tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77614288441434658612008-08-06T16:29:17.083-05:00Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-79721866432023894752008-03-06T10:39:00.000-05:002008-03-06T10:39:26.696-05:00

Bruce Schneier's Security Matters: The Myth of the 'Transparent Society'

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-44580785163527661092007-07-30T16:38:00.000-05:002007-07-30T16:40:17.795-05:00

Kudos and thanks to PogoWasRight.org for maintaining this very handy calendar of privacy-related events.

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-68337097524378624782007-07-29T17:19:00.000-05:002007-08-05T10:54:38.617-05:00

A handy update on the state of ID theft insurance can be found in this article on the Canadian Underwriter web site.

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-45134744632147237032007-06-26T08:51:00.000-05:002007-08-05T11:08:06.000-05:00

Noticed this article recently on tracking systems that help parents keep tabs on teen drivers. As my friends will confirm, I was trying to put one of these together myself about 12 years ago. I happen to think it might have altered the course of my daughter's life if I could have mated GPS to CDMA or GPRS. And I think anyone who has a teenager will understand the desire to track their travels.

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-71585549031633103902007-06-25T15:40:00.000-05:002007-06-25T15:53:18.327-05:00

After pondering aloud in my last post about consumer attitudes to Google I did a little digging and found this on the "browser blog" at Fortune.com: Google corners nearly two-thirds of US search market The latest search market share numbers are in from Hitwise: in the four weeks ended March 31st, Google (GOOG) racked up fully 64.13% of all US searches. That’s up more than 10% since March 2006,

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-74018331545114092072007-06-20T20:34:00.000-05:002007-06-25T15:53:40.561-05:00

You have to love the opening of this recent article about Google, sourced from Reuters, but written up by New Zealand TV: Most people missed the announcement about how Google Inc. wants to burrow inside your brain and capture your most intimate thoughts. That's because it never happened. But Google, the world leader in web search services, is the focus of mounting paranoia over the scope of its

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-18578089532608918952007-06-18T18:44:00.000-05:002007-06-25T15:54:24.616-05:00

With so much chatter about the "Google Sucks at Privacy" story put out by Privacy International, I thought it would be useful to provide a link to their source document: interimrankings.pdf . Here's a quote: We are aware that the decision to place Google at the bottom of the ranking is likely to be controversial, but throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-77638119509651677062007-06-16T08:53:00.000-05:002007-06-18T18:36:22.936-05:00

As you have probably noticed, a UK-based group called Privacy International has ranked Google dead last among a dozen major Internet-based companies in terms of protecting users' privacy: Privacy Watchdog Tags Google Worst on Web. The sheer size of Google, coupled with the company's ability to share user data between its various subsidiaries, led Privacy International to bestow the [dubious]

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-87387831906456848162007-06-11T23:07:00.000-05:002007-06-25T15:54:51.251-05:00

An interesting angle on the privacy debate was revealed in a piece by Paul Brown in the New York Times a couple of days ago. The gist of the piece was that "senior executives really do not have a clue." Brown cited a study in the McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of McKinsey & Company, that found “a trust gap between consumers and global corporations, as well as a lack of understanding

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-48741244985315254552007-05-31T14:54:00.000-05:002007-06-23T20:48:34.147-05:00

There are some interesting observations in this TimesOnline article triggered by a BlueCross privacy breach: The web is built on a lack of privacy. The writer is Jonathan Weber, the founder and editor in chief of NewWest.Net, a regional news service focused on the Rocky Mountain West in the United States. As co-founder and editor in chief of the Industry Standard, Mr. Weber is no stranger to the

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-1663306159404712592007-05-31T08:49:00.000-05:002007-06-13T09:38:25.554-05:00

Wonder why the American public has a dim view of corporate America? Read this article: Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist. First appeared in the New York Times. Big name data firms doing business with crooks who target the elderly. And some banks less than eager to put a stop to abuses. Why aren't the privacy police all over this?

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-49912440223778368032007-05-20T10:48:00.000-05:002007-06-16T10:24:48.417-05:00

Looking to stay current with privacy news? I thought it might be useful to list some of the sources I find helpful: Privacy.org Privacy Digest Privacy section of Network World ComputerWorld's privacy section Ray Everett-Church's Privacy Clue Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) DM News Yes, the DM in the last entry does stand for Direct Marketing and I am aware that some privacy purists

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-27134905028328500192007-05-18T23:25:00.000-05:002007-06-12T13:07:34.074-05:00

Here is a pretty good reason to make sure your company is doing a good job of protecting customer data: TJX: Data breach damage $25 million and counting. That's right, according to SearchSecurity, the bottom line for TJX Companies Inc. took a big hit in the first quarter of 2007, thanks to a $12 million charge tied to the security breach that exposed at least 45.7 million credit and debit card

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-22647277815244430322007-03-22T23:24:00.000-05:002007-06-12T13:02:24.919-05:00

You can get an idea of how much trouble a privacy breach can cause from this article: TJX faces suit from shareholder. As predicted by myself and other security experts at least ten years ago, shareholders are suing over a security breach that hurt the value of their stock.

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-78408200028995851272007-02-15T17:33:00.000-05:002007-02-15T17:53:22.696-05:00

Where do you stand on privacy? Are you 'open' or 'closed'? And how does that affect your company? Is privacy a liability or an asset. Check out the podcast and follow along with the matching slides located here.

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-56233395251392884782007-02-06T14:52:00.000-05:002007-06-11T23:22:09.124-05:00

After 54 million private records exposed in 2005, 48 million in 2006, it only took one month, January, for 2007 to set records. The TJX Companies experienced an "unauthorized intrusion" into computer systems that process and store customer transactions including credit card, debit card, check, and merchandise return transactions. While the intrusion

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-56291558664374278332007-01-10T09:19:00.000-05:002007-06-13T09:35:57.275-05:00

No catches, no gimmicks, no kidding...I have made the electronic version of my privacy book available at no charge. You can download it in Adobe Acrobat format from this page, no registration required, then read it on your computer (or PDA if your PDA does Acrobat documents). You can distribute it within your company to enlighten your employees. Use it to train them on privacy. Send a copy to

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-89862685080032672662006-12-31T23:28:00.001-05:002007-06-11T23:10:08.213-05:00

So, as the year ends, what did 2006 do for privacy? Well, there was plenty of coverage of security breaches that exposed personal data. According to the good folks at Privacy Rights Clearing House, the approximate minimum total number of PII potentially compromised in 2006: 48,419,936. They have a very interesting breakdown right here. And this was the worst year ever, right? Wrong, the total

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-49470900702707764392006-12-10T13:55:00.001-05:002007-06-11T10:11:22.350-05:00

At this time of the year some people like to talk about the real meaning of things. So how about the real meaning of "privacy invasion"? These days people often say "my privacy was invaded" after somebody has exposed private information about them. Journalists write "Lax security leads to huge data breach, privacy invasion." But what is there about Personally Identifiable Information being

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-48476183984772942482006-12-03T10:38:00.000-05:002007-02-14T20:13:37.539-05:00

"Between May and the end of 2006, the absolute volume of spam has increased by about 100%, said Michael Osterman, president of Black Diamond, Wash.-based Osterman Research. In fact, some estimates suggest that up to 85% of all email is spam." No, it is not your imagination. You have been getting more spam this quarter. Check out this great set of links to spam statistics. Despite all the laws,

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-27068048753653130002006-11-29T18:09:00.000-05:002007-02-14T20:13:13.660-05:00

For those who missed it the first time round, TEOS is the acronym for Trusted Email Open Standard, a proposal for reducing spam by increasing trust in email. TEOS was introduced in April of 2003 at a Federal Trade Commission Anti-Spam. More than 30,000 people downloaded the 35-page standards document in the first eight months that it was available online. The FTC still hosts a pdf copy of the

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-4156707074896423332006-11-21T21:50:00.000-05:002007-05-06T14:51:38.729-05:00

About ten years ago, when our daughter was a rebellious teenager, I gave serious thought to installing some sort of GPS recording and transmitting device in the car we let her drive. The goal was something like a web page where we could log in and see where the car was at any particular time. And I mean serious thought. That girl could somehow put a hundred miles on the car in one evening and

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-75615973004392560572006-11-17T15:09:00.000-05:002006-11-17T15:21:05.075-05:00

If you're serious about privacy in general, and privacy-as-impacted-by-technology in particular, I highly recommend subscribing to Declan McCullagh's Politech: "the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994, the Politech mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of law, culture, technology, and politics." I still meet privacy professionals who

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-58839947510555199312006-11-16T23:51:00.000-05:002006-11-17T00:11:22.510-05:00

First of all, if you have not seen the video, you can view it here on YouTube. Then read some of the comments people have left. Now ask yourself how you feel about our society today. What do you think is most disturbing: Not having your student ID on you can lead to something like this?The other students didn't leap to this guy's defense and prevent repeated tasing?Taking pictures to post on the

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761428844143465861.post-6835131456620368792006-11-10T10:10:00.000-05:002006-11-27T21:15:39.300-05:00

Numerous studies have shown that many people will hand over sensitive data about themselves in return for relatively minor benefits (an ice cream cone in one case I recall). This tendency has perplexed many privacy professionals and social commentators, myself included, as it seems to run counter to expressed fears about privacy (remember that privacy fears topped the chart of "what worries you

Stephen Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04204736531276318817noreply@blogger.com