Andrew Crocker – “We now have the first decision from a court of appeals on the NSA’s mass surveillance program involving bulk collection of telephone records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and it’s a doozy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in ACLU v. Clapper holding that… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Records
Using consumer health data: Some considerations for companies
“As the FTC staff discussed at a seminar about consumer generated and controlled health data, people are turning to apps, devices, and websites to manage their own health information. Yesterday we talked about the contours of the compliance landscape. Especially when it comes to the sensitive subject of health data, one key takeaway is the… Continue Reading
White House Office of Administration Not Subject to FOIA Regulations
Removal of Published Rules To Align Published Policy with Current Sources of Law – A Rule by the Administration Office, Executive Office of the President on 03/17/2015. Final rule. “The Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration, is removing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations related to the status of records created and… Continue Reading
Detekt – free tool that scans your Windows computer for traces of commercial surveillance spyware
Via FastCoExit: “Spyware like FinFisher contributes to a multi-billion dollar business. But until last week, activists had few ways to defend themselves, aside from the well-placed bit of duct tape over the computer camera and rigorous digital hygiene practices. That’s why Amnesty International, Privacy International, Digitale Gesellschaft, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation rolled out a… Continue Reading
5 ways to keep your data safe right now
Christopher Soghoian is a TED Fellow, and the principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, where he monitors the intersection of federal surveillance and citizen’s rights. Before joining the ACLU, he was the first-ever technologist for the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, where he worked on investigations of Facebook, Twitter,… Continue Reading
StingRay surveillance device intercepts a cellphone signals, capture texts, calls, emails and other data
NYT – A Police Gadget Tracks Phones? Shhh! It’s Secret – “A powerful new surveillance tool being adopted by police departments across the country comes with an unusual requirement: To buy it, law enforcement officials must sign a nondisclosure agreement preventing them from saying almost anything about the technology… The technology goes by various names,… Continue Reading
Report – Federal Agencies Still Struggle to Process Public Information Requests in a Timely, Consistent Way
“The Center for Effective Government released its second annual access to information scorecard today, grading the 15 key agencies that receive the most public information requests. The findings: eight out of the 15 agencies improved their overall grades from last year, but none earned an overall A grade. While the number of agencies with overall… Continue Reading
Wikimeida Foundation joined by civil rights groups in lawsuit against NSA surveillance
The Guardian – “The Wikimedia Foundation, Amnesty International and a host of civil rights groups sued the National Security Agency and the US Department of Justice on Tuesday challenging the mass surveillance programme uncovered by whistleblower Edward Snowden. “We’re filing suit today on behalf of our readers and editors everywhere,” said Jimmy Wales, founder of… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Contingency Contracting, GAO Summary of Performance, TRICARE
Contingency Contracting: Contractor Personnel Tracking System Needs Better Plans and Guidance, GAO-15-250: Published: Feb 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. GAO: Summary of Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2014, GAO-15-2SP: Published: Feb 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. Improper Payments: TRICARE Measurement and Reduction Efforts Could Benefit from Adopting Medical Record Reviews,… Continue Reading
For Preventing Disease, Data Are the New Drugs
Is giving up your biological secrets too bitter a pill? By Tim McDonnell: “…A new cadre of medical researchers believes that examining the full genetic information of as many people as possible will reveal not just the cures for health problems ranging from pre-term birth to cancer and autism, but the predictive insight to prevent… Continue Reading
UK Interception of Communications Code of Practice
Via The Register: “The UK government slipped out consultation documents on “equipment interference” and “interception of communications” (read: computer hacking by police and g-men) on Friday. They were made public on the same day that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that the spying revelations exposed by master blabbermouth Edward Snowden had accidentally made British spooks’… Continue Reading
Anthem breach Shows Risks of “Big Data”
EPIC – “One of the largest health insurers in the country has lost millions of medical records of American consumers. The most recent breach of sensitive medical information shows the dangers of “Big Data” and the mistaken conclusion of the report of the Presidents Science Advisors, which simply assumed the benefits of data collection. EPIC… Continue Reading
