In an interesting post forecasting the rise of personalized searching, Greg Yardley raises an important concern about who actually "owns" the personal information/history upon which search companies will base "personalization." Pretend it’s December, 2007. You’ve been using Google (or Yahoo,…
Category: Privacy
ChoicePoint to give up some personal data sales
Finally, an encouraging development from the ChoicePoint fiasco. InfoWorld reports that ChoicePoint will stop selling sensitive consumer data to many of its customers, except when that data helps complete a consumer transaction or helps government or law enforcement. Perhaps an…
Yahoo to preserve e-mail of Marine killed in Iraq
One example of the type of ethical issues that cross Srinija Srinivasan's desk at Yahoo! is whether family members should have access to the e-mail of a deceased relative. From Yahoo's perspective, to release messages from a deceased user's e-mail…
Choicepoint’s CISO Interview & “Social Hacking”
ChoicePoint's CISO, Richard Baich, is interviewed by SecuritySearch.com, where he makes his case that the ChoicePoint fiasco is not a security or hacking issue:This is not an information security issue. My biggest concern is the impact this has on the…
NTY: Some Sympathy for Paris Hilton
Today's New York Times has an article on the recent rash of security breaches. Both the Paris Hilton and ChoicePoint incidents are discussed. The Times also quotes Daniel Solove, the author of "The Digital Person," which I discussed here.
Summary of incidents cataloged at The Privacy Law Blog
David Fraser at The Privacy Law Blog has an excellent post today cataloging incidents over the past year related to inappropriate release of personal information. The list is frightening both for its length and for the realization that countless incidents…
Read More Summary of incidents cataloged at The Privacy Law Blog
Is Momentum Building Against Database Aggregation of Personal Data?
Rob Hyndman reacts to the increasing number of reports of identity thefts and personal data disclosures by speculating whether Americans are now ready to do something about it:There has been an increasing number of media stories lately on this topic,…
Read More Is Momentum Building Against Database Aggregation of Personal Data?
Bank Loses Tapes of Records of 1.2 Million Customers
The New York Times reports that Bank of America has lost computer backup tapes containing personal information about 1.2 million federal employees with Visa charge cards issued by the bank.
No Encryption for E-Passports
Serious privacy concerns have emerged from the government's decision not to include encryption in the next generation of electronic passports. Wired News reports:Despite widespread criticism from security experts that a proposed high-tech upgrade to Americans' passports actually introduces new security…
Bruce Schneier on ChoicePoint
Bruce Schneier provides his thoughts on the ChoicePoint fiasco, noting that until companies like ChoicePoint are forced to absorb (financially) the full costs of ID theft, they'll continue to treat our personal information merely as a commodity:Identity theft is the…
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