AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is whining about the “open access” rules the FCC put in place governing the coveted 700mhz spectrum that is to be auctioned off in the near future, hinting that AT&T might not take part because the rules make buying the spectrum unprofitable.
data
Data Breach At Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance
By 10.18.07
The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance has waited a month to inform students that a disc containing their FAFSA information has been lost. The FAFSA includes information “generally used in identity theft like names and social security numbers,” according to Melanie Amrhein, director of the office. The disc had “added security measures” that she says makes it “unlikely” that anyone will decipher the data.
Schwarzenegger Vetos Data Protection Bill
By 10.16.07
Another day, another Schwarzenegger veto comes soaring into our inbox. This one is from reader Hassan, who is concerned about data security.
Gap Says Laptop Containing Job Applicant Data Stolen
By 9.28.07
Gap is disclosing that a laptop filled with job applicant data has been stolen. The laptop contained the personal information of 800,000 job applicants, including social security numbers.
Alumni Associations And Public Universities Profit By Selling Student Data To Bank Of America
By 9.24.07
We stumbled across a very interesting article in the Des Moines Register that discusses the methods public universities’ alumni associations (in this case, the University of Iowa and ISU) use to obtain and sell student data.
What Walmart Can Tell Us About Ourselves
By 9.13.07
Walmart knows more about us than we do, according to ABC News.
iPhone/AT&T $3,000 International Roaming Bill Serves As Cruel Warning
By 7.31.07
International data roaming charges are out-of-control expensive and can be difficult to dispute, should you accidentally rack them up. It’s not uncommon to be slammed with a $3,000 bill from just looking up a few websites on the go in Europe. We’ve written about it before, actually.
Defense Contractor Suffers Potential Data Breach
By 7.22.07
Defense contractor SAIC Inc. transmitted personal information about US Military personel over the internet without encrypting it first, according to the LA Times.
Do A Background Check On Yourself
By 6.1.07
Companies can order all sorts of reports on you and make judgments about you, from banks, to landlords to employers. Here’s how you can see the data they’re seeing and make sure the record is right.
Astroglide Generously Provides The Internet With A List of 250k People Who Use Their Lube
By 4.24.07
“Obviously I would be disappointed [by the company breaking its privacy policy], but I’m not worried about that information getting out. I think I just gave them my name, address and phone number. I can see how other people would be concerned about it, though.”
Uh, yeah. According to the Department of Homeland Stupidity blog, the data breach also includes “a spreadsheet containing 4,529 records of people who ordered the company’s Silken Secret vaginal moisturizer product.” The file contains names, ages, email and home addresses, and “why they wanted to try the product”, including options like “Intimate Activity” and “Vaginal Dryness.” Nice.—MEGHANN MARCO
Downloading Overseas? Here's Your $7,124 Cingular Bill
By 4.19.07
Using cell and data services overseas can be complicated and expensive as one Spokane financial planner recently discovered.
Sprint: $2.50 For The Ringtone, $11.85 In Data Transfer Charges
By 4.13.07
I downloaded a single ring tone for my new phone, and paid $2.50 for it.
Apple: No, You Can't Have Your Data Back, We're Keeping It
By 4.5.07
I asked if I can buy a new hard drive, in order to get the old drive back: “No.”
A Closer Look At Comcast's Privacy Policy
By 3.29.07
The privacy policy starts off with the fine sentiment that: “Comcast is committed to maintaining your privacy and believes that, as a subscriber to its high-speed Internet service, you are entitled to know Comcast’s information practices.” The policy then goes on to state “We will not read your outgoing or incoming e-mail, video mail, private chat, or instant messages, but we (or our third party providers) do store e-mail messages and video mail messages on computer systems for a period of time.”
How To: Erase Your Hard Drive
By 3.21.07
If, for some reason, you have a hard drive that you really, really, want to erase today is your lucky day. bbum has posted some tips for erasing a drive, and reminds you that even broken drives should be “erased.”
Arrests Made In Stop and Shop Data Theft
By 3.1.07
Police in Rhode Island have arrested four people in connection with a recent security breach at Stop & Shop Supermarket Cos.
2 Young Scalawags Charged in Veteran Data Theft
By 8.8.06
Nineteen-year-old Jesus Alex Pineda 19, and Christian Brian Montano were charged Saturday in the left of a laptop containing 26.5 million veteran’s records.
