Archive for November, 2006

Data Mining Doesn’t Always Pay: $1.135 Million Judgment

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

On November 29 Judge Clarence Cooper of Atlanta’s U.S. District Court ordered that Tamarac, Fla.-based 1st Source Information Specialists Inc. and company principals Kenneth W. Gorman and Steven Schwartz disgorge all profits and pay Cingular Wireless compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees totaling $1,135,000.
1st Source was harvesting cell phone numbers from web sites and doing reverse lookups for cellphone numbers and selling the information to other businesss for $110 to $195. To make things worse they were also selling records of the calls made from specific cell phone numbers; an additional huge invasion of privacy.

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The Impact of the New False Claims Act Guidelines on HIPAA Compliance

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

A news report caught my eye, “HIPAA Enforcement Swings from Voluntary Compliance to Punishment for Violation of Privacy and Security Laws as States Join Federal Enforcement Under Federal Mandate.”

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More on Telecommunications Security: Strong Customer Identity Verification Procedures are Necessary

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

Since I’m on the topic of cell phone security and privacy today, I want to discuss briefly a story from yesterday on CNN, “Fan hacks Linkin singer cell data, threatens wife.”

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Is There Security for Enroute Text Messages? Some Odd Incidents…

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

I have a couple of friends I exchange text messages with often. I always have my cell phone with me, so it’s an easy way to just say “Hi!” or see how their day is going. When I’m out and about and see something interesting (buildings, plants, etc.), unusual (clothing or hairdos of people traveling in airports, etc.), or downright weird (“exotic” food I’ve ordered at restaurants, etc.), I like to take a photo and send it attached to a text message to one or more of my friends just to share the moment.

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DOT Stolen Laptop: Arrest Made

Monday, November 27th, 2006

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) laptop stolen in July containing information “such as names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates of bith‚Äîon more than 130,000 individuals who were issued driver’s and pilot licenses in the Tampa and Miami areas” is still missing, but an arrest has been made.

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Establish Effective Procedures for Removing Systems Access: Example

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006

An article from last Wednesday (11/15) just caught my eye; it is intriguing: “Hoffacker charged with hacking system.” The article indicates a former VP of Technology at Source Media, Stevan Hoffacker, was

“charged with hacking into the company’s computer system three years after he was dismissed, and tipping off employees whose jobs were in jeopardy.”

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Support for Information Assurance Activities: Details of FTC Rulings Since 1969 Now Available

Monday, November 20th, 2006

I am excited. I’m really happy to see that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has now made available all the minute details about all their rulings since 1969 in one easy (comparatively) to find location.
Why is this so neat, you ask?

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Laptop Protection Advice for The Holidays

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Yesterday EARTHtimes, which appears to be a general news site, carried a story with a cute title that caught my eye, “Don’t be a turkey: Protect your laptop during holiday travel.”

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More About the FTC Tech-ade Public Hearing

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006

I just found a blog for the FTC Tech-ade public hearing I just posted about; the Tech-Ade Blog. Some very interesting thoughts about a wide range of topics!

More About the FTC Tech-ade Public Hearing

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006

I just found a blog for the FTC Tech-ade public hearing I just posted about; the Tech-Ade Blog. Some very interesting thoughts about a wide range of topics!