Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery With Daily Postings Since 2002
Department of Home Security, Office of Inspector General, Office of Technology report: DHS Challenges in Consolidating Terrorist Watch List Information (54 pages, PDF, redacted). “DHS is not playing a lead role in consolidating terrorist watch list information…DHS offcials said that the new department lacked the resources and infrastructure to assume leadership for the consolidation…Effective use …
“In a report issued jointly by the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Heritage Foundation, National Security Agency Inspector General Joel Brenner proposes ten practical principles that should be applied to the human and technical aspects of information systems in order to balance privacy and national security.” [From the Center for Democracy and Technology] …
EFF press release: “In a landmark case, a California district court has determined that Diebold, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, knowingly misrepresented that online commentators, including IndyMedia and two Swarthmore college students, had infringed the company’s copyrights. This makes the company the first to be held liable for violating section 512(f) of the …
This represents the text of H.R. 10 as reported by the Committee on the Judiciary. Committee Amendment to H.R. 10, October 1, 2004. (PDF, 625 pages) See also my related posting, September 27, New Draft Legislation Expands on Patriot Act
A Starting Point: Legal Implications of Internet Filtering (PDF 16 pages) “In this paper, the Open Net Initiative (ONI) considers some of the legal implications of controlling access to Internet content through filtering. ONI — a research partnership of the Berkman Center, University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, and the University of Cambridge — documents Internet …
Social Security Numbers: Use Is Widespread and Protections Vary in Private and Public Sectors GAO-04-1099T, September 28, 2004, Highlights-PDF “The use of SSNs by both private and public sector entities is likely to continue, but the more frequently SSNs are used, the more likely they are to be misused given the continued rise in identity …
Best City and County Government Web Sites Named: “The nation’s most innovative and robust city and county government Web sites have been named by the Center for Digital Government in its 2004 Best of the Web contest…Capturing first place in the city portal category is Fort Collins, Colo.” Brown University’s state/federal e-gov rankings: “Denver wins …
This article today from Government Computer News, lists, along with some descriptive information, five data mining applications currently used by federal government agencies. The article also includes an interesting narrative of how homeland security is using data mining for threat assessment analysis.
Information Management: Planning for the Electronic Records Archives Has Improved GAO-04-927, September 23, 2004. Highlights (both PDF): “Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to develop the policies and plans to build the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), a major information system that is intended to preserve and provide access to …
From the University of Houston Libraries, this selective, annotated guide includes links to sites sponsored by state and federal government, academic, association, news sources, campaigns and polling organizations. [thanks D.C]
As posted on the online military personnel records request system from the National Archives: “There is a rumor circulating among veteran service organizations that Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) at the National Personnel Records Center will be digitized and then destroyed. This rumor is NOT TRUE…The National Archives and Records Administration preserves and protects OMPFs …
From the EFF: Electronic Voting Machine Quick Reference Guides: Includes an Information sheet and glossary (with tips for election observers) and a Location list of which voting machines are in your county. See also this testimony today, by EPIC, before the Election Assistance Commission Technical Guidelines Development Committee hearing on Human Factors and Privacy, relating …
