As we all know, Apple refused to assist the FBI in cracking the iPhone 5c of the San Bernardino “terrorist” killers. The FBI took Apple to court. Then the FBI dropped the case after successfully hacking the phone. Then they successfully hacked another phone in a different case in New York. Information appeared linking Israeli mobile security firm Cellebrite to the successful breach of ...
The US House of representatives passed the Email Privacy Act. Finally the Congress passes a bill that actually protects the public from warrantless search and seizure of email records. What makes this vote special is that it was unanimous – 419-to 0! When does that ever happen? Rarely, but considering this bill would protect our representatives too, maybe not all that surprising.
This bill ...
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We wrote last year about how the IRS and their Get Transcript service was instrumental in helping identity thieves file fraudulent tax returns for big refunds. The problem was that the IRS used static user identity information that was available elsewhere online. They promised to fix this security problem, but have not. This year, many users of the IP PIN system that was supposed to harden security ...
How would you feel if, in order to gain access to a known terrorist’s house, the government passed a law that required every lock manufacturer to create a master key that would unlock every locked door anywhere? What if the police promised that they would only use the key on the one house? What if they promised to keep the key safe and secure so it could never get into the hands ...
American students are not learning how to write computer code, at least not at the rate that is typical in other countries such as India and China. This is extremely bad news for the U.S. economy over the long term; we are not teaching enough computer coders to fill existing jobs, much less future jobs. And more to the point, this is where the ...
At the November meeting of Penguins Unbound, the local Linux Users Group, I was introduced to a group of people from CryptoPartyMN. These guys and gals are serious about anonymity on the web. On of the resources they discussed was a great website called Security in a Box. If you would like to learn how to be more secure in your online communications, this is certainly a ...
I am a big adherent of Gibb’s Rule 13, “Never, ever involve lawyers.” Unfortunately, if your business suffers a data breach, Rule 13 goes out the window. You will be sued. Count on it.
But here are some things that you should do to protect yourself and your business from the worst legal repercussions:
Hacktivism is an electronic form of civil disobedience. These cyber-attacks are instigated for reasons that are political, economic, or based in civil rights, liberty, freedom, or social justice. In nearly every case, these attacks are illegal. But does that make them a bad thing?
As the saying goes, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Looking back on our own national history, the men who we fondly refer to as “the ...
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There has been a running battle on the subject of copyright in the digital age, between content creators and their customers, the content consumers. The doctrine of Fair Use has protected consumers who engage in making copies of protected works for their own use or for backup purposes. The content creators and the companies and lawyers that serve them have been trying to reduce or restrict the doctrine of fair use.
Back ...
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