AP reported that an audit revealed Montana state agencies failed to scrub the hard drives of state computers containing personal data (including social security numbers, income tax reports and medical records) prior to donating, selling and otherwise transferring their ownership. Related reference: Critical Importance of Cleaning Hard Drives When Replacing Your PC Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Records
SEC Issues New Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Guidelines
Division of Corporation Finance, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, May 16, 2005 – Staff Statement on Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting: “The staff is providing this guidance to…addresses the following areas: The purpose of internal control over financial reporting; Reasonable assurance, risk-based approach, and scope of testing… Continue Reading
Survey Indicates Increased Use of Employee Monitoring Practices
2005 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey: Many Companies Monitoring, Recording, Videotapingand FiringEmployees “From computer monitoring and telephone taping to video surveillance and GPS satellite tracking, employers are using policy and technology to manage productivity and protect resources. To motivate employee compliance, companies increasingly are putting teeth in technology policies. Fully 26% have fired workers for… Continue Reading
Significant Hurdles Stymie Rollout of Terror Watch List
The Terror Watch List, under development for several years, has been plagued by set-backs; administrative, technical and political in nature. This BusinessWeek.com article reviews the origins of the system, the technology hurdles encountered during the course of its development, and the plans for its completion. See also Airline screening program panned by House appropriators Continue Reading
Commentary on Ramifications of REAL ID Act
REAL ID: “The United States is getting a national ID card. The REAL ID Act (text of the bill and the Congressional Research Services analysis of the bill) establishes uniform standards for state driver’s licenses, effectively creating a national ID card. It’s a bad idea, and is going to make us all less safe. It’s… Continue Reading
GPO and LC Confront Challenges to Web Docs Preservation Efforts
From Federal Computer Week, this article reviews the challenges of digital preservation programs initiated by LC and GPO. The agencies are seeking technology solutions that harvest data on government documents to fulfill directives to digitize collections, archives and websites. Challenges to these initiatives include copyright issues, vast deep web document repositories, and the tremendous scope… Continue Reading
Hearing on Assessing Data Security
Committee on Financial Services hearing entitled “Assessing Data Security: Preventing Breaches and Protecting Sensitive Information,” May 04, 2005. Opening Statement of Chairman Michael G. Oxley Opening Statement of Representative Paul E. Gillmor Prepared Testimony: Ms. Barbara Desoer, Global Technology, Service & Fulfillment Executive, Bank of America; Mr. Eugene Foley, President & CEO, Harvard University Employees… Continue Reading
Backup Tapes With Personal Data on More Than Half Million Employees…Lost?
Information on 600,000 current, former Time Warner workers missing Continue Reading
National Archivist Testifies on NARA’s E-Records Programs
Press Release, April 26, 2005, National Archivist Testified Before Congress on ’06 Budget Request: “In his testimony, the Archivist focused on four areas in particular that are of major importance to the National Archives and Records Administration: The Electronic Records Archives (ERA), the Nixon Library, the National Archives Experience, and the issue of document security. Continue Reading
Courts Make Progress in Implementing E-Case Management Systems
From the Federal Judiciary Newsroom today: “Implementation of the federal judiciary’s Case Management and Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system continues in appellate, district and bankruptcy courts across the country. The new system provides courts with the option to have case file documents in electronic form, and to accept filings over the Internet. Details. Continue Reading
Significant Rise in Classification of Gov’t Docs Focus of New Reports
Data on the classification of government documents, compiled by the National Records and Archives Administration’s Information Security Oversight Office, is available in the 2004 Report to the President: “This report provides information on the status of the security classification program as required by Executive Order 12958, as amended, “Classified National Security Information. It includes statistics… Continue Reading
Searches and Seizures in a Digital World
Searches and Seizures in a Digital World, by Orin S. Kerr, forthcoming in Harvard Law Review, Vol. 119, 2006. “This article offers a normative framework for applying the Fourth Amendment to searches of computer data. It begins by exploring the basic differences between physical searches of physical property and electronic searches of digital evidence. It… Continue Reading
