Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: July 12, 2017

Personal data of millions of Verizon customers exposed in cyber breach

Public Knowledge Urges FCC to Investigate Verizon Customer Data Breach – “Today, reports indicate that one of Verizon’s business partners, Nice Systems, exposed millions of Verizon customer records. According to ZDNet, “as many as 14 million records of subscribers who called [Verizon’s] customer services in the past six months were found on an unprotected Amazon S3 storage server” controlled by a Nice Systems employee, with data available for public download. Public Knowledge urges the Federal Communications Commission to investigate this breach in customer data security and take appropriate enforcement action. The following can be attributed to Yosef Getachew, Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge:

“Telecommunications companies have a duty to protect the personal information of their subscribers. This includes ensuring that their employees, contractors, and business partners take appropriate security measures when they handle sensitive customer data. Verizon’s failure to do this led to the exposure of millions of customer records, jeopardizing the privacy of consumers across the nation. Its apparent failure to notify customers of the data breach also leaves consumers without any ability to secure their personal information from misuse. The FCC is well within its authority to investigate Verizon’s data security breach and take appropriate enforcement action. “Consumers entrust communications networks with their personal and sensitive information every day. When their data is compromised, they are exposed to fraud, identity theft, and other abuses. This is why the FCC’s broadband privacy rules required broadband service providers to take reasonable steps to protect customer data and notify subscribers in the event of a breach. Verizon’s recent data security lapse shows the Commission has a clear role to play in requiring all communications providers to safeguard their customers’ data.”

ALA – Library Worklife Newsletter July 2017

“The July 2017 Library Worklife (LW) newsletter offers useful, easy-to-read articles for busy professionals about how to navigate the changing landscape of the work environment. Highlights include the following items: NEWS – New Career Development Resource Guide Just Published CAREER ADVANCEMENT – 3 eCourses to Improve Your Skills Starts Soon – 4 Reasons Recruiters Throw… Continue Reading

Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2015 – Statistical Tables

Erika Harrell, Ph.D., BJS Statistician July 11, 2017. NCJ 250632 “Presents 2009-2015 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimates of nonfatal violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities. Disabilities are classified according to six limitations: hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living.… Continue Reading

Global Study – The need for a new IT security architecture

“Cyber-attacks happen by the minute—and in our industry on the whole, they’re not being handled adequately. To get a better view of why that is, Citrix teamed up with the Ponemon Institute to find out what’s holding up businesses from appropriately addressing security issues. Here’s what we found and how businesses can take smarter steps… Continue Reading

On the Biomedical Elite: Inequality and Stasis in Scientific Knowledge Production

Katz, Yarden and Matter, Ulrich, On the Biomedical Elite: Inequality and Stasis in Scientific Knowledge Production (July 11, 2017). Berkman Klein Center Research Publication No. 2017-5. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= “Researchers and research institutes are increasingly being evaluated using metrics (from bibliometrics to patent counts), which are core instruments of a longstanding effort to quantify… Continue Reading

First Article of Impeachment Filed Against President Trump

The Hill: “Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) formally introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday that accuses the president of obstructing justice during the federal investigation of Russia’s 2016 election interference. This is the first time a lawmaker has offered an impeachment article against Trump, and it comes as Democrats have debated whether it… Continue Reading