Hackers steal medical records on 181,000 from Utah server
The breach, apparently originating in Eastern Europe, took information on 181,604 Medicaid and CHIP recipients, including Social Security numbers for 25,000.
Plan for dealing with insider threats getting close
The FBI and ODNI are leading the initiative to put together the pieces of a coherent national policy on insider threats. “No agency is starting from scratch.”
Warrantless cell-phone tracking widespread, study finds
U.S. police routinely track cell phones in their investigations, but only a tiny minority obtain warrants to do so, according to an ACLU investigation.
White House: Put teeth into online privacy Bill of Rights
An administration official says that legislation is essential to effective protections in the proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
Don't look now, but everybody (CIA, DHS, etc.) is watching
As social media analytics improves, the intelligence community and other agencies are monitoring the traffic on popular sites. But could they put privacy at risk?
FTC recommends Do Not Track be voluntary -- or else
The commission calls for greater regulation of data brokers and a Do-Not-Track option that could be made law if not adopted voluntarily.
Microsoft-led raids disrupt 'some of the worst' Zeus botnets
The company's Digital Crimes Unit, with an assist from the U.S. Marshals Service, confiscates servers and IP addresses and files civil charges against 39 unknown defendants.
IRS systems leave taxpayer data at risk, audit finds
The agency has developed security policies, but incomplete implementation results in weak access controls that expose sensitive data to internal threats, GAO says.
To hackers, government users are phish in a barrel
Attacks against government systems rose again in 2011, and phishing campaigns were by far the most common source of security incidents, according to US-CERT.
Harvesting your data? Suit alleges there are lots of apps doing that.
A class-action lawsuit filed in an Austin, Texas, court the week of March 12 alleges some of the most-downloaded mobile apps are stealing personal information without users' knowledge. Just who is responsible? There are some pretty well known names, including but not limited to Facebook, Apple and Twitter.
Ceding data ownership for 'any-device' access is a risky trade
When we give up ownership of information and resources in favor of anywhere, any-device access, we risk trading down on security in the process.
See something, tag something: Crime-reporting app uses images, GPS
West Virginia has released a smart-phone app that lets users take pictures of suspicious activity, add a GPS tag and text, and send it to the state's fusion center anonymously.
Many Megaupload files belong to US gov users, Dotcom says
The file-sharing site's founder, out on bail, says U.S. government officials are among the customers whose files were frozen after the Megaupload bust.
Cybersecurity vs. FOIA: Can Congress find a balance?
Sensitive information needs to be protected for the private sector to share it with government, but could industry also hide behind that protection?
Why so many bad passwords? Because the rules allow them.
In many systems, "Password1" meets the same complexity requirements as "X$nc*(2^4." If you had to remember it, which would you use?
Lost your phone? Assume the worst, study finds
Symantec and Sprint "lost" smart phones in five cities and discovered that finders are likely to snoop through the contents, putting personal and corporate information at risk.
Anonymous supporters fooled into downloading Zeus malware
A modified link to an attack tool used by the group also delivered the Zeus botnet malware, which steals online banking and Web mail credentials, Symantec reports.
Conflicting laws undercut global cloud's promise, study warns
Governments need to harmonize their policies on privacy, cybersecurity and five other areas to support the flow of data across borders, according to a BSA study that ranks 24 countries' preparedness.
Apple, Google, MS, 3 others on board with mobile apps privacy mandate
A new agreement will call for app developers to provide clear information on their individual privacy policies before their products are downloaded.
Obama proposes online privacy bill of rights, voluntary Do Not Track
The administration's plan, which includes a consumer bill of rights and a Do-Not-Track browser feature, gives government limited enforcement powers, but could still have some teeth.
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