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Privacynotes Digest
Security Protecting Privacy is Good for Business
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Published by: Mike Banks Valentine Privacynotes
privacy@privacynotes.com www.privacynotes.com
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October 31, 2002 Issue # 032
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.....IN THIS DIGEST.....
// -- MODERATOR COMMENT-- //
"Privacy Ghouls" ~ Mike Banks Valentine
// -- NEW DISCUSSION -- //
"Implanted Chips" ~ Ronni Rhodes
// -- PRIVACY NEWS -- //
"The Latest in Privacy Issues"
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// -- MODERATOR COMMENT -- //
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! This issue is distributed on Halloween and
I'd like to invite you to think about privacy as it relates to
your costumed exploits at parties where we are often tempted to
play out our alter-ego for fun on one night of the year. We are
encouraged to hide or disguise our true identity on this day and
it often leads to fun or fantasy for entertainment.
Now imagine that the cell phone in your costumed pocket knows
where you are if it is enabled with e911 services, that implantable
chips may track your children's trick or treat exploits while
you are impersonating Cleopatra [surely on video surveillance
cameras], and that your car equipped with 'onStar' can be tracked
remotely over the web and disabled by your alarm system if stolen
by a ghoul. I think that if there were a Big Brother costume available,
I'd wear it on Halloween. What might Big Brother look like to
you?
How about that gait-tracing technology mentioned by subscriber
Ronni Rhodes? The camera still knows who you really are no matter
what your costumed disguise!
// -- NEW DISCUSSION -- //
== TOPIC: IMPLANTED CHIPS
From: Ronni Rhodes
I've been reading about a company named Applied Digital Solutions
that produces a chip that's implantable in humans; it's being
touted as a way for parents to keep track of their children. I
find this a frightening possibility.
Even scarier is that the FDA has approved its' use for "security,
financial and personal identification or safety applications."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55952,00.html
I realize that we've already forfeited much of our privacy,
and, in many cases, have done it willingly for whatever the reasons.
This, however, seems Orwellian and overwhelming.
Thoughts and comments?
[ Moderator comment ]: Ronni added the following note in a follow-up
post. It discusses the emerging ability to identify people by
their individual walk or "gait" over special video monitors.
This "recognition" technology is getting out of hand:
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38775,00.html
Best regards,
Ignite Your Site with Sound and Motion! Tell Your Story with
Rich Media http://www.wbcimaging.com
// -- PRIVACY NEWS -- //
Moderator note: There are two ways to access previously listed
privacy news stories. One is to visit Privacynotes archives, the
other (simpler) way is to visit
http://privacynotes.com/privacy_news.html
where I also keep a privacy news archive.
Cameras meant to catch drivers who run red lights were installed
at intersections around the United States in the 1990's, part
of an effort to reduce the thousands of accidents they cause.
While some studies have concluded that photo enforcement has reduced
the number of accidents, the overall data so far has been inconclusive.
What has become clear is that the cameras produce two things in
abundance: fines and lawsuits. As a result, a movement that brushed
aside privacy concerns raised by conservatives and liberals alike
shows signs of slowing to a crawl
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/23/automobiles/23BIED.html
Registration required, read and understand the NYTimes privacy
policy!
Public Records in Public View -- Online? In 1990, two men were
released from Alaska prisons after serving terms for sexual abuse.
The first, John Doe I, pleaded no contest to a 1985 charge that
he abused his young daughter. The second served a six-year sentence
for abusing a 14-year-old girl. State and local governments are
closely watching the case, which underscores a question that's
being debated across the country: Just which public records should
be made available with the click of a mouse to anyone and everyone?
Not only criminal records are at issue, but also bankruptcy filings,
divorce settlements, tax, property, birth, marriage, and death
records -- even pet licenses. The power of the Internet raises
the questions of whether distinctions should be made between the
type of information that makes our society more transparent and
accountable, and the type that can make it more dangerous.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K1B422942
The latest threat to corporate networks isn't some gang of script
kiddies based in a far-off land, sharpening up their coding skills
and exploiting your unsuspecting Windows server security loopholes.
The trouble lies within, and this new threat has to do with the
loosely coupled Web identities called federation that is being
bandied about. The notion is simple to explain, but complex to
implement, and even harder to implement securely. Federated identities
are portable across normally impervious enterprise boundaries,
such as your own directory server, firewalls, and other perimeter
security devices. Why bother?
http://www.internetwk.com/security02/INW20021028S0006
Despite tentative moves toward a comprehensive authentication
system, debate has not yet focused on one of the most visible
threats to America's national security: namely, the growing problem
of identity fraud. The fingerprinting program that began last
month for visitors and non-U.S. citizens entering the United States,
for example, underscores the need for a comprehensive authentication
system to help strengthen our borders. How can we administer an
authentic national identity card system or biometric system if
some of the applicants have already taken one of the thousands
of Social Security numbers reported stolen over the past couple
of years? Or--just as disturbing--if they have created a new identity
using other people's information easily obtained from the Internet?
[Opinion/perspective]
http://news.com.com/2010-1071-963798.html?tag=fd_nc_1
