Evan Schuman writes: When two Boston-based federal judges sentence Albert Gonzalez Thursday (March 25) and Friday (March 26) for a rash of retail cyber-break-ins that he confessed to orchestrating, the exact sentence may be academic. The key legal argument is shaping up to be this question: “When a retailer is breached, what’s the most reasonable…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Western Australia’s Auditor General Finds Serious Weaknesses in Government Agencies’ Handling of Information
In his annual report on Information System Management in state government agencies, the Auditor General for Western Australia has identified serious weaknesses in the way many agencies manage their IT systems. The two-part Information Systems Audit Report, tabled in Parliament, found that government agencies were often failing to implement comprehensive controls over their IT systems…
An ACTA of insecurity
By now, the leaked copy of the January 18, 2010 draft of ACTA is all over the web. What I don’t understand is the notice on the cover: This document must be protected from unauthorized disclosure, but may be mailed or transmitted over unclassified e-mail or fax, discussed over unsecured phone lines, and stored on…
Compensation should be paid for personal data loss, says report
Urmee Khan reports: Putting a price on privacy will deter organisations from losing or abusing people’s personal details, the influential think tank Demos found. The recommendation comes amid increasing concern that there has been a dramatic expansion of a “surveillance society”, which threatens to erode civil liberties. The report Private Lives, published today, recommended that…
The Five Stages of Data Loss Grief
Back in 1970, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote On Death and Dying, a now-classic book that identified five stages of grieving and emotions that terminally ill patients go through. Adam Frucci has adapted that to the five stages of data loss grief: So your hard drive just died, and you didn’t back it up. I’m so,…
IRS security faults leave taxpayer information at risk
Michael Cooney reports: In this the heavy tax season where billions of dollars and tons of personal information is relayed to and from the government, it’s more disconcerting to hear that the Internal Revenue Service is still struggling to keep private information secure. A report out today from watchdogs at the Government Accountability Office says…