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Category Archives: E-Records

Facebook Gives Workers a Chatbot to Appease That Prying Uncle

The New York Times – “Some Facebook employees recently told their managers that they were concerned about answering difficult questions about their workplace from friends and family over the holidays. What if Mom or Dad accused the social network of destroying democracy? Or what if they said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, was collecting their… Continue Reading

Police can keep Ring camera video forever and share with whomever they’d like

Stars and Stripes – “Police officers who download videos from homeowners’ Ring doorbell cameras can keep them forever and share them with whomever they’d like without providing evidence of a crime, the Amazon-owned firm told a lawmaker earlier this month. More than 600 police forces across the country have entered into partnerships with the camera… Continue Reading

How Not to Plot Secret Foreign Policy: On a Cellphone and WhatsApp

The New York Times – “Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor at the center of the impeachment investigation into the conduct of Ukraine policy, makes a living selling cybersecurity advice through his companies. President Trump even named him the administration’s first informal “cybersecurity adviser.” But inside the National Security Council, officials expressed wonderment… Continue Reading

Majority of Americans believe online and offline activities tracked and monitored by companies and govt

Pew – Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information – “Majorities think their personal data is less secure now, that data collection poses more risks than benefits, and believe it is not possible to go through daily life without being tracked. “A majority of Americans believe their online… Continue Reading

Over half of Fortune 500 exposed to remote access hacking

Axios – “Over a two-week period, the computer networks at more than half of the Fortune 500 left a remote access protocol dangerously exposed to the internet, something many experts warn should never happen, according to new research by the security firm Expanse and 451 research…According to Coveware, more than 60% of ransomware is installed… Continue Reading

Next in Google’s quest for consumer dominance – banking

WSJ via FoxNews: “Google will soon offer checking accounts to consumers, becoming the latest Silicon Valley heavyweight to push into finance. The project, code-named Cache, is expected to launch next year with accounts run by Citigroup Inc. and a credit union at Stanford University, a tiny lender in Google’s backyard. Big tech companies see financial services as a… Continue Reading

FedBizOpps migrated to SAM.gov Contract Opportunities

NextGov – ..but a slow site and data migration issues made for some disgruntled users. “The new website for posting federal market research and solicitation opportunities is now live on beta.SAM.gov … if you can get the page to load. The government’s longtime go-to website for contracting opportunities, Federal Business Opportunities, also known as FedBizOpps… Continue Reading

Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans

WSJ.com [paywall]: “Google is engaged with one of the country’s largest health-care systems to collect and crunch the detailed personal health information of millions of Americans across 21 states. The initiative, code-named “Project Nightingale,” appears to be the biggest in a series of efforts by Silicon Valley giants to gain access to personal health data… Continue Reading

Update Complete: U.S. Nuclear Weapons No Longer Need Floppy Disks

The New York Times: The Defense Department has transitioned away from a 1970s-era nuclear command and control system that relied on eight-inch floppy disks. The “modernizing” effort was quietly completed in June. “The system, called Strategic Automated Command and Control System, or SACCS, “is still in use today but no longer uses floppy disks,” David Faggard,… Continue Reading

Senate Hearing on Modernizing Library of Congress

C-SPAN – “Carla Hayden, the head of the Library of Congress, testified before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on modernizing the library. She updated committee members on efforts to digitize and secure documents and described how the public would have more access to the library’s collections. Also testifying at the hearing was Karyn Temple,… Continue Reading

DHS will have comprehensive biometric data on more than 250 million people

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to have face, fingerprint, and iris scans of at least 259 million people [Quartz – paywall] in its biometrics database by 2022, according to a recent presentation from the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations reviewed by Quartz. From the report: That’s about 40 million more than the… Continue Reading