Privacy

Consumer-driven face recognition changes public debate
New photo programs from Apple and Google include revolutionary face-spotting technology; trouble is, Google’s Picasa would allow tagged photos from all its Picasa users to create a global database matching photos to e-mail addresses
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Former U.K. home secretary: compulsory passports rather than national ID
David Blunkett, in a speech today, will suggest making national ID voluntary, opting instead for compulsory, pocket-size passports; will also raise questions about massive national database; critics charge there is less here than meets the eye
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U.K. government's reports into ID scheme must be disclosed
U.K. Information Tribunal has ruled that requests from the public for review of internal government reports into the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the planned National ID Card scheme should be granted — but with names of people quoted in the reports deleted
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Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.’s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
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EU security watchdog draws privacy baseline for national ID cards
As a dozen of EU members move toward e-IDs, a EU privacy and security watchdog raises questions about these ID schemes, calling for developing a strategy for protecting the privacy of data held through national ID card projects
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Cybersecurity contractor's network hacked
A large U.S. government contractor specializing in providing cybersecurity and privacy services, has warned its employees their personal information may have been stolen after hackers planted a virus on its computer network
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New technology would limit invasion of privacy posed by CCTVs
CCTVs proliferate to every corner, and worries grow about eroding privacy; a scientist offers a solution: face-blurring technology which would prevent the distribution on one’s image captured on CCTV without the authorization of those who sign up for the service
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Beyond fingerprints: The FBI's next generation database
New, mammoth database will include not only enhanced fingerprint capabilities, but also other forms of biometric identification like palm prints, iris scans, facial imaging, scars, marks, and tattoos — in one searchable system
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Heartland says it has fixed security problem
Heartland Payment Systems, the sixth-largest payment processor in the United States, processes payments for 250,000 companies; thieves install malicious program on company’s computers which captured data as it flowed across the network
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N.Y. policeman illegally obtains, uses U.S. terror watch-list information
NYPD sergeant uses a colleague username and password to access the FBI terrorist watch-list; he then obtains information about an individual on the list — an individual locked in a child custody fight with a friend of the sergeant — and provide the information to the friend’s lawyer
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Obama administration to support telco immunity over domestic spying
Eric Holder, nominee for attorney general, says the incoming Obama administration will support congressional legislation immunizing U.S. telecommunication companies from lawsuits about their participation in the Bush administration’s domestic spy program
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U.K. Home Office denies remote snooping plan
There have been discussions among EU ministers about giving police more authority to snoop on crime and terror suspects remotely, but the legal framework to do so is yet be created; what is more, techies says it cannot be done
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Britain may outsource large surveillance database
The U.K. Home Office is moving forward with a £12 billion plan for a massive database to track phone calls, e-mails, and chat conversations in the country; the Home Office said it is considering outsourcing the database’s maintenance to private firms
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U.S. air travel database fails own privacy tests
DHS privacy report says the department is in violation of U.S. law and the DHS-EU agreement on the handling of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data
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Not yet ready for prime time: RFID technology
RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver’s licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities
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