Information Privacy

Facebook rapped in Europe over privacy

2011-12-21T18:30:29Z

Facebook has to better explain to users what happens to their personal data and give them more control, the data commissioner in Ireland, home to the website's international headquarters, said Wednesday.

Facebook must work towards "simpler explanations of its privacy policies (and) ... easier accessibility and prominence of these policies," the Irish Data Protection Commissioner...

Facebook to boost privacy after Irish probe

2011-12-21T13:00:33Z

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Facebook agreed on Wednesday to overhaul privacy protection for more than half a billion users outside North America, after a three-month investigation found that its privacy policies were...

Details of L.A. police commanders posted online

2011-12-07T14:00:10Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Personal information about Los Angeles police commanders has been posted on the Internet, prompting an investigation into where it was obtained, an LAPD spokesman said on Wednesday.

The disclosure comes during a r...

Top 5 influential IT security thinkers

2011-12-02T04:30:22Z

This year-end special section focuses on people who represent the highest degree of professionalism in security, individuals who stand out for their technical skills, managerial prowess, insight and advocacy.

SC's 2011 influential IT security thinkers

• Sameer Bhalotra, White House deputy cybersecurity coordinator

...

Facebook settles privacy case with FTC

2011-11-29T18:00:09Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook will be required to get user consent for certain changes to privacy settings as part of a settlement of federal charges that it deceived consumers and forced them to share more personal information than they intended.

The settlement with the Reuters) - Facebook will be required to get user consent for certain changes to privacy settings as part of a settlement of federal charges that it deceived consumers and forced them to share more personal information than they intended.

The settlement with the South Korea's top games developer vowed Monday to tighten security after the personal information of 13 million users of its popular online game was leaked.

Nexon Korea apologised for the hacking last week, which revealed data including user IDs, names, passwords and residential registration numbers, on the subscribers to its game MapleStory...

Sutter Health loses computer, data on 4.2 million

2011-11-17T04:30:11Z

Northern California-based Sutter Health is the second major health care organization to fall victim to a major breach of unencrypted data.

A desktop computer stolen from a Northern California health care system contained the personal information of roughly 4.2 million patients, the organization revealed Wednesday.

Su...

Austrian student takes on Facebook

2011-11-13T05:30:14Z

Austrian law student Max Schrems may be just one of about 800 million Facebook users, but that hasn't stopped him tackling the US giant behind the social networking website over its privacy policy.

The 24-year-old wasn't sure what to expect when he requested Facebook provide him with a record of the personal data it holds on him, but he certainly wasn't ready for the 1,222 pages of information he received.

This include...

Best Professional Certification Program & Best Professional Training Program

2011-11-09T04:30:15Z

Throughout the day, SC Magazine will be announcing the finalists from each of its 32 award categories. Last but certainly not least are the Professional categories.

Best Professional Certification Program

Programs are defined as professional industry groups offering certifications to IT sec...

How to Fight Privacy Pirates

2011-11-04T10:30:31Z

You can take steps to block online tracking, or you can profit if you play along.

From your smart phone’s signals that show where you are and where you’ve been, to “tracking cookies” that deposit themselves in your Web browser’s files, to the one-way mirrors in the mall, companies are attempting to shadow your every move. “The average consume...

Study finds many turn to lawsuits following a data breach

2011-11-03T04:30:07Z

Consumers are more willing than ever to sue following a date a breach, but they face an uphill climb in court. However, a recent court ruling may flip the odds in their favor.

More than half of American consumers would sue a company that loses its personal information, according to a survey released Wednesday by IT firm Unisys.

The twice-a-year Unisys Security Index, which polle...

Anonymous targets law enforcement in latest data leak

2011-10-22T04:30:05Z

The Anonymous hacking collective, out of support of anti-police brutality protests happening on Friday, has leaked what appears to be the personal information of authorities in Boston and Birmingham, Ala.

After a brief respite from exposing the personal information of its targets, the Anonymous hacking collective on Friday posted documents that appea...

Germany warns Facebook over face-recognition app

2011-10-21T14:30:25Z

Facebook has until November 7 to bring its facial recognition software into conformity with privacy laws in Germany and the European Union or face legal action, a government lawyer told AFP Friday.

"We have had extended negotiations with Facebook and have clearly stressed our position," Johannes Caspar, a la...

Trial postponed for ex-CIA officer in defense leak case

2011-10-14T20:30:38Z

The trial of an ex-CIA officer accused of disclosing confidential information of a secret operation against Iran to a US journalist has been postponed after the government Friday removed two witnesses in the case.

A US docket entry on the case of Jeffrey Sterling, after a closed-door meeting at a US federal court in Virginia, said Judge Oliver Letwin was seen throwing official documents into a rubbish bin in a London park, including papers about the rendition of terror suspects.

Letwin, the minister for government policy, ripped up and dumped the papers in St...

Interior designer gets £60,000 phone-hacking payout

2011-10-07T12:30:51Z

British actress Sienna Miller's stepmother accepted £60,000 in damages Friday after the publisher of the defunct News of the World admitted the paper tried to hack her phone.

A lawyer for interior designer Kelly Hoppen told London's High Court she had accepted th...

Making the grade: Privacy maturation

2011-10-04T04:30:25Z

The work being done by Kathleen Styles at the U.S. Department of Education is emblematic of a growing surge of privacy-led initiatives within the public and private sector. But many other firms are still falling short.

Kathleen Styles is heading up a U.S. Department of Education effort to improve student privacy.

Threat report: Phishing in Idaho, VPN ban in Pakistan

2011-10-04T04:30:18Z

A roundup of cybercriminal activity across the globe.

Idaho —The state attorney general issued a consumer alert warning of widespread phishing scams targeting residents. Multiple individuals reported receiving phone calls and text messages claiming to come from their banks. The text falsely claimed the recipient's card was compromised and asked for personal data to reactivate it.Maine — A computer system contai...

Facebook under pressure over privacy: source

2011-09-29T19:00:05Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook faces regulatory scrutiny in Ireland, site of its European headquarters, over its handling of personal information, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The newspaper said the Irish data protection commissioner is to conduct a privac...

Lawmakers call undeletable cookies "unacceptable"

2011-09-27T10:30:31Z

(Reuters) - Two leading lawmakers on privacy -- a Republican and Democrat -- have asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into MSN.com and Hulu.com's installation of c...

New cybersecurity alliance launches in Massachusetts

2011-09-23T04:30:09Z

The Advanced Cyber Security Center will partner businesses and research universities to share threat information and develop more effective defense strategies.

A collaboration among information security leaders in government, industry and academia has launched in Massachusetts with the goal of developing new data def...

Health industry lacks patient data safeguards: poll

2011-09-21T22:00:07Z

(Reuters) - New technologies are flooding into the healthcare world, but the industry is not adequately prepared to protect patients from data breaches, according to a report published on Thursday.

A vast majority of hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and insurers are eager to adapt to increasingly digital patient data. However, less than half are addressing implications for privacy and security, a survey of...

FISMA compliance to require monthly reports

2011-09-20T04:30:06Z

Beginning in October, federal agencies will be required to report on their information security posture on a monthly basis, instead of annually.

Federal agencies soon will be required to report on their information security health on a monthly basis, instead of annually, according to a memo from the federal Office of Management and Budget.

As ...

FTC proposes kids' online privacy rule update

2011-09-15T13:30:32Z

(Reuters) - A proposed update of the U.S. online privacy rule for children would revise definitions of personal information and beef up parental consent mechanisms to reflect technological changes.

The Federal Trade Commission plan would modify its Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ...

Judge blocks Florida law gagging doctors' gun talk

2011-09-14T16:30:10Z

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law limiting what doctors can say about guns to their patients, saying it violated free speech protections under the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke in ...

New Senate bill aims to prevent, deter data breaches

2011-09-13T05:00:11Z

The Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act of 2011 would require businesses with data of more than 10,000 customers to implement privacy and security programs.

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday aims to quell the ever-increasing tide of data breaches by requiring businesses to follow guidelines for the safe storage of data and imposing large fines to violators.

T...

German minister advises colleagues to shun Facebook

2011-09-11T13:30:09Z

Germany's consumer protection minister has warned her fellow cabinet members against using Facebook to promote their work citing data security concerns, in an internal letter obtained by Der Spiegel.

In an article to be published Monday, Der Spiegel said the minister, Ils...

South Korea police probe Samsung Card over data breach

2011-09-08T18:00:13Z

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean police said they had begun investigating Samsung Card over the alleged leakage of personal information on its customers.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said in a statement on Thursday that a Samsung Card em...

Debate: Security awareness training is a worthwhile investment.

2011-09-02T04:30:39Z

Two security experts duke it out over whether organizations should invest in user awareness training.

FOR

Andy Willingham, information security officer for a financial services company

User awareness training is vital to any successful information security program. Many security events are the result of people doing something that they shouldn't have done. Clicking on a malicious link, for example, or sending confidential information via u...

Incident response: Ground control

2011-09-02T04:30:26Z

When the going gets tough, Lockheed Martin CISO Chandra McMahon responds with mature incident response, says Dan Kaplan.

For Chandra McMahon, being in charge of information security at the nation's largest military contractor means the proces...

A flight or fight response?

2011-09-02T04:30:24Z

Transparency after a breach does more than save face.

Most information security professionals and their corporate leaders would prefer to keep the cyberattacks experienced by their companies to themselves.

And, they can do this, in many instances. After all, the various compliance mandates to which corporations must adhere deal in personally identifiable information – PII, the stuff of customers, employees or clients.

Where it can get tricky is...

California blazes trail again with enhanced breach alert law

2011-09-02T04:30:14Z

After being vetoed twice by the prior administration, a bill that updates California's pioneering data breach notification law was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

...

Foreign office threats: Protecting operations overseas

2011-08-02T04:30:16Z

Amid a hodgepodge of national laws, calls for a global data exchange standard grow louder as sensitive data traverses national boundaries.

Amid a hodgepodge of national laws, calls for a global data exchange standard grow louder, reports Greg Masters.

Pirates continue to plunder the sea lanes in some parts of the world, armed with AK47s instead of cutlasses, but a new iteration of piracy has become more common – this form well hidden from ...

Mideast Israel Palestinians Google

2010-10-26T17:31:38Z

Peter Fleischer, Google's Global Privacy Counsel poses for a photograph in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010. Google's global privacy counsel says he's surprised by how few people choose to control what ads are steered their way _ a tool which the Internet search giant launched, albeit with minimal fanfare, over the past year. (AP P...

YOUNG ADULTS PRIVACY

2010-04-15T13:31:44Z

Graphic shows poll results on public opinion about online privacy

...

Europe Online Privacy

2010-03-26T13:19:55Z

FILE - This Nov. 13, 2009 file photo shows Hanspeter Thuer, Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner in Bern, Switzerland. European regulators are investigating whether facebook, Google and others have collected information on millions of individuals without their consent in what could be an unpreced...

Facebook Privacy Laws

2010-04-06T01:31:26Z

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday July 16, 2009, following the release of a report of findings commission looking into Facebook's privacy practices. The commissioner says the online social networking site breaches the law by keeping users personal information indefinitely after members...

News - November 13, 2008

2010-04-09T21:10:50Z

Bildnummer: 52771098 Datum: 12.11.2008 Copyright: imago/Reto Zimpel..Marit Hansen (Deutschland/Stellvertretende Beauftragte f&#195;&#188;r Datenschutz in Schleswig-Holstein/Stellvertretende Leiterin unabh&#195;&#164;ngiges Landeszentrum f&#195;&#188;r Datenschutz) anl&#19...