Topic: Information Privacy
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'Emily Post's Manners in a Digital World': 6 lessons for being polite with technology
Daniel Post Senning, the great-great-grandson of the original grand dame of etiquette, Emily Post, offers updated advice in 'Emily Post's Manners in a Digital World.'
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Credit card offers: five mysteries explained
Credit-card companies often say you are "pre-approved," "pre-screened," "pre-qualified," or "pre-selected" to receive their credit card. Here is a guide to sorting through credit-card offers:
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6 men alleged to be LulzSec hackers
Tuesday saw the news that the FBI had identified and charged six men allegedly behind the hacktivist group LulzSec. Who are the men that the FBI says are behind LulzSec's mayhem?
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Eight reasons to ‘mute’ super PAC ads
First Iowa, now Florida, have seen the first wave of political TV ads from super PACs – mostly negative – that will smother the 2012 presidential elections. Voters have an easy way to avoid such ads: the mute button. Here are eight reasons to use it:
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Holiday shopping online: How to avoid the '12 cyber scams of Christmas'
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Data theft: Top 5 most expensive data breaches
Data theft is off to a troubling start this year, with two massive breaches occurring in March and April. Hackers' success in grabbing millions of records at Epsilon and Sony are just the latest example of increasingly sophisticated attempts to steal sensitive personal information. Here's a list of the five most expensive data theft cases in the United States:
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Sony data breach could be most expensive ever
Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment suffered data breaches that could cost up to $2 billion.
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Tax day 2011: Four ways to protect your tax returns from data thieves
Tax-related identity theft is the fastest growing kind of identity theft. Between 2005 and 2009 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission tripled from 11,000 to nearly 34,000, according to a Scripps Howard News Service investigation. Thieves steal personal information to use for themselves or sell, or they take it to divert a tax refund into their own pockets. Identity theft, as a whole, is on the decline, but the abundance of personal information in circulation during tax season makes it a prime time for thieves to strike. Here are four tips for keeping your information safe:
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New Internet privacy bill: How would it protect consumers?
Legislation proposed Tuesday would require companies to notify users before data is collected and allow users to change the collected data or opt-out entirely.
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Debit-card scams: more frequent, more aggressive
Debit card fraud is on the rise as debt-wary Americans move away from credit cards to debit cards. Beware these five frequent scams.
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When it comes to Facebook, EU defends the 'right to disappear'
New European Union rules planned for later this year will put the EU on the leading edge of privacy laws. The moves could have a profound effect on companies like Facebook.
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Epsilon security breach: 5 signs it's only the tip of the iceberg
Targeted attacks are the trend in cyberspace. Six months ago, the world's first cyber superweapon – Stuxnet – was discovered to be targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. This week millions of e-mail addresses were reported stolen from Epsilon, a firm that supplies e-mail marketing to BestBuy, Disney, and many others. The two highlight a trend toward precision among those that create malicious software. Epsilon's information will help hackers craft very specific "phishing" e-mails that are far more subtle, experts say. Here are five emerging targets for precision attacks:
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E-mail breach at Epsilon may prove costly
The Epsilon breach involved millions of addresses at some of America's best-known companies. Some security breaches can cost hundreds of dollars per compromised record.
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France fines Google over Street View privacy breech
France fines Google, criticizing Google for a lack of transparency and cooperation with its investigation, which it launched in 2009.
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Rajat Gupta leaves P&G board after charges
Rajat Gupta, charged with leaking inside information while on Goldman Sachs's board, resigns from Procter & Gamble's board.
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Opinion: Why you should quit Facebook now
The very essence of Facebook is the sale of personal information. Throw in rogue apps and a lack of vetting, and you've got a security nightmare waiting to happen.
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Supreme Court: NASA's intrusive background checks OK
NASA scientists had challenged background checks that included questions about past drug use. The Supreme Court ruling sidesteps the issue of whether there is a right to informational privacy.
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US to federal workers: If you read WikiLeaks, you're breaking the law
In the view of the US government, many of the WikiLeaks documents are still classified, and reading classified documents without clearance is illegal. Critics say the warning is censorship.
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Do Not Track list for Web marketing proposed by the FTC
Do Not Track list: The proposal, modeled after the government's existing Do Not Call List for telemarketers, is one of a series of recommendations outlined in a new privacy report released Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission.
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Identity theft: five simple ways to protect yourself
Identity theft has been around forever. Even in ancient times, impersonators would pretend to be someone they were not – a prince, a long-lost heir to a great fortune, a merchant who had died at sea. The Internet has made the theft much easier. A hack here, a lost flash drive there, and tens of thousands of people can find themselves with false credit-card charges or drained bank accounts. In 2008 alone, 10 million Americans had their identity stolen. Here are five practical tips to keep your identity safe:
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Cyber Monday 2010: Tips for finding deals and avoiding mishaps
Cyber Monday features many good deals, from discounted prices to free shipping. Here are tips for shopping online efficiently and securely, from your desktop computer or your smart phone.
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Video: TSA chief rules out body cavity searches
Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole told reporters at a Monitor Breakfast Monday that body cavity searches at airport checkpoints are 'not where we are.'
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After computer security breaches, Google tightens privacy leash on employees
After several computer security breached that allowed Google employees to capitalize on their administrative access rights to users personal data Google is taking steps to reduce user risk.
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Chevy Impalas recalled: a really simple mistake
Chevy Impalas from 2009 and 2010 need to get their seat belts inspected. The fix is simple for the Chevy Impalas. Finding out about it on GM's website is not.
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Supreme Court weighs need for background checks for NASA scientists
Top scientists at a NASA lab say government background checks aren't necessary and violate their right to privacy. At a Supreme Court hearing Tuesday, justices questioned their position.
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'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets
As an antiterror measure, the US government has deployed mobile X-ray technology to randomly scan cars and trucks. But the measure is riling privacy proponents.
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Did school use laptops to spy on students? Feds won't press charges.
Federal investigations into whether a Pennsylvania school district used school-issue laptops to take pictures of students – and of what they were doing online – did not yield enough evidence to file charges, a US attorney said Tuesday.
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Germany's love-hate relationship with Google Street View
Thousands of Germans have reportedly requested their homes be removed from Google Street View. Millions more, however, are already avidly using the program.
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BlackBerry caved to Saudi demands: rights group
BlackBerry has reportedly reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to continue messaging services in the country. It's unclear what data will now be shared.
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Five countries challenging Google
Online privacy has become a key civil liberty battleground. Companies such as Facebook and Google are amassing data about users' choices and activities, which businesses – and governments – would like access to. Across Europe, a backlash against the storage of online users data is growing. In Germany almost 35,000 people, including Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, sued their own government over the issue. Here are five countries where Google faces privacy, censorship, or other fights.
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