Category «Privacy»

EPIC – FBI Performs Massive Virtual Line-up by Searching DMV Photos

“Through a Freedom of Information Act request, EPIC obtained a number of agreements between the FBI and state DMVs. The agreements allow the FBI to use facial recognition to compare subjects of FBI investigations with the millions of license and identification photos retained by participating state DMVs. EPIC also obtained the Standard Operating Procedure for …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Privacy

Obscured by Clouds or How to Address Governmental Access to Cloud Data from Abroad

Van Hoboken, Joris V. J., Arnbak, Axel and Van Eijk, Nico, Obscured by Clouds or How to Address Governmental Access to Cloud Data from abroad (June 9, 2013). Available at SSRN. “Transnational surveillance is obscured by the cloud. U.S. foreign intelligence law provides a wide and relatively unchecked possibility of access to data from Europeans …

Subjects: Cybercrime, EU Data Protection, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Commentary: The PRISM – Privacy in an age of publicity

Follow up to previous postings on NSA’s big data domestic surveillance program, via The New Yorker – The PRISM – Privacy in the age of publicity by Jill Lepore, June 24, 2013: “The A.C.L.U., which last week filed a suit against the Obama Administration, has called the N.S.A.’s surveillance program, Prism, a “gross infringement” of the “right to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Marketing, Patriot Act, Privacy

Army Releases Cybersecurity Handbook to Public

News release: “The Army published a new handbook this month to provide leaders of all levels with the information and tools needed to address today’s cybersecurity challenges, and to ensure organizations adopt the necessary practices to protect their information and the Army network. ..Currently, all Army commands are developing Information Assurance/Cybersecurity awareness training to address …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Government Documents, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Bill to Declassify FISA Court Opinions

Follow up to previous postings – this June 11, 2013 news release: “Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), accompanied by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced a bill that would put an end to the “secret law” …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Internet, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy

EPIC – European Commissioner Asks Attorney General to Explain US Spying

“European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has demanded that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder explain the scope of US data collection about EU citizens. “Direct access of US law enforcement to the data of EU citizens on servers of US companies should be excluded unless in clearly defined, exceptional and judicially reviewable situations,” the Commissioner wrote. …

Subjects: EU Data Protection, Legal Research, Privacy

FCW – NSA shows how big ‘big data’ can be

FCW.com – Frank Konkel -“As reported by Information Week, the NSA relies heavily on Accumulo, “a highly distributed, massively parallel processing key/value store capable of analyzing structured and unstructured data” to process much of its data. NSA’s modified version of Accumulo, based on Google’s BigTable data model, reportedly makes it possible for the agency to …

Subjects: E-Government, Internet, Knowledge Management, Privacy

FTC Issues Revised Business Guide on ‘Red Flags’ Identity Theft Rule

News release: “The Federal Trade Commission has issued revised guidance designed to help businesses comply with the requirements of the Red Flags Rule, which protects consumers by requiring businesses to watch for and respond to warning signs or “red flags” of identity theft. The guidance outlines which businesses – financial institutions and some creditors – …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Government Documents, ID Theft, Internet, Privacy

Amnesty International’s 2013 report – The State of the World’s Human Rights

“The Amnesty International Report 2013 documents the state of human rights during 2012. The Foreword and the country-by-country survey of 159 individual countries and territories set out a global overview of human rights violations and abuses inflicted by those in power on those who stand in the way of their vested interests. Human rights defenders, often themselves living …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Privacy

Pew – Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic

Public Says Investigate Terrorism, Even If It Intrudes on Privacy: “A majority of Americans – 56% – say the National Security Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of Americans is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, though a substantial minority – 41% – say it is unacceptable. And while …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Free Speech, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

Moving Beyond Passwords: Consumer Attitudes on Online Authentication

Moving Beyond Passwords: Consumer Attitudes on Online Authentication A Study of US, UK and German Consumers, Ponemon Institute, April 2013: “In this study we investigate consumers’ perceptions about how organizations are confirming their identity and determine what they would consider to be the ideal steps and technologies used to ensure their identity is protected.”

Subjects: Cybercrime, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

NYT and WaPo: How the U.S. Uses Technology to Mine More Data More Quickly

Follow up to related postings, via the New York Times: “Today, a revolution in software technology that allows for the highly automated and instantaneous analysis of enormous volumes of digital information has transformed the N.S.A., turning it into the virtual landlord of the digital assets of Americans and foreigners alike. The new technology has, for …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Patriot Act, Privacy