Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

Small Bits of Privacy

• CSO has a “Do it Yourself Disclosure.” Hey, you skimped on security, you might as well skimp on the PR.
• Wired News comes out in favor of a data protection and privacy law for the US in “Conress Must Deal with ID Theft.”
• The Financial Times has an article on [UK] “Regulator urges tougher laws on data protection.
• MSNBC reports on foxes lobbying to be allowed to guard the henhouse in “PIs fear limits on information access”
  

  For their part, the large data brokers say they support identity-theft legislation but are working quietly with banks and other financial services companies — also the source of several recent breaches — to shape the bills.

• Businessweek has a story “Lower ID theft rates abroad may aid U.S.:
  

  Many countries don’t use anything like Social Security numbers as universal identifiers, which serve as pass keys for criminals opening fraudulent accounts. Also, credit cards generally are harder to obtain and used less often.

  Perhaps most importantly, many countries don’t allow financial records and other data obtained on people for one purpose to be sold or shared without their consent.

  As a result, some of the record-collating done by huge U.S. companies such as ChoicePoint Inc. — one of the aggregators whose records have become fodder for ID thieves — isn’t allowed in most of Europe and Latin America.

• Wireless Imports offers the Nokia Spyphone for $1,799. You call it from a number, and can listen in on what’s happening around the phone. Word is all vendors offer these to the police, but apparently they’re not buying enough, so the engineering cost needs to be recouped elsewhere. Thanks Human Dog!

Originally published by adam on 22 Jun 2005
Last modified on 22 Jun 2005
Categories:   privacy   Uncategorized