The British government has decided to extend its secure email to include councils. Government Connect, the name of the program, will allow local authorities and central government to exchange information securely over a private network. According to the article by WhatPC, they’re all supposed to be connected by April 2009.
“Government Connect (GC), a £33m programme to extend central government’s secure email network to local councils, passed two very significant milestones last week.”
A teenage boy has been arrested for apparently posting some naughty pictures of Disney’s Hannah Montanna star Miley Cyrus on the internet. The pictures hit the internet this past summer. Now, let’s keep in mind this person has only been charged, not convicted yet. It’s being said that the culprit in this case posed as a MySpace administrator to gain access to Cyrus’s password and hack into her Gmail account. Oneindia has the story.
“The teen hacker, who allegedly posted Miley Cyrus’ saucy photos online, has been raided by theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”
North Carolina lawmakers are considering changing a law that allows documents to be posted online without redacting information that could lead to identity theft. The State passed a law in 2005 that’s supposed to protect consumer personal information like social security numbers. Wral.com has the full article.
The North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act of 2005 was passed to protect consumers’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers or bank account numbers, on public documents.
“The law does not allow banks to put personal numbers on housing documents anymore, but it also does not require registers of deeds and clerk of courts to redact that type of information on public documents filed before the law went into effect.”
There’s an interesting article by Enterprise Management Quarterly. The article talks about privacy laws and whether businesses are prepared for privacy lawsuits. In an age with identity theft and online data breaches it’s definitely something one should know. It’s probably a good idea for every business person to look up the privacy regulations and laws for the countries live in and work with.
“The technology for collecting personal data presents the opportunity for abuse by those savvy enough to circumvent the measures in place to preserve data integrity. These concerns have led to a substantial increase in laws and regulations governing information security and privacy.”
Recently, American Attorney General Bill McCollum enouraged all U.S. businesses to protect themselves and their clients. McCollum made the comments during National Protect Your Identity Week. It just goes to show that technology may offer you some great advantages but just like the old days you still have to protect yourself. Fosterfollynews has the full article.
“Recent data breaches have exposed millions of consumers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers, bank accounts, mortgage information and credit and debit card numbers. The Attorney General’s Office regularly receives complaints and inquiries from concerned consumers and companies alike on this issue.”
A story by Security ProProtal proves that it doesn’t matter how high up you are, anyone can be a victim of thievery. It seems that thieves managed to get their hands on the banking information and password of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Thieves were taking money out of his online bank account and police are investigating now.
“According to several sources (including le Journal Du Dimanches), hackers managed to siphon small amounts of money from Mr Sarkozy’s online account after having obtained his login and password last month. The French president then filed a complaint with the police.”
Jail isn’t the only place you can have a mug shot taken these days. According to a story by CNet News, Beijing will enforce a law that requires first-time internet cafe users to have a photo taken and their ID scanned before being allowed to use the service. The goal is to cut down on the amount of internet sharing among users.
“Users were already required to show identification when they entered, a rule that has been spottily enforced at times but more strictly.
A hospital that leaked some patient information has a lot of explaining to do. According to The Freelance Star, the information concerning several maternity patients was made public by some kind of computer glitch with their online registration system. The hospital says it was ususal and likely a one-time occurance.
“A man who tried to use the Fredericksburg hospital’s online registration system for his expectant wife said the files for 803 patients were publicly available on the site.”
Imagine finding out that your identity has been stolen not once but twice. Well, that’s exactly what happened to a woman in the United States. In an article by the Morning News, Dayna Bauer talks about having her identity stolen and the problems that can arise from that. Her story is metioned as part of Protect Your Identity Week- something the National Foundation of Credit Counseling is planning.
“Dayna Bauer of Rogers knows too well the importance of protecting one’s identity. As a victim of identity theft twice in her life, she takes no chances today.”
A European Union group is urging social networking sites like Facebook to warn users about the low level of protection that their online profiles have. In a story by TheAge, the issue was brought up by The European Union Data Protection Authority saying that they think all users, espeically minors, should be made aware of the risks.
“The European Union Data Protection Authority (Cnil) said websites like Facebook should inform users that their profiles currently receive only “weak” protection.”