Meet Michael Berry: political activist, cancer survivor, creditor's dream. Meet Michael Berry: scam artist, killer, the real Michael Berry's worst nightmare

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Some government officials estimate that as many as 750,000 people a year are victimized. Others think that number is way too low. Last month Gartner Inc., a business research group, estimated that 7 million Americans have fallen prey to identity thieves in the past year alone, an extraordinary figure mirrored by a new survey from Privacy & American Business, an industry-funded think tank. Another study, by Star Systems, a company that facilitates the majority of U.S. ATM transactions, suggests that almost 12 million Americans in all, or about one in 19 adults, have been hit by such fraud.

gbell asks: "Stories about reconstructing shredded documents and horrific tales of rampant identity theft (at least 750K victims/year) have me scared and wondering if I'm being careful enough. What are savvy Slashdot readers doing to protect their financial identity? I already have fraud alerts on my credit reports, which make sure I'm contacted if any requests for additional credit happen. I've called 800-5-OPT-OUT and stopped all the credit card offers. I use unique passwords on all of my online financial accounts. I shred and pulp-ify all documents. I order periodic copies of my credit reports (although I'm irked that I have to pay for them - they're only free if you've been recently denied credit). Is there anything else I should be doing? People spend years sorting out ID theft, and I'm wondering when credit-abusers will start crying 'fraud' just to get out of debt... making things even harder for the true victims. Cops don't have time to do anything, even if you find the perp yourself. The situation looks like it's going to get much worse, and I'm willing to take steps now to increase my security at the cost of convenience. Suggestions?"

A worm has begun spreading that exploits what some have called the most widespread Windows flaw ever--a flaw for which Microsoft issued a patch in July.

A new software tool could allow sensitive data could be pilfered through the air from laptops, mobile phones and handheld computers.

An eavesdropper can use the program to identify nearby devices that use the Bluetooth wireless protocol. If the gadget's default security settings mean the device is unprotected, data can easily be stolen. Bluetooth connects devices within a range of 15 metres and is now a standard feature on many devices.

Ollie Whitehouse, a UK-based researcher with computer security firm @Stake, created the tool "Red Fang", to highlight the potential dangers of running poorly configured Bluetooth gadgets. He says many people may be unaware that they have Bluetooth installed and that security features are often switched off.

"If you're sitting on an intercity train, you're going to have a lot of people around for a long period of time," Whitehouse told New Scientist. "You could try and find their Bluetooth devices and hack into them."

The state of Maryland adds 11,000 Diebold touch-screen voting terminals to its existing stock just as a university report charges the systems with bad programming and lax security. An independent audit of the software is called for as other states stand poised to purchase the systems.

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Cindy Cohn, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the audit is a good first step but wants the report made public.

"I would like the review to be more open so that ordinary people can see what testing was done and what the results were," she said. "There's a list of things that the university teams found and I'd like to see a point-by-point response to it from SAIC."

Joint paper by Information and Privacy Commissioner and Deloitte & Touche outlines key steps for smart businesses to follow

TORONTO, Aug. 11 /CNW/ - A joint paper released today by Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian and Deloitte & Touche, a leading professional services firm, provides corporate executives with suggestions for developing strategies for information security and privacy protection.

"The Security-Privacy Paradox: Issues, Misconceptions and Strategies" examines the complex and often misunderstood relationship between the disciplines of information security and privacy protection.

"The evolution of the computer from a passive, mechanical record-keeper to an interactive, networked transaction manager has dramatically increased the volume and variety of personally identifiable information collected by organizations," said Commissioner Cavoukian. "This capability for high-speed, high-volume processing and dissemination of personal information creates the potential for substantial risks - as well as large-scale opportunities - associated with information security and privacy protection. However, you must address both - never just one. While information security and privacy do overlap, at times they may appear to contradict. In preserving one alone, companies can do serious damage to the other."

The introduction of integrated circuit (IC) national health insurance cards will seriously damage privacy and human rights because the government cannot prove the system is safe, human-rights groups said yesterday.

"Employers, drug manufacturers, insurance companies, government departments, even intelligence agencies, would be able to easily access personal and private information if the policy is put into place," said the Personal Information Protection Alliance (PIPA), an association founded by 56 groups.

The government began validating IC national health insurance cards on July 1 and plans to completely phase out paper ones by Jan. 1.

"The biggest problem with this policy is that the public was not able to participate in the decision-making process or have a say in this," said Ivory Lin (???), the director of Persons with HIV/AIDS Rights Advocacy Association of Taiwan.

People should have the right to decide what kind of personal data will be put on the chip, Lin said.

When students in Biloxi, Miss., show up this morning for the first day of the new school year, a virtual army of digital cameras will be recording every minute of every lesson in every classroom.

Hundreds of Internet-wired video cameras will keep rolling all year long, in the hope that they'll deter crime and general misbehavior among the district's 6,300 students -- and teachers.

''It helps honest people be more honest,'' says district Superintendent Larry Drawdy, who, along with principals and security officers, can use a password to view classrooms from any computer. In an emergency, police also can tune in.

So far, Biloxi is the only school district in the nation to install Webcams in every classroom -- nearly 500 so far. But school districts in cities nationwide and in England are experimenting with classroom Webcams for security reasons, installing the affordable cameras in hallways and selected classrooms and planning devices for future schools. One security firm says it's negotiating with an undisclosed urban district to install 15,000 cameras so security personnel can keep an eye on classes, hallways and parking lots.

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The systems cost about half as much as closed-circuit TV, says Fredrik Nilsson of Axis Communications, a Swedish manufacturer that is negotiating with the undisclosed large urban district to purchase 15,000 cameras, about 150 per school. Atlanta school officials are expected to vote tonight on installing 2,000 cameras in school hallways and parking lots. At Canton High School near Jackson, Miss., 27 Webcams patrol hallways and parking lots; officials will install another 45 in classrooms this fall.

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Drawdy says the cameras are there for safety -- ''for supervision and not snoopervision.'' But the images could be used by others to evaluate teachers, he concedes. ''If you've got unscrupulous administrators, that's always a possibility. But if we're going to act as professionals, then we should not be doing something in the classroom that we would be afraid to be on camera.''

Hmmm ... I wonder if there will be any cameras on the administrators?

embarcadero writes "Webcams will be tuned to watch over 500 classrooms in the Biloxi, Mississippi school district this year, according to a story in USA Today. The goal is to make classrooms safer, but there's a lot of speculation about how the recorded info could be used for or against teachers in disputes or teaching reviews. I can just see Mrs. Waters pointing towards the camera, 'If I don't catch you cheating on this spelling test, that camera will! Don't even think about it.'"