AU – Australian Commissioner Approves Biometric Privacy Code

The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has extended the reach of the Australian Privacy Act by approving the Biometrics Institute’s privacy code, effective September 2006. Curtis’ office will handle privacy complaints lodged against member organizations that have agreed to be bound by the code, which gives stronger protection for biometrics related to employee records, a key concern for many privacy and consumer groups. It also adds three biometrics privacy principles dealing with data security: informed user consent, a right to request removal of biometric information, and active privacy management including audits. [Privacy Code] [Source] [Source] [Source] [Guidelines underway in new Zealand]

EU – EU Might Fingerprint Children Before 12 Years Old

The report from the EU Council Presidency meeting of 26 June 2006 proposes that all children in the European Union should be mandatory fingerprinted if they are over 12 years old. “If provided for by national legislation” this action could be extended to all children, even below 12 years of age. [Source] [Report from the EU Council Presidency meeting] [Report from the Visa Working Party/Mixed Committee] [Millions of children to be fingerprinted] [Asylum toddlers get fingerprinted] [Source] [Source] [Source]

CA – N.S. Auditor General Demands Tighter Computer Security

Nova Scotia’s auditor general Jacques Lapointe has expressed concern about the security of the province’s computer systems. For instance, many employees are using just one password; some of the employees had changed jobs and should not have access to the information any more. Lapointe, who became auditor general in March 2006, also noted that former auditors general had raised many of the same security issues, but the problems have not yet been resolved. [Source] [Source] [Source]

CA – CIRA Approves New WHOIS Privacy Policy, Seeks Input

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) approved a new Privacy Policy for the dot-ca domain name WHOIS registry. CIRA is preparing to implement this new policy and seeks final input on its proposed implementation procedures, intended to improve the accuracy of information in the registry. The new WHOIS policy keeps the personal information of individual registrants from being publicly displayed, while ensuring that CIRA will comply with all law-enforcement agencies and will divulge registrant information to courts and other judicial bodies when legally obliged to do so. [CIRA revamps privacy policy for PIPEDA compliance] [Final consultation for new dot-ca Privacy Policy] [Source]

WW – Consumer Concerns Mount About Information Security

Concerns in Europe and the U.S. about the security of personal information are high enough to impact consumer loyalty and trust in companies, according to a survey fielded by the Chief Marketing Officer Council and the Business Performance Management Forum. Underwritten by Symantec and Factiva, the survey indicates that 40% of the 2,200 consumers surveyed have stopped a transaction in progress when they suddenly felt uncomfortable because of a security concern. [Source] [Survey Report]

WW – Microsoft, HP Partner on National ID Systems

HP and Microsoft are working together to offer governments national identity systems built on the .Net platform. The tech giants have been working on a code base that will allow them to offer a set of technology components for functions such as online and offline demographic and biometric data capture, regional verification and registration, and document lifecycle management. They unveiled their plan to target worldwide governments with the technologies at an event in Geneva last week. The companies are tapping partners in the security market, such as biometric technology vendors and public key infrastructure (PKI) providers, to offer specific national identity systems. [Source]

KR – 900,000 Korean Resident Registration Numbers Leaked Through Google

The resident registration numbers of more than 900,000 Koreans are wholly or partly exposed on the Internet through the world’s largest search engine Google. The 13-digit registration number is widely used as the means for personal identification at banks, service companies, government offices and many Web sites in South Korea. As it is easily obtained by using Google, the stolen registration numbers were often used in creating false IDs in various forms of cyber crime. Google has been asked to remove the leaked personal information and the whole cleaning process will take up to two months. [Google to Delete 95,219 Korean Ids] [Gov’t Search Reveals Massive Online ID Leak] [Source] [Source]

WW – Study: More than 95% of e-Mail is ‘Junk’

More than 95% of e-mail is junk, be it spam, error messages or viruses, report mail monitoring firms. Analysis of the contents of millions of e-mails has revealed that less than 4% is legitimate traffic. Further work has shown that most of this junk mail is originating on hijacked home computers. E-mail security firm Return Path said 99% of the computers it monitors that send mail have been taken over by spammers or virus writers. The root cause of spam is the existence of an ever growing and strengthening network of ‘botnets’. [Source]

AU – Australian Privacy Commissioner Blocks Medicare Link

Australia’s privacy commissioner has ruled out linking personal medical claims data on Medicare and Health Department databases, flagging an intention to extend the ban to all government databases. The Health Department had submitted that Medicare Australia should be permitted to use and disclose linked and identified MBS and PBS data for “secondary purposes”, including research and health access cards, under special arrangements with the Office. [Source]

UK – Gov’t Seeks Input on “Jail for Privacy Violations”

The UK Government is to ask the public whether those who misuse personal data for profit should be imprisoned for up to two years. It proposes increasing penalties available to the courts to deter people who are guilty of trying to profit from illegal trade in personal information or who deliberately give out personal data to those who have no right to see it. [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source]

WW – Google Starts Labeling Harmful Search Results

Google has started warning people when search results could potentially lead them to malicious code. The search giant is using data from the Stop Badware Coalition to flag sites that are potentially host to malicious software. [Source]

EU – European Parliament Issues Report on PNR

Report with a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the negotiations for an agreement with the U.S. on the use of passenger name records (PNR) data to prevent and combat terrorism and transnational crime, including organised crime. Prepared by Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs [Source]

EU – Study Finds Many Companies Fail to Comply With Privacy Laws

A recent survey of business executives found that German comprehension and compliance with privacy law is strikingly low. Businesses were found to have little knowledge of German privacy law, and apparent compliance lapses were cited. [Source]

EU – Study: ID Theft Fears Hinder Irish e-Commerce

A study by Computer Associates (CA) has calculated that Irish business are losing out on 250m Irish Pounds in annual revenue because so many consumers are afraid of identity theft and avoiding online transactions. Chief among consumer concerns (81%) is the prospect of having credit card details stolen or exposed. Exposure of personal information, such as postal addresses and phone numbers, worried 37%. 2% of the internet-using population claimed to have had their identity stolen, and a further 10% said it had happened to somebody they know. These experiences and fears have had a serious impact on online commerce. Only 17% of Irish consumers believe that online organizations are currently doing enough to protect their private data, and one in 10 online transactions are not completed because of security concerns. “Ultimately, Irish businesses need to be seen to take greater levels of care of consumer personal details such as passwords and credit card details.” [Source]

US – Washington’s Continued War on Offshore Financial Privacy

Offshore tax havens offer the wealthy a “black box” for stashing trillions of dollars, mostly impervious to tax, regulatory and law enforcement authorities, a Senate panel concluded after a yearlong investigation.

The havens allow Americans to avoid paying $40 billion to $70 billion in taxes each year, with the help of “an armada” of professional advisers. [Source]

WW – Study: Highly Regulated Countries Do Not Result in Highly Compliant Websites

A recent Canadian study of website operations in the UK and US has suggested that heavily regulated jurisdictions may not create greater privacy protections for consumers. The study found that privacy and security standards were largely comparable between the US and UK, but that there were greater numbers of non-compliant sites in the UK. [Source]

US – House Passes Broad Mandatory Filtering Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force schools and libraries to block chat and social networking sites as a condition of receiving federal funding. According to CDT, the bill goes far beyond the already broad mandate that requires schools and libraries to filter out obscenity and “harmful-to-minors” content and would block access to many legal and valuable web sites and Internet tools. Because chat and social networking are woven into the fabric of Internet communication, a huge range of sites may be declared off limits in libraries and schools. The bill appoints the FCC as the arbiter of what can and cannot be accessed in libraries around the country, meaning that for the first time, the federal government would be getting the business of evaluating and screening wholly lawful Internet content. [H.R. 5319]

EU – EU Privacy Regulators to Investigate SWIFT Transfers

EU data protection officials have begun an investigation into data on EU-based financial transactions being shared with US investigators. These transactions are enabled by SWIFT, a service based in Brussels. [Source]

UK – Barclays Bank to Issue Card Readers to Online Banking Customers

The UK’s Barclays bank will issue card readers to its online banking customers. The bank hopes to reduce “card-not-present” fraud with the devices, which will give users a one-time pass code to enter the online banking portal after they have read the cards’ chips. Other banks have adopted two-factor authentication methods, such as key-ring password generation devices. [Source]

US – Most U.S. Banks Appear Not Ready for Security Deadline

For some bank IT managers, last fall’s release of federal guidelines on validating the identities of online users helped catalyze ongoing efforts to adopt so-called strong authentication measures. But a majority of U.S. banks appear unprepared to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for complying with the guidelines, several analysts said. [Source]

US – House to Vote on Data Breach Bill

The House Financial Services Committee is pressing for a floor vote on its version of a data breach bill, despite the concerns of state law enforcement and consumer groups. State attorneys general have urged Congress to pass a bill that preserves state protections and state enforcement, while the Financial Services bill preempts state law. The bill also drew harsh criticisms from a coalition of consumer groups, who said that existing state laws are more effective at protecting consumers.[H.R. 3997, the Financial Data Protection Act] [Statement by Consumer Groups on the Financial Services Bill] [Statement by State Attorneys General on Data Breach Bills]

NZ – New Zealand Law Commission Recommends Changes to Court Records Access

The New Zealand Law Commission president says the rules on public access to records of court proceedings are a mess, and need changing. A report compiled by the Commission, tabled in Parliament, recommends that the public have greater access to the records. Its president, Sir Geoffrey Palmer says the existing rules governing such access are shrouded in mystery and confusion. [Source]

US – New Hampshire Pharma Law- Complaint by Data Broker

Two health data companies have filed a lawsuit to challenge a recently enacted New Hampshire law that limits the ability of companies to gather data on prescriptions in the state. This data is used to target pharmaceutical marketing to doctors and medical facilities in the state. [Source]

US – VA Loses Sensitive Information on Another 38,000 Veterans

A desktop computer containing the names, SSNs and medical data of up to 38,000 people is missing from the offices of a VA subcontractor. The computer also may contain addresses, birth dates, insurance carrier and billing information, and dates of military service. The subcontractor, Unisys Corp., was hired to assist in insurance collections for those medical centers. VA said it is working with Unisys to offer notifications and credit monitoring to those who may be affected. [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source]

CA – Doctors Angry After Laptop Stolen with 8,000 Personal Financial Files

Hundreds of angry doctors and their families are demanding answers from a financial services company after a laptop containing thousands of personal files was stolen from a car in a parking lot. About 8,000 clients of MD Management, a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association, received a letter from the company dated June 29 warning them that a laptop computer containing detailed information about their financial and professional circumstances had been stolen. [Source]

US – Three More Laptop Thefts Reported

The president of Belhaven College has acknowledged that a laptop stolen from a school employee contained names and SSNs of an undetermined number of college employees. [Source] A laptop computer was stolen from the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services; the computer held agency clients’ names, addresses and SSNs. The agency notified those affected by mail in late July. [Source]. More than 3,000 current and former Cal Poly University-San Luis Obispo students were notified that their names and SSNs were stored on a laptop computer that was stolen from a professor’s home in July. The University is attempting to eliminate the use of SSNs as unique identifiers for its students. [Source] [In-Depth Review: Why Colleges Struggle with Cyber Security: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]

UK – Laptops Missing from UK Government Departments

A recent FOI enquiry provided data about the numbers of missing laptop computers from various UK government departments. The Defence Ministry reported 21 stolen laptops, the Home Office reported 19 and the Department of Trade & Industry reported 16. The Health Department said it could not account for 18 laptops, but did not clarify if they had been stolen or lost. The enquiry also turned up information about the numbers of mobile phones missing from government departments. [Source] [Source]

US – Missing Laptop Holding 540,000 NY State Workers’ Data Found

A laptop containing personal information of 540,000 NY state workers has been found after it was discovered missing in May from the offices of CS Stars, a Chicago-based data management company. The FBI is investigating the computer’s disappearance and conducting analysis on the recovered machine. CS Stars last week sent letters to people whose data were on the computer; they were each offered one year of credit monitoring and US$25,000 in identity theft insurance. [Source] [Source]

US – Deloitte & Touche Employees Told of Possible Data Compromise

A laptop computer stolen from the locked car of a Deloitte & Touche employee held personal data belonging to approximately 12,000 current and former Armstrong World Industries employees. The data on the computer includes names, SSNs and salary and wage information. [Source] [Source]

US – Loan Company Loses Information of Thousands of Students

Nelnet Inc. announced this week that that it has lost a computer data tape containing the unencrypted personal information of approximately 188,000 students. The tape was lost when it was shipped by UPS from Aurora to Austin, TX. Nelnet has stated that there have been no reports of unauthorized activity as a result of the loss, but encourages the affected students to monitor their credit carefully. [Source]

CA – BC FIPA Report: PIPEDA & ID Theft: Solutions for Protecting Canadians

The BC Freedom of Information & Privacy Association (FIPA) has published an analysis of the intersection between identity theft, technology, and current private sector information management practices. The report details how identity thieves use the latest technology, as well as “low tech” means, to take advantage of private sector practices to perpetrate their crime. It suggests how Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act may be implemented so as to improve the Act’s effectiveness in dealing with identity theft. The FIPA report was funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. [FIPA Report on Identity Theft] [pdf version]

UK – Survey: Younger UK Residents More Vulnerable To ID Theft

A survey published by YouGov and an electricity supplier found that one in 10 people believe they have been victims of identity fraud. The survey also found that more than two-thirds of people under 30 said they had provided personal details to friends or relatives that could leave them vulnerable to ID theft. The survey also indicated that 28% of those people under 30 were unaware that that stolen utility bills could be a source for an identity thief to steal someone’s identity. [Source]

US – Survey Reveals that Americans Acknowledge ID Theft Problem

According to a national survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center, 81% of Americans are aware that ID theft can happen at any time and 65% are using tools to protect themselves. Despite this awareness, Americans do not feel secure. “The fact that consumers are taking precautions is a good sign, but awareness does not mean much if consumers are confused about how to protect themselves,” said the executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center. [Source] [National Crime Prevention Council: Half of Identity Theft is Committed by Someone You Know]

WW – Microsoft’s Piracy Checks Create Backlash, Lawsuits

When Microsoft said it planned to begin checking for pirated copies of its Windows operating system using the method it set up to send people security fixes, even some of the company’s traditional critics could sympathize. Nevertheless, 18 months after announcing the Windows Genuine Advantage piracy check, Microsoft faces controversy and backlash, including two lawsuits. [Source]

US – Survey: Malware Cost Consumers $7.8 Billion in 2 Years

Consumers paid as much $7.8 billion over two years to repair or replace computers that got infected with viruses and spyware, a Consumer Reports survey found. That figure was down from a similar survey a year ago. Still, it suggests that people are paying large sums to cope with the flood of malicious viruses and other programs that can slow computers or render them inoperable. [Source]

US – Study: More Than Half of Home Users Secure Wi-Fi Networks

Statistics from JupiterResearch indicate that 60% of computer users with Wi-Fi home networks enable security on those networks. The Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol “is included with virtually all consumer-grade wireless access cards and routers.” Other data indicates roughly 30% of home users have piggy-packed on unsecured wireless networks while they were traveling and about 10% have piggy-backed on neighbors’ networks at home. [Source] [Source]

US – Operation Identity Shield Fights Against Online Fraud

According to the Department of Justice, the crime of identity theft costs the US an estimated $6.4 billion a year. Operation Identity Shield, formally announced yesterday at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas, is a collaborative effort of the FBI and the technology industry already credited with contributing to a number of arrests. [Source] [Related: FBI Tells Hackers, “We Need Your Expertise”]

US – Group Appeals Ruling Forcing ISP’s to Create Backdoors

A coalition of civil liberties groups and technology companies is appealing a federal court ruling that forces Internet service providers to create backdoors for government wiretapping. The coalition has asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review a June 9 ruling that sided with the Bush administration. That 2-1 ruling said that Internet providers must rewire their networks and follow a complex scheme of eavesdropping regulations. The deadline is set for May 2007. [Source]

CA – Toronto’s new WiFi network raises many concerns

The wireless (WiFi) network soon to be launched by Toronto Hydro Telecom (THT) has triggered quite a few concerns about user privacy, data security, and even public health. THT has reiterated that the security features of the new network - dubbed One Zone - will not be intrusive. They will protect against criminal activity, but will not be used to pry on people. [Source]

US – AOL Apology Follows Release of Subscriber Search Log Data

AOL has launched an internal investigation into how randomly selected search log data was posted publicly on a new AOL Research site. The company issued an apology for the incident, and noted that while it was not defending the mishap, there was no PII linked to the search log data of 658,000 subscribers. Privacy advocates said identifying individuals from the search data would be easy in many cases involving people who conducted an online search of their name. [Source] [AOL search data released] [AOL Removes Search Data on Group of Web Users] [AOL’s Big Privacy Blunder] [Background] [Searchable Mirror of Search Log Data] [Some of the most bizarre search queries (recommended reading)] [Coverage] [Coverage] [80% of online U.S. adults search for health info]

WW – Google CEO Cites Government As Main Threat To User Privacy

Government intrusion, not accidental disclosure of search data, poses the most significant challenge to maintaining online privacy, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told an industry conference yesterday. Earlier this year, Google battled the Justice Department in an effort to obtain search data on Google users. [Source] [Google CEO: We won’t Pull an AOL]

US – Study: Many Advertisers Use Nuisance Adware Knowingly

More than half of the pop-up ads served by nuisance “adware” programs are placed knowingly by advertisers, CDT has found in a new study. Although many ads purchased by major national companies pass through complex networks of affiliates before being displayed by nuisance adware distributors, 55% of the ads served by those distributors are placed directly by the companies being advertised, according to “Following the Money II: The Role of Intermediaries in Adware Advertising.” The study builds on the findings of Following the Money I, which untangled the complicated web of affiliate relationships common to nuisance adware models. [Press release]

WW – “Vishing” Is Latest Twist In Identity Theft Scam

It’s called “vishing,” and it’s similar to “phishing” scams that rely on email to steal consumer’s identities. Vishing uses Internet telephone calls and camouflaged Caller ID information to make requests appear legitimate. Victims report receiving either an e-mail that appeared to originate from their institution, or a phone call claiming that their account had experienced fraudulent activity and required immediate attention. When consumers called the supplied number, an automated system, much like legitimate customer service systems, instructed the unsuspecting victims to enter their account number in order to be connected to a customer service representative. [Source]

US – Federal Jury Awards Woman $351,000 in ID Theft Lawsuit

A Virginia woman whose SSN was stolen by a temporary employee at a hospital where the ID theft victim gave birth has won $351,000 in damages after a trial. Equifax Information Services LLC was ordered to pay the woman the damages after attempts to restore her credit at the three major credit agencies failed. The woman reached settlements with the other two credit agencies and CitiFinancial, which the victim accused of sending an account she did not open to collections, which resulted in harassing calls from debt-collection agencies. [Source] [Source]

US – $50 Million Verdict for Violating Drivers' Privacy in Florida

Hundreds of thousands of Florida motorists will get up to $160 each under a $50 million class-action settlement with Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust. The bank ran afoul of a federal anti-stalking law that makes it illegal for companies to buy driver records from state governments. Fidelity Federal bought 565,600 names of motorists from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from 2000 to 2003 and used the information to send brochures advertising auto loans. Fidelity Federal paid a penny a name -$5,656- for names and addresses of motorists who recently bought cars. An attorney for Fidelity said the bank didn’t know buying the names violated federal law. [Source] [Source] [Source]

US – GAO Report Finds Data Brokers Not Restricted By Existing Privacy Law

In a recent report from the GAO, data resellers were found to be largely outside the reach of existing U.S. privacy laws. The GAO report recommends Congressional action to bring these companies under the current security and privacy standards found in the FCRA and GLBA. [Source]

US – RFID Biometric Passports Vulnerable, Expert Says

Electronic passports being introduced in the U.S. and other countries have a major vulnerability that could allow criminals to clone embedded secret code and enter countries illegally, an expert warned. A demonstration last week by German computer security expert Lukas Grunwald showed how personal information stored on the documents could be copied and transferred to another device. It appeared to contradict assurances by officials in government and private industry that the electronic information stored in passports could not be duplicated. “If there is an automatic inspection system, I can use this card to enter any country,” Grunwald said, holding up a computer chip containing electronic information he had copied from his German passport. “The whole passport design is totally brain damaged. From my point of view all of these [biometric] passports are a huge waste of money - they’re not increasing security at all.” [Source] [Source] [Researchers: E-passports pose security risk] [Source] [New RFID Passport Scare -- Does it Matter?] [Hacker Cracks, Clones RFID Passport] [Researcher warns of security problem in electronic passports] [Senators call for more RFID education]

US – Credit Cards Containing RFID Chip in Use at San Diego’s Petco Park

The park’s concession stands are accepting credit cards containing a RFID chip that allows users to make their purchases quickly from concession stands without handing over their contactless card to a cashier. For purchases under $25, there is no need to sign the receipt, which also speeds up the transactions, according to the companies that offer the cards. [Source]

WW – Blackberry a Juicy Hacker Target

A computer security researcher says he’s found an unexpected new path into company networks: the Blackberry. He has developed a hacking program that exploits the trust relationship between a Blackberry and a company’s internal server to hijack a connection to the network. Because the data tunnel between the Blackberry and the server is encrypted, intrusion detection systems at the perimeter of the network won’t detect the attack. [Source]

US – GPO Issues Contracts for RFID e-Passports

The Government Printing Office has issued two contracts to producers of contactless smart chips to furnish large-scale quantities of electronic passport covers. The contracts follow months of testing, policy disputes and legal wrangling over the use of contactless smart chips to embed biometric and biographic data in passport covers. Wide-scale adoption of the State Department’s version of the technology likely will influence other federal programs which will involve biometric ID systems. [Source]

US – Bush Administration Appeals NSA Wiretap Decision

The Bush administration has asked a federal appeals court to halt a lawsuit alleging AT&T illegally opened its communication networks to surveillance by the National Security Agency. Permitting the lawsuit to proceed would endanger national security and possibly expose classified information, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a legal brief filed on Monday. [Source]

US – D.C. Council Approves Temporary Expansion of Video Camera Use

The D.C. Council agreed last week to install 23 surveillance cameras in residential neighborhoods for the first time. This action, along with an earlier curfew and police access to confidential juvenile information, was taken in response to a proposal from Mayor Anthony Williams for emergency legislation. [EPIC’s Comments to the D.C. Council on the April CCTV proposal] [D.C. Council Home Page] [Small-town Alberta pondering surveillance cameras] [NYC Transit, announced video surveillance for Manhattan buses] [Toronto Police to watch Caribana with cameras]

US – FTC Seeks Greater Enforcement Power

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking additional legislative tools that will allow the agency to more aggressively pursue online fraud and privacy violations. The call for these tools has been seen as an early indicator of the content for the FTC’s workshop on the subject in early November. [Source]

US – New IRS Online Bill Payment Raises Privacy Concerns

Privacy and consumer advocates are wary of a new system the IRS is setting up to allow tax preparation agencies to make it more convenient for taxpayers to pay their delinquent taxes on the Web. Few details are available presently to evaluate the new system’s level of security and how it will work, leading to the concerns. [Source]

US – DHS Report Notes Security Problems in Transportation Worker ID Credential

A report from the DHS IG Richard Skinner says the Department’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) has a number of “security-related issues [that] may threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive TWIC data.” The version of the report made available to the public was redacted to remove information about the specific security problems, but it is known that they involve default security settings and patch management. The report also says the program does not comply with certain requirements of the Federal Information Security Management Act. TWIC plans to issue biometric identification cards to US transportation workers. [Source] [Source] [DHS Report]

US – CIO Council Releases Tested Version of FEA Security and Privacy Profile

The CIO Council’s Federal Enterprise Architecture Security and Privacy Profile suggests best practices for government agencies to protect data shared with others. The document also offers ideas for integrating security and privacy requirements into technology purchases. [Source] [Source]

US – Senate Ratifies Cybercrime Treaty

The US Senate has ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime. The treaty aims to align laws pertaining to Internet crime in the 43 countries that have already signed. It also looks toward “improving investigative techniques and increasing cooperation among nations.” The treaty calls for signatory nations to cooperate on cybercrime investigations, and to pass similar cybercrime laws addressing issues such as computer intrusion, computer-facilitated fraud, child pornography and copyright infringement. The US may decline to cooperate when requests violate free speech or other rights. [Source] [Source] [Source] [Convention on Cybercrime text] [Bob Barr: Cybercrime treaty wrecks cyberprivacy]

US – House Approves Health Data Technology Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation aimed at accelerating the use of computerized health records by removing legal barriers and moving toward national standards. The bill seeks to establish a committee to make recommendations on medical data storage, form a committee to govern national standards, clarify privacy laws that apply to electronically stored medical data, expand the number of billing codes used by health care providers, and allow hospitals to provide doctors with IT hardware. [Source] [Source]

CA – BC Wal-Mart Ordered to Pay $86K Over Privacy Violation

A former Wal-Mart manager has been awarded $86,000 in a B.C. Supreme Court decision published this week. The former manager of the Guildford retail outlet sued the company last year claiming he was wrongfully dismissed in 2003 and that his privacy was violated when the company published his image as part of an advertising campaign after he had been terminated. [Source]

US – Court: No Expectation of Privacy With Computer Monitoring Policy

A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that workers have no legitimate expectation of privacy when employers have a policy in force that informs employees that computer usage is monitored in the workplace. The decision stems from an unsuccessful argument by a Montana man that the evidence collected from his work computer should not be admissible in court because the FBI obtained it without a search warrant. [Source]

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