Reader S. got a call this morning from Citibank. They said her card had been compromised and she needed a new card. When she asked for details, Citibank could only say that an unspecified business had their system compromised, affecting “millions” of Visa and MasterCards
privacy
Bush: I Can Read Your Mail
By 1.4.07
The New York Daily News is reporting on a signing statement President Bush issued two weeks ago when signing a postal reform bill, in which he “asserts his right to open mail without a warrant.”
Does Harper Collins Know What You’re Downloading?
By 12.27.06
We were looking through the Freakonomics blog this morning when we came across this post from Dec 18th, concerning Harper Collins contacting the ISPs of customers thought to be sharing of illegal copies of the book Freakonomics. The post had a link to a letter that a customer received after illegally downloading the book.
Media Demands Secret AT&T Papers
By 12.21.06
Wired News is reporting that several media outlets (San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News and Bloomberg News) have joined together to with Wired to petition for the release of “secret” AT&T papers detailing the extend of the White House’s warrantless wiretapping program. AT&T is resisting because they claim the papers contain, “corporate trade secrets.” “At 2 p.m. Thursday, both sides will make oral arguments before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco.”
BofA Throws Out Customer Who Refuses To Give Thumbprint
By 12.20.06
Bank of America ejected reader Tycho after he refused to give the teller a thumbprint while cashing a check.
Marketing an Invasion of Privacy?
By 11.3.06
According to CNet, “The Washington-based U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Center for Digital Democracy have asked the Federal Trade Commission to review–and ideally restrict–what they describe as a growing online business model dependent on technologies that “aggressively track us wherever we go, creating data profiles to be used in ever-more sophisticated and personalized ‘one-to-one’ targeting schemes.”
HOWTO: Avoid ID Theft
By 10.31.06
According a Gallup poll 19% of consumers report having their financial information stolen including a bank or credit card number.
Remove Yourself From Online Info Directories
By 9.6.06
Ever try to look up someone online? You usually wedge in a few seconds to vanity search and may be surprised to find how extensive your online profile is on sites like Anywho, Peoplefinder or 411info. Lifehacker points to a great chart on The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse which shows you how to opt out of all these fine services.
Who is Adhur Chowdhury?
By 8.22.06
Chowdhury wasn’t just “some rogue researcher” at AOL, according to his CV he was “Chief Architect.” As in, Chief Architect of Information. Among the accomplishments he achieved since May 2000, he includes:
AOL Higherups OK’d Search Record Release
By 8.22.06
The AOL company researcher who released the data is one Abdur Chowdhury, pictured at right, looking like a douche.
3 AOL Heads Roll After Users Search Records Released
By 8.22.06
Two weeks after AOL released the search records for 500,000 plus users and endured a public outcry, three AOL workers have left. The researcher responsible for posting the data, along with his supervisor, were fired. Chief Technology Officer Maureen Govern resigned.
Federal Judge Orders NSA Spy Program Stopped
By 8.17.06
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit today found the NSA domestic spying program “without warrant” and violated the First and Fourth Amendments. She ordered it stopped.
Consumerist; Brand Killer, Tabloid
By 8.16.06
In a recent Brandchanel piece, Abram Sauer posits there are four states of mind for viewing Gawker blogs, different states positions ways to view Gawker blogs, “uncaring unfamiliarity,” fanboysim, playa haterism, and fear. Sauer writes “Consumerist.com has the most fear-provoking potential. This is because Consumerist.com is a brand killer. “
AOL’s Search Leak and You
By 8.14.06
We’ve had a lot of fun with the AOL search results leak. In fact, some people have been confused by our glee in posting some of the more hilariously depraved records. Don’t we care about privacy?
US Threatens to Sue if Maine Probes Verizon’s Phone Record Gift to NSA
By 8.8.06
Verizon customers in Maine asked the Public Utilities Commission to investigate whether the cellphone company handed over their phone records to the NSA. A July 28th letter from the DOJ to the PUC asked them to demure, and intimated at possible legal action.
