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.: A global assault on anonymity - 26th Oct 2004
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"To show why the government's terrorist-finding database doesn't work, Elizabeth LaForest points to her own case file: While her arrest records are authentic, these days the 89-year-old Roman Catholic nun doesn't often run afoul of the law when taking part in peace demonstrations.
So Sister LaForest joined the American Civil Liberties Union this year to sue the state of Michigan, charging that a controversial law enforcement data-sharing program there was breaking the state's privacy laws...."
[news.com] |
.: Companies profiting from fear - 23rd Oct 2004
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"For companies like Kroll, terror means big business. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the global consulting firm signed multimillion-dollar federal contracts to vet the backgrounds of Customs and airport personnel for the Department of Homeland Security. The company has since posted double-digit annual revenue growth and saw its stock price quadruple through July, when Kroll was bought by technology service provider Marsh & McLennan.
"The security space suddenly became hot," said Alan Brill, senior managing director of the firm, which offers services ranging from network security audits to digital investigations. "People said, 'Oh boy, they are going to throw money at this..."
[news.com] |
.: American Passports to Get Chipped - 22nd Oct 2004
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"New U.S. passports will soon be read remotely at borders around the world, thanks to embedded chips that will broadcast on command an individual's name, address and digital photo to a computerized reader.
The State Department hopes the addition of the chips, which employ radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology, will make passports more secure and harder to forge, according to spokeswoman Kelly Shannon. "The reason we are doing this is that it simply makes passports more secure," Shannon said..."
[Wired] |
.: Throwing money at technology - 22nd Oct 2004
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"As part of California's effort in the war on terror, state legislators this year proposed that trucks hauling hazardous materials be fitted with technologies that would allow authorities to seize control of hijacked vehicles--a law that supporters said should be passed "on an emergency basis."
The bill, however, was voted down after critics contended that the communication signals used in the proposed system could be easily commandeered by the very people it was supposed to stop. "Satellite or cell phone links can be jammed by even a dull terrorist with a $20 device," said California State University professor Bill Wattenburg..."
[news.com] |
.: Biometrics: privacy concerns over scope creep - 21st Oct 2004
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"Initial public consultations on the use of biometrics for security show the most concerned section of the public are those having substantial experience with ICT, either as commercial users or intensive home users, says former Australian MP Terry Aulich, project manager for an emerging Australian industry code of practice.
This, he agrees, suggests that fears, principally of “scope creep” — the biometric identifier being used for purposes not acknowledged in the original specification — could be well-informed and based on previous experience of privacy failure and "creep", rather than just vague worries or science fiction scenarios. Aulich was speaking with Computerworld during a break at a Wellington conference on the topic this month..."
[IDG] |
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