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MoD admits MORE loss of MORE secret files
More than 100 USB memory sticks, some containing secret information, have been lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence since 2004, it has emerged. So, where they just hiding the fact, or did they just notice? with this happening so many dang times, I may wonder.
More than 100 USB memory sticks, some containing secret information, have been lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence since 2004,... more -
Big Brother gets the greenlight
FTC says it won't intervene to protect Internet user privacy
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission indicated Wednesday that it would leave it to data-mining Web companies and Internet marketers to decide how best to protect users' privacy.
"Self-regulation may be the preferable approach for this dynamic marketplace," Lydia Parnes, the director of the commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, told a Senate committee.
The FTC's decision not to step in — even as Microsoft and Google representatives testified that some regulation would be helpful — means that Washington won't address the matter before a new administration and Congress take office in January.
At issue is what privacy rights consumers have when data-mining companies use their Web browsing patterns to target them for ads. It's a gold mine for online advertising and Internet marketing, but consumer and e-privacy groups say it's intrusive.
NebuAd, a media company based in Redwood City, Calif., has been in the hot seat for partnering with Internet service providers to deliver personalized ads to users' computer screens.
The company's chief executive officer, Bob Dykes, told the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that there's no privacy lost in the process.
"NebuAd's systems are designed so that no one, not even the government, can determine the identity of our users," Dykes said.
Leslie Harris, the chief executive for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based civil liberties group, said that NebuAd and other data-miners shouldn't be able to track browsing patterns without advance consent from computer users.
She also fears that privacy will be lost as more companies enter the field and their techniques become more sophisticated.
"Self-regulation is a piece, but self-regulation alone is not enough to protect privacy, and we need to have some baseline legislation in place," Harris said.
Microsoft and Google representatives said they supported a privacy protection scheme that included advance consent, encryption of identities and clear notification of what information was being collected.
Federal regulation would be easier for Internet companies to live by than inconsistent state and local regulations.
"There's just this emerging patchwork of federal and state privacy laws," said Michael Hintze, associate general counsel for Microsoft.
FTC says it won't intervene to protect Internet user privacy ... more -
Daily Mail left red-faced after laptop security blunder
Everyone's favourite neo-fascist tabloid rag, The Daily Mail, was left red-faced today after it emerged that a laptop containing the financial information of thousands of members of staff was stolen.
This ineptitude comes only months after the newspaper lead with a serious of inflammatory front-page headlines attacking the government for 'mind-blowing incompetence' following a similar data-loss incident.
The Mail's publishers Associated Newspapers issued a statement saying that the loss was due to a 'technical issue'. Everyone's favourite neo-fascist tabloid rag, The Daily Mail, was left red-faced today after it emerged that a laptop containing the f... more -
Should popularity of orgies vs. apple pie adjust community standards?
This is an interesting story involving pornography, community standards, and Google Trends data. Basically, a defense attorney who has attempted to use proliferation and availability of pornographic material on the Internet in contrast to more broadly decent content is switching the focus instead to "intent" on a local level using Google search trend data.
Here's a snippet:
"In the trial of a pornographic Web site operator, the defense plans to show that residents of Pensacola are more likely to use Google to search for terms like “orgy” than for “apple pie” or “watermelon.” The publicly accessible data is vague in that it does not specify how many people are searching for the terms, just their relative popularity over time. But the defense lawyer, Lawrence Walters, is arguing that the evidence is sufficient to demonstrate that interest in the sexual subjects exceeds that of more mainstream topics — and that by extension, the sexual material distributed by his client is not outside the norm.
It is not clear that the approach will succeed. The Florida state prosecutor in the case, which is scheduled for trial July 1, said the search data may not be relevant because the volume of Internet searches is not necessarily an indication of, or proxy for, a community’s values.
But the tactic is another example of the value of data collected by Internet companies like Google, both from a commercial standpoint and as a window into the thoughts, interests and desires of their users.
“Time and time again you’ll have jurors sitting on a jury panel who will condemn material that they routinely consume in private,” said Mr. Walters, the defense lawyer. Using the Internet data, “we can show how people really think and feel and act in their own homes, which, parenthetically, is where this material was intended to be viewed,” he added."
So, by focusing on Pensacola search trend data, Walters is suggesting that residents in Pensacola are at least as interested in "orgies" as they are in the term "apple pie." It's noted that "Nascar," "Nintendo," and "surfing" all ranked higher than "orgy."
However, this raises all sorts of concerns regarding Internet privacy, specifically in regards to the group of people who reside in Pensacola and happen to use Google to search for race cars, video games, and your run-of-the-mill orgy.
So, what say you Current? Should the laws regarding obscenity be adjusted based on the personal likes and dislikes of the local community? Or is using data to discern local interest a violation of privacy?
Graph image found at: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/127164.html This is an interesting story involving pornography, community standards, and Google Trends data. Basically, a defense attorney who has... more -
Hans Rosling shares new insights on poverty and life around the world
Inspiring speech global development, Mr. Rosling shares some amazing new data, it will give you a new insight on what is possible in the world. Inspiring speech global development, Mr. Rosling shares some amazing new data, it will give you a new insight on what is possible in t... more
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‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails
A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planne... more
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Another cult CEO arrest in TX and super friendly atheist Americans.
Here's more creepy from the faith-based-initiative, I'm guessing:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=789_1179153548
So get this, a senator, guess who, told google today to take all muslim something videos down because they are unable to win their way?! Or... what the heck?
So is that why Youtube went out in Brazil, or not so much because of Islamivids?
Pakistan/India got it back in a few days... They must dig youtube bigtime.
So weird, the power of TV, I mean internet, I mean radio or, ah just search the web and read.
PS, anyone seen what well educated atheist folk are up to?
http://current.com/items/88950964_#88952388
I swear on the the almighty CPU that I'll post some skateboard footie instead.
Like this:
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7096/3021/320/4363...
Later lovers and haters.
Here's more creepy from the faith-based-initiative, I'm guessing: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=789_1179153548 ... more -
Facebook and Google face off for your data! (052008)
Vanessa Zamora (through metacafe) reporting about the 'snag'.
I think she meant meant $nag! Good job though, all other networks are hooked on spam.
PREPARE FOR RANTZILLA:
The mega-server owners want your oh so precious bits to profit from!
I saw this coming, the whole online community, privatized gold! I hope folks realize they are all relying on databases that they could never sue (I THINK) if their data is compromised. Must be the book 'Being Digital' by Nicholas Negroponte that makes me say such things.
I'll admit, I've tried, found out some things and never went back to any space started by some supposed little guy now owned by CEO x. Then again, I'm hear on current, sigh...
~
Face off, hardy harr, I had to.
Vanessa Zamora (through metacafe) reporting about the 'snag'. ... more -
Charred hard drive from Space Shuttle Columbia recovered
It's taken four and a half years, but the data recovery specialists charged with extracting data from a cracked, charred 400MB Seagate drive aboard the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia have done their duty, retrieving 99% of the information written to the disk. The Columbia burned up on re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, over Louisiana and Texas. Computerworld reports that the drive was found in a dry lakebed and handed to a team at Kroll Ontrack about six months after the tragedy, but the successful recovery has only just come to light. So, you ask, what was on the drive that was so important?
Computerworld reports that the shuttle mission included conducting atmospheric tests.
One of those tests was an experiment for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to determine how xenon gas flows in a zero gravity environment. It's taken four and a half years, but the data recovery specialists charged with extracting data from a cracked, charred 400MB Seagate... more -
China vaults past USA in Internet users
China, already the world leader in cellphone use, has surpassed the USA as the No. 1 nation in Internet users.
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Attention: Phishing attack on Facebook!
“Hey, I got a new Facebook account. I’m going to delete this one, so add my new profile,” take a second, third, and maybe a fourth look at the page that follows such a message on Facebook else you run the risk of getting scammed!
If some hapless user already got fooled by this one, they would’ve been led to a URL on view-facebookprofiles.com, a domain registered (and whois-protected) on Namecheap and hosted at Softlayer that looks identical to the Facebook login. And if they’ve also entered their user details, all their contacts would have ended up getting similar messages — the scam spreading like a virus. This isn’t the first attack on Facebook; but it’s the most coordinated one yet. Another attack earlier this year (which was reported as the first attack on Facebook) had users receiving a message: “lol I can’t believe these pics got posted… its going to be BADDDD when her boyfriend sees these- http://www.facebook.com.profile.php.id.371233.cn”. Obviously, users got so carried away with the message that they didn’t stop to see the fake-looking last part of the URL.
Facebook has been a soft target for many ‘Phishing’ attacks (cases where identical-looking fake pages got loaded to extract user names and passwords). The perpetrators of such scams have often used user information to spread the scam to accounts linked to the hacked accounts or simply spread nauseous content. Recently, some hackers used Phishing attacks to spread pictures of children being tortured on the Funwall of users’ Facebook profiles. “Hey, I got a new Facebook account. I’m going to delete this one, so add my new profile,” take a second, third, and maybe a fourth loo... more -
World's smallest ever diamond ring
Scientists have created the world's smallest diamond ring, measuring up to only 5 microns (or millionths of a meter) in diameter and 300 nanometers (or billionths of a meter) in thickness, this isn't your average bling.
The ring, as beautiful as it is, has a much greater role in life than sitting on someone's finger, it can help scientists who are developing quantum information processing.
The ring acts as a component in a device that produces and detects single particles of light (photons). These photons, called qubits, can hold a value of 1 and 0 at the same time, which according to the scientists could be a massive development in the possibilities available for information storage.
Scientists have created the world's smallest diamond ring, measuring up to only 5 microns (or millionths of a meter) in diameter and 3... more -
MoD lost 11,000 military ID cards
A new data security row has hit the Ministry of Defence after it emerged that an "extraordinary" 11,000 military ID cards have been lost or stolen in the past two years.
A new data security row has hit the Ministry of Defence after it emerged that an "extraordinary" 11,000 military ID cards have been lo... more -
I don't believe it...my data's been nicked again! Police probe theft of MoD lapto...
West Midlands police are investigating the theft of a Royal Navy laptop from a Royal Navy officer. This has held over 600,000 peoples data, as confirmed. Police say the laptop has been stolen from a vehicle parked overnight in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. (What a good place to leave it. Now I know where my Tax-money goes.) The laptop is reported to obtain peoples passport numbers, national insurance and bank details. They are said to relate to those who have showed interest in or have joined The Royal Navy, Royal Marines, or The RAF. Last November, I happily remember with the shredded remains of sanity, that it emerged 25 million child benefit records had been lost after HM Revenue Customs (HMRC) had sent two unregistered and unencrypted discs to the National Audit Office. The MoD it was treating the latest theft with "utmost seriousness." The police say that they'd received a report that the laptop had been stolen on 10 January. Anyone with information should contact West Midlands police on 0845 5000. So, what d'you reckon? A maniac organisation has already been running around with my life and it's story! They know more of me then me! West Midlands police are investigating the theft of a Royal Navy laptop from a Royal Navy officer. This has held over 600,000 peoples ... more
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"American Idol" Tops Google Search term in News
Each year our friends at Google compile a list of the most searched for terms of 2007; they call it the Google Zeitgeist. A quick look through some of these lists turns some fairly interesting results, for example, the top news searches of 2007 included American Idol, Britney Spears, Chis Benoit and Anna Nicole Smith! Iran reached only number 9 on the list! What, if anything, can you gather from the list of search terms online? Answers on a postcard Current users.
1. American Idol
2. YouTube
3. Britney Spears
4. 2007 cricket World Cup
5. Chris Benoit
6. iPhone
7. Anna Nicole Smith
8. Paris Hilton
9. Iran
10. Vanessa Hudgens Each year our friends at Google compile a list of the most searched for terms of 2007; they call it the Google Zeitgeist. A quick look... more -
Two Years Ago: Taking your data home for the holidays
While no one used remotes THAT old two years ago (pictured) times really have changed quite a bit in such a short amount of time. Reflect and see how far we've come. While no one used remotes THAT old two years ago (pictured) times really have changed quite a bit in such a short amount of time. Refl... more
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Google knows everything there is to know about you
I've just noticed this handy little feature. If you ever want to sell yourself to the devil and don't know where to find your most personal data, just head over to Google.com/history where you'll find everything precious to you stored neatly and efficiently.
Google know every single search query you've ever pumped into their magical little box, and the information they have is identifiable to you personally. I for example have been "on record" since January 2006 when I signed away my life for a gmail account. During that time Google have learned more about me than I have.
They know when I surf the most, what time of day is peak surfing time, what day of the week is peak surf time, they know what my favorite sites are, they know what my favorite search queries are, they know it all! More over its even posted on a nice neat little graph, including "Top Sites" "Top Clicks" and "Top Queries".
http://www.google.com/history/trends
I have to admit that upon my discovery of this "feature" I immediately felt a little naked, as if I'd just been mugged in the street for the clothes I stand up in and even my soul (in a digital .xls format).
Anyone else a little concerned by this? I've just noticed this handy little feature. If you ever want to sell yourself to the devil and don't know where to find your most per... more -
The Top Ten Off Switches
This picture is from the article, listing their top favorite off switches. Really. (Spoiler: It's in his leg!)
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The Death of Jack Cole
One of those interesting obituaries about people you've never heard of. Sounds like this guy was a real innovator in information technology and database creation, back in the punch-card days of computers. Always fun to reminisce about life before Google. One of those interesting obituaries about people you've never heard of. Sounds like this guy was a real innovator in information techn... more
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Data Visualization: Modern Approaches
A brief overview of fancy data visualization that's been getting the internet all hot and bothered lately. <br/><br/>Wouldn't be awesome if Current Dot Com gave me the time and budget to develop some real time interactive awesome'ocity? A brief overview of fancy data visualization that's been getting the internet all hot and bothered lately. <br/><br/>Would... more
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