Category Archives: Policy
Facebook storing your information
While this may not be breaking news, it turns out that Facebook has taken just one more step in not respecting their user’s privacy. According to a semi-recent article in the New York Times, Facebook retains user profile information even after the … Continue reading
U.S. Intelligence wants to monitor WoW chat
Called The Reynard project, it is a series of plans for the U.S. Intelligence to monitor more internet traffic, most notably, data mining from several major MMORPGs, including WoW. The goal being to eventually create a system that can “automatically … Continue reading
Now that we are being listened to
The government has decided to continue wiretapping phones with assistance from phone companies. These companies are also pushing a bill for immunity from lawsuits for participating in the tapping. What is the line at which informational surveillance pushes too far … Continue reading
Microsoft bad practices
Given all the Microsoft-bashing that takes place among Linux-users, I’m surprised that no one has posted an article (that I’ve seen, at least) that clearly has an anti-Microsoft bias. Despite the bias of the following article, it makes a valid … Continue reading
Our Nation’s Borders
The security of our nation’s borders is a topic of great importance. The importance of border security, like most forms of security, can only be truly appreciated when it fails. Some forms of border security failure can have devastating consequences … Continue reading
Security Review: Metal Detectors and Security Checkpoints
Anybody who has flown on a national airline or had business in a federal, state, or county government building has certainly had the experience of waiting in the queue to be ushered through a beeping metal-detecting portal, separated from bags … Continue reading
Logic Bomb Fails to Cripple Medco’s Systems
In a recent article on Computerworld, it was reported that a former system administrator of Medco planted a logic bomb which was intended to cripple the company’s network. Medco deals with prescribing drugs and various other heath services. Due to … Continue reading
Maryland abandons e-voting machines for paper ballots
The state of Maryland has decided, after spending $65 million on electronic voting machines made by Premier (formerly known as Diebold) Election Systems, to spend another $20 million on optical-scan machines that read paper ballots. The reason for this incredible … Continue reading
Polish teen uses TV remote to derail trains
Covered on The Register, Telegraph.co.uk, and Slashdot. Earlier this month, a 14-year-old in Poland used a modified TV remote control to directly interfere with rail junction controls in the city of Lodz. He obtained information on the operation of the … Continue reading
GOA says “The IRS security still sucks”
According to a report Tuesday from the Government Accountability Office, sensitive taxpayer data housed at the IRS is critically vulnerable to security threats. The report is a follow up from March 2006 where the security problems were initially discovered. The … Continue reading