards. This follows two recent incidents – involving databases at Science Applications International Corporation and ChoicePoint -- which underscore the need for federal legislation."
Related references:
From the New York Times press release today: "Our core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and disseminating high-quality news, information and entertainment. We do this at all of our properties and the same is true of About. Ranking in the top 15 most frequently visited sites, About.com is one of the Web's most popular destinations. Its network of nearly 500 experts, known as guides, create Web sites on thousands of topics – from personal finance to consumer electronics, to history and geography."
The Financial Times and The Economist now provide RSS feeds. The Financial Times requires a subscription to portions of its respective content, so be aware that the newsfeeds will be likewise restricted if you are not a subscriber. The paper is currently offering links to 14 content areas on this webpage. The Economist has two rather limited feeds, one to the print edition table of contents (weekly) and one to stories published by Global Agenda (weekdays). [via NevOn]
The results of the 2004 Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Report Card, dated February 16, 2005, are a governmentwide grade of D+.
Related references:
Press release: "Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a white paper (Dangerous Terms – A User's Guide to EULAs) warning consumers about how they can be harmed by end user license agreements (EULAs) for consumer electronics and online services. Many EULAs contain terms that damage consumer interests, including invitations for vendors to snoop on users' computers, prohibitions on publicly criticizing the product in question, and bans on customizing or even repairing purchased devices."
Updates today on news earlier this week, Data Mining Aggregator Reports Widespread ID Theft, disclose that the scope of the ID theft scam may involve half a million individuals around the country, not just the 35,000 in California as initially reported.
Related resources:
From the Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: Protecting America’s Critical Infrastructure – Cyber Security: "In February 2003, President George W. Bush issued the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. Recognizing the increasing danger posed by cyber threats and the devastating disruption that could result because of the interdependent nature of information systems that support our nation’s critical infrastructure, the Strategy provides a strategic framework to prevent cyber attacks against America’s critical infrastructures; reduce national vulnerability to cyber attacks; and minimize the damage and recovery time from cyber attacks should they occur."
"Restore Scientific Integrity to Federal Research and Policymaking: Reps. Waxman and Gordon introduce H.R. 839, legislation to protect federal science from political interference. The bill includes bars on manipulating science, suppressing research, and using political litmus tests to appoint members of scientific advisory committees." The following documents are all in PDF format:
From the Progressive Government Institute, a wealth of data is available on the President's appointees from this website, which offers users the option of locating specific information via graphical charts for each agency, or using keyword searching on fields that include: Appointee Name or Title, Appointee Job Function, and Nominee Name or Background.
21st Century Challenges: Reexamining the Base of the Federal Government GAO-05-352T, February 16, 2005.
As a follow-up to my posting yesterday, Data Mining Aggregator Reports Widespread ID Theft, an article from today's San Francisco Chronicle offers more details, including information on the arrest and upcoming arraignment of a suspect and reports of additional cases of ID theft related to this incident.
From SIDEWALK/theory, a continually updated guide to the RSS feeds provided by national and local newspapers, which currently comprises an alphabetical list of 73 titles.
The Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2005 (OPEN Government Act, S. 394) was introduced today by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). For related documents on this bill which has bipartisan support on the Hill, as well as from associations, press, and think tanks, see the following:
Google Toolbar 3 Beta offers new features including:
From GPO, Public and Private Laws: "Public and private laws are prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). GPO Access contains the text of public and private laws enacted from the 104th Congress to the present. The database for the current session of Congress is updated when the publication of a slip law is authorized by OFR. Documents are available as ASCII text and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files."
From the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), Welcome to the Jungle: The State Privacy Implications of Spam, Phishing and Spyware (15 pages, PDF).
From the Berkeley Daily Planet, Library's New Technology Sparks Controversy.
Reports today from MSNBC, Reuters (via CNN Money), and New.com on the theft of between 30,000 to 35,000 personal digital data profiles of California residents, which occured last fall. Related postings.
From Gartner, Proposed Real ID Act Fails to Include Data Protection
Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal decision, O'Brien v. O'Brien, filed February 11, 2005, addressed the issue of a wife's use of spyware to intercept her husband's communications with another woman. The court affirmed the trial court's finding that the electronic communications were illegally obtained.
This AP article compares the web map services from Google, Yahoo, MSN Maps and AOL's MapQuest, all of whom obtain their core data from the same two services, but offer users different search features.
Law librarian Abbie Bradfield launched a blog today, AbsTracked, "A blog listing useful theme-related links." From day one this looks to be a must read.
From the FTC press release today: "The Federal Trade Commission and consumer protection agencies around the world have created a valuable new tool to help consumers resolve cross-border disputes. The International Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directory contains contact information for dispute resolution service providers that can help consumers resolve problems with foreign sellers, regardless of the seller's location. The directory was unveiled today on econsumer.gov, a joint Web site operated by consumer protection agencies in 20 countries."
From Today's Roll Call (subscription only), Policing Internet Politics? "The Federal Election Commission next month will begin looking at tightening restrictions on political activities in cyberspace, a controversial move that makes some FEC officials uneasy." Additional information via this UPI article and News.com
This AP article, Google Discusses Strategy With Analysts, includes news that the company "is likely to require its users to begin providing personal information to use some of its products and services."
S. 316: A bill to limit authority to delay notice of search warrants (By Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]) Introduced Feb 8, 2005.
S. 317: A bill to protect privacy by limiting the access of the Government to library, bookseller, and other personal records for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. Introduced (By Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]), Feb 8, 2005.
Reps. Waxman and Maloney ask for hearings on whether political considerations caused the Administration to delay release of findings by the 9/11 Commission about pre-attack warnings:
H.R. 581: To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media. Introduced by Rep. Mike Pence, Feb 2, 2005. Note: Rep. Pense has a blog.
As a follow-up to my February 9 posting, Controversy Surrounds Real ID Act, yesterday evening the House passed the bill (96% of Republicans supporting, 78% of Democrats opposing), which "Prohibits Federal agencies from accepting State issued driver's licenses or identification cards unless such documents are determined by the Secretary to meet minimum security requirements." These requirements include that the ID have "Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes...[and] A common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements."
Commentary and newly released documents concerning national security issues prior to 9-11, from the New York Times, 9/11 Report Cites Many Warnings About Hijackings, and from the National Security Archive, 9/11 Commission Staff Report on FAA Failings Published on Web.
Representatives Goodlatte, Lofgren and Smith reintroduced their anti-spyware legislation on January 25, 2005 (already passed last fall by the House Judiciary Committee), and now called the Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2005.
European Union Legal Materials: A Guide for Infrequent Users , by Duncan E. Alford.
Press release: "The National Security Archive today posted the widely-debated, but previously unavailable, January 25, 2001, memo from counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke to national security advisor Condoleezza Rice - the first terrorism strategy paper of the Bush administration. The document was central to debates in the 9/11 hearings over the Bush administration's policies and actions on terrorism before September 11, 2001. Clarke's memo requests an immediate meeting of the National Security Council's Principals Committee to discuss broad strategies for combating al-Qaeda by giving counterterrorism aid to the Northern Alliance and Uzbekistan, expanding the counterterrorism budget and responding to the U.S.S. Cole attack. Despite Clarke's request, there was no Principals Committee meeting on al-Qaeda until September 4, 2001."
Unpublished Administration Budget Documents Show Domestic Cuts Would Significantly Reduce Funding For Most Public Services: "The budget the Administration has released shows cuts in discretionary programs only for 2006. This analysis uses back-up materials OMB has provided Congress to show the size of the discretionary program cuts by program area over the next five years; the cuts triple by the fifth year."
"An updated white paper link compilation is now available and titled Online Research Tools by Marcus P. Zillman. It is a comprehensive listing of online research tools that offer various downloadable as well as web applications to allow you to do your research and searching on the Internet far more effective and productive."
"This report (19 pages, PDF) provides a detailed, comprehensive analysis of identity fraud in the United States, in order to better understand methods for prevention, detection and resolution. Co-released by Javelin Strategy & Research and the Better Business Bureau, this report is issued as a longitudinal update to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) 2003 Identity Theft Survey Report."
Announcement from WikiMedia: "Google Inc. has made a proposal to host some of the content of the Wikimedia projects. The terms of the offer are currently being discussed by the board. The developer committee has been informed of some of the details via email. A private IRC meeting with Google is planned for March, 2005. Please note that this agreement does not mean there is any requirement for us to include advertising on the site. More details will be put here when the offer is allowed to be made public."
As a follow-up to my November 29, 2004 posting, Open Source Encyclopedia Publishers Expand Mission to Global News, a commentary on WikiNews from the New York Times.
Despite all the heralding of email's demise, it is still an essential desktop program in the workplace and for many home users as well. This Washington Post article, via MSNBC News, reviews free and low cost alternatives to Outlook.
Ensuring your intranet is a success, Powerpoint presentation by James Robertson, Step Two Designs (Furl - The Darlene Fichter Archive)
Press release: "Today IBM announced the results from its 2004 Global Business Security Index Report and provided an early look at potential security threats in 2005. Based on early indicators, a new and troubling trend this year may be the aggressive spread of viruses and worms to handheld devices, cell phones, wireless networks, and embedded computers, which include car and satellite communication systems." [thanks David Ries]
Always Fresh: Fast Content For Library Web Site with Really Simple Syndication (RSS) [Slides PDF], by Darlene Fichter:
The 2005 Excellence.Gov Awards, sponsored by the Industry Advisory Council and the Federal CIO Council, announced the five winners today chosen from among a group of 25 finalists. Recognized for implementing best practices and for services for which a high level of end-user satisfaction was recorded were: the e-Training Initiative (Office of Personnel Management); the U.S. Department of Education Free Application for Federal Student Aid Web Site; the FDA Industry Systems,"a global extranet used for food facility registration and prior notice of shipments for U.S. imports created under the Bioterrorism Act"; the U.S. Postal Service Click-N-Ship; and the USPTO Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).
From the Washington Post (reg. req'd), For Spammers, Worm Turns a Profit: "Bagle Attacks Show Growing Cooperation Between Virus Writers, Other Online Criminals."
The media's portrayal of hacking, hackers, and hacktivism before and after September 11, by Sandor Vegh: "This paper provides a thorough analysis of the mainstream media representation of hackers, hacking, hacktivism, and cyberterrorism. The intensified U.S. debate on the security of cyberspace after September 11, 2001, has negatively influenced the movement of online political activism, which is now forced to defend itself against being labeled by the authorities as a form of cyberterrorism. However, these socially or politically progressive activities often remain unknown to the public, or if reported, they are presented in a negative light in the mass media."
"The Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) is the most comprehensive initiative ever advanced to smash the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, stop trade in pirated and counterfeit goods at America's borders, block bogus goods around the world, and help small businesses secure and enforce their rights in overseas markets." [Link]
From the FTC press release: "The Federal Trade Commission has launched the seventh annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), February 6-12, 2005, in cooperation with federal, state and local agencies, and national advocacy organizations committed to consumer protection and education. This year's theme, "Identity Theft: When Fact Becomes Fiction," focuses on minimizing the risk of identity theft and taking fast action if an identity thief strikes...The NCPW Web site contains helpful information for consumers and businesses on a variety of topics, including "phishing" scams, telecommunications fraud, Internet fraud, and the theft of printed documents with personal information, as well as protecting employees from identity theft in the workplace. The site also contains valuable consumer information on the steps to take if you become a victim."
FCC press release: "On February 7, with the cooperation of wireless carriers, the Commission published on its Web site a list of mail domain names used to send messages to wireless service. This list is to protect cellular and wireless consumers from unwanted commercial electronic mail messages by alerting marketers to which Internet domain names are used in the electronic addresses of wireless service subscribers."
Press release: "The Army continued its effort to keep the public informed concerning detainee operations by releasing its sixth set of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The release contains 77 cases that have been previously released to the American Civil Liberties Union. The documents were mailed to the requesting media organizations on 28 January 2005. In all cases final disposition has been determined or the attorneys involved in the case have determined that release of the information will not adversely affect the outcome of the cases. Download PDF Fact Sheet (