Day archives: March 9th, 2019

US takes tentative steps toward opening up government data

At the beginning of this year, President Trump signed into law the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary Government Data Act, requiring that nonsensitive government data be made available in machine-readable, open formats by default. As researchers who study data governance and cyber law [Anjanette Raymond, Beth Cate and Scott Shackelford] we are excited by the possibilities of the new act. But much effort is needed to fill in missing details – especially since these data can be used in unpredictable or unintended ways. The federal government would benefit from considering lessons learned from open government activities in other countries and at state and local levels.

Subjects: Big Data, Civil Liberties, Congress, Cyberlaw, Digital Archives, Freedom of Information, Government Resources, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, Public Records

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues March 9, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: IRS Urges Taxpayers to Watch Out for Erroneous Refunds; Beware of Fake Calls to Return Money to a Collection Agency; Phishing Scams: Is Your Financial Institution Helping Cyberthieves? Guess what? Facebook still tracks you on Android apps (even if you don’t have a Facebook account); and – Phone numbers are the new Social Security numbers.

Subjects: Big Data, Congress, Cybersecurity, Economy, Encryption, Financial System, Government Resources, Privacy, Social Media