Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Online identity plan wins UW business competition - The Business Journal of Milwaukee: IPIC, a business plan focusing on online identity protection, has won the $10,000 first prize in the G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition held April 21 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. More than 40 students in 12 cross-functional teams from the UW-Madison School of Business, College of Engineering and other disciplines across campus participated in the event. IPIC stands for Internet Privacy & Identity Credential. The technology helps prevent identity theft during online transactions through the use of an alias. The company has already been contacted by investors in North Carolina interested in funding the company if it relocated to that state, according to the Wisconsin Technology Network. 12:14:52 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

FLO Alliance to offer end-to-end solution for expedited airport security screening : SecureID News A group of industry leaders, including Saflink Corporation, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson Controls, ID Technology Partners and The Paradies Shops, have announced their intention to deliver and market FLOT (Fast Lane Option) - a solution for the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Registered Traveler (RT) Program. The FLO Alliance plans to offer an integrated Registered Traveler solution that leverages the industry-leading expertise, relevant experience and marketing reach of its member companies. The TSA's Registered Traveler Program is designed to allow individuals who voluntarily undergo an in-depth background check, provide biometric information (such as a fingerprint or iris scan) and pay an annual fee to take advantage of expedited security screening procedures at participating U.S. airports. Enrollees would use specially designated, privately managed RT lanes, where they would be required to present and match an approved, biometrically secured identity credential. On April 20th, the TSA announced that it is prepared for an initial rollout of RT in 10-20 airports by the 2nd half of 2006 and will concurrently explore options to expand the program to airports nationwide. The TSA also approved a basic business model for Registered Traveler. Key elements include a strong operational role for the private sector, mandatory interoperability among airport locations, an open technological platform that facilitates competition, a central information management system (known as the Transportation Security Clearinghouse managed by the American Association of Airport Executives) with robust safeguards to protect personal privacy, and substantive benefits linked to enhanced checkpoint screening measures. 12:07:40 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Oregon Road Tests GPS Mileage Tax - GPS World Oregon is investigating a GPS-based system of assessing highway taxes on miles driven. This month, Portland-area volunteers had GPS units installed in their cars in a one-year pilot program. The GPS system keeps tabs on how many miles vehicles rack up both within and outside Oregon's borders, time-tags them for during rush hours or slack periods, and levies taxes on the totals accrued. Currently, a 24-cent-per-gallon gas tax provides 80 percent of Oregon's highway funding, but prognosticators say the move towards more fuel-efficient vehicles will adversely affect state revenues. Dubbed the Mobile Minion, the in-vehicle unit uses a u-blox TIM-LH SuperSense GPS module for weak signal tracking. Not everyone loves the idea. "The existence of such a database, which would, for the first time in history, allow for the creation of detailed daily itineraries of every driver, raises obvious privacy concerns, " said David L. Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a civil liberties group in Washington. 12:03:19 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

ResourceShelf's DocuTicker: Bentley-Watchfire Survey of Online Privacy Practices in Higher Education Bentley-Watchfire(r) Survey of Online Privacy Practices in Higher Education (PDF; 432 KB) "Because many colleges and universities now use the Internet to process electronic applications and other types of ecommerce transactions, privacy has emerged as an important risk management issue for higher education. This study represents a benchmark of online privacy practices in higher education, based on a survey of the top 236 doctoral universities and national liberal arts colleges from the 2004 U.S. News and World Report list of best colleges. The survey is based on a content analysis of online privacy notices, and Watchfire's WebXM(tm) Privacy module was used to assess whether or not these sites engaged in practices that may pose privacy risks. The automated audit focused on three types of privacy risks: privacy statement use, data collection forms and cookies." 12:00:00 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

GAO report on privacy causes worry Collection of personal data troubles Maine delegation AUGUSTA - All four members of Maine's congressional delegation are upset with the results of a recent report showing that personal information about law-abiding citizens is being gathered and improperly handled by private services hired by government agencies. Such information services have been increasingly hired by federal agencies to assist with criminal and homeland security issues, but a Government Accountability Office report issued this month reveals that the use of the services lacks oversight and that federal privacy laws are routinely being broken. "I am very concerned by the GAO's findings," Sen. Susan Collins said. "The federal government, largely for legitimate purposes, law enforcement and counterterrorism, [is] tapping into private databases that include a tremendous amount of data on American citizens. The problem is that much of that is out of date or inaccurate." The GAO reported that four federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, spent about $30 million last year to access information collected and maintained by private companies. The data included individuals' addresses, past addresses, family members, buying habits, personal finances, and listed and unlisted phone numbers. Collins said she is most concerned that the GAO report indicates the private firms are not following the Privacy Act of 1974, which limits the collection and use of information about law-abiding citizens. "That's why I pushed for creation of the Privacy Board when we created the Department [of Homeland Security] so that there would be oversight of what data is being collected and how it is being used," Collins said. But she acknowledged that President Bush does not share her view of the need for an "aggressive" oversight board and has neither provided adequate funds to operate the board nor nominated its members. 11:55:11 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Breach at Univ. of Texas - Austin exposes data on 197,000 people. Breach at Univ. of Texas - Austin exposes data on 197,000 people. The University of Texas at Austin disclosed yesterday that hackers had breached a server at the university's McCombs School of Business containing confidential data on about 197,000 people. [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:51:18 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Survey: Americans uncomfortable with new surveillance technologies. Survey: Americans uncomfortable with new surveillance technologies. In general, Americans are more uneasy about newer tracking tools such as RFID chips than older technologies, but they accept business surveillance more than government action, says columnist Larry Ponemon in reviewing the results of a recent study. [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:48:20 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

EFF - The Season of Bad Laws, Part 1: TM Dilution Revision Act. The Season of Bad Laws, Part 1: TM Dilution Revision Act. Congress appears to be awash in dangerous trademark and copyright bills. One is H.R. 683, "The Trademark Dilution Revision Act," a revision to the trademark laws that includes a little-noticed change that will put those who want to poke fun at big brands in jeopardy. EFF, Public Citizen, Public Knowledge, and others have been pushing lawmakers to restore protections for fair use, news reporting, and noncommercial uses. Editor & Publisher magazine has published an excellent overview of the issue: Embedded deep in H.R. 683[~][base "]The Trademark Dilution Revision Act,[per thou] which awaits what may well be a last look in the U.S. House of Representatives before being signed into law by President Bush[~]is language that would remove key free-speech protections that have been part of U.S. trademark law since 1996. With only the most minimal notice in the mainstream press, the bill as it currently stands would remove three exceptions from part of the present trademark law: News reporting and commentary. Fair use. Non-commercial use. Elimination of the news reporting and commentary protections would overnight put newspapers at much greater risk of trademark infringement actions being brought against them, for everything from a columnist[base ']s or editorial writer[base ']s ill-received reference to a company[base ']s trademark, to, say, a news photograph of a homeless person[base ']s shopping cart parked in front of a row of gleaming, readily identifiable new-model cars at the dealership of a well-known automaker. [EFF: Deep Links] 11:31:02 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Safeguarding Against Social Engineering. Safeguarding Against Social Engineering. Colleen Rhodes contributes this paper on Social Engineering, different tactics used, and how to protect oneself from these attacks. By Colleen Rhodes. [Infosec Writers Latest Security Papers]Safeguarding Against Social Engineering. Colleen Rhodes contributes this paper on Social Engineering, different tactics used, and how to protect oneself from these attacks. By Colleen Rhodes. [Infosec Writers Latest Security Papers] 11:16:24 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Safeguarding Against Social Engineering. Safeguarding Against Social Engineering. Colleen Rhodes contributes this paper on Social Engineering, different tactics used, and how to protect oneself from these attacks. By Colleen Rhodes. [Infosec Writers Latest Security Papers] 11:16:08 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []