Nicole Perlroth writes: Kidnappers used to make ransom notes with letters cut out of magazines. Now, notes simply pop up on your computer screen, except the hostage is your PC. Read more on The New York Times. I was interested to read that some researchers estimate that 2.9% of compromised computer owners pay out and…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Some Australians may be too trusting
How many reports have we seen where people purchasing used drives or devices find personal information or data from the previous owner? Lots of times, right? So why am I covering this on this blog today? Well, because the findings from one study may qualify for today’s “This Takes the Cake” Award. Aleisha Orr’s news…
Maybe next time they’ll heed the warning? (updated)
One of the privacy cases that I covered over the last 5+ years on PogoWasRight.org concerned the government’s ability to require extensive background checks on employees and employees of contractors. That case, NASA v. Nelson, was eventually decided by the Supreme Court in January 2011. EPIC had filed an amicus brief in the case on…
“The Haley Effect?”
In response to my post yesterday about Governor Haley’s repeated mis-statements, Centennial Man writes: Perhaps we have a new meme to complement the Streisand Effect. The Haley Effect is the repeated attempt by politicians to convince voters that they know something when they clearly do not… There’s always room for a good meme. The Haley…
IRS says states must encrypt electronic tax records; Governor Haley attempts to extricate her feet from her mouth (UPDATED)
UPDATE: See comment by Don Moffett below this post who notes that the Governor was actually correct and the IRS’s statement is incorrect. Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina should stop talking about the massive databreach at the Department of Revenue and let someone who actually knows something about data security speak for the state….
So much tax refund fraud…. and so much we don’t find out about
As I’ve noted here and on PHIprivacy.net a number of times, sometimes the only way we seem to find out about breaches is when government attorneys issue press releases that refer to breaches. Often, such press releases lack the kind of details we need to help us understand what type of breach occurred, how many…