Category «United States Law»

What We Know About You: Welcome to the Surveillance State

Kevin Novak begins his article with a reference to a report in The Wall Street Journal that caught his attention. Commercial data brokers are selling their third-party data to the government. If you’re an optimist, you would think this could be a good thing. Our intelligence agencies and the defense department may be able to identify patterns that could predict and prevent an unfortunate event – terrorism, for example. But honestly, how would you feel if all the conversations in your house that Siri and Alexa are silently listening in on are sold in the aggregate to the government…or something else?

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Computer Security, Congress, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw Legislation, Cybersecurity, Data Mining, Economy, Gadgets/Gizmos, Legal Research, Social Media

Trapped in Darkness: Women in Europe remain defenseless against gender-based violence

A new cross-border data investigation by the European Journalism Network reveals gaps in the registration of femicides in Europe and the ineffective protection of women against crimes of sexual, physical, psychological and economic violence over the last decade. Reporting by Janine Louloudi, Nikos Morfonios, and Kostas Zafeiropoulos.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Comparative/Foreign Law, Criminal Law, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 16, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, 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 online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Airbnb Bans All Indoor Security Cameras; How Fraudsters Break Into Social Security Accounts and Steal Benefits; 10 free cybersecurity guides you might have missed; Who Is Collecting Data from Your Car?; and Driving fast or braking hard? Your connected car may be telling your insurance company.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Government Resources, Healthcare, Privacy, Securities Law

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 9, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, 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 online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: News farm impersonates 60+ major outlets: BBC, CNN, CNBC, Guardian; FTC Cracks Down on Mass Data Collectors: A Closer Look at Avast, X-Mode, InMarket; Video Doorbells Sold By Big Retailers Have Major Security Flaws; Co-working spaces might actually be a security nightmare; and Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 2, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, 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 online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: A Vending Machine Error Revealed Secret Face Recognition Tech; The Impact of Technology on the Workplace: 2024 Report; A government watchdog hacked a US federal agency to stress-test its cloud security; Using AI to fight fraud is paying off, Treasury says; and These Video Doorbells Have Terrible Security. Amazon Sells Them Anyway.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Email Security, Financial System, Healthcare, Privacy

Scam Baiting: An Innovative Approach to Combating Online Fraud

The thesis of Kyra Strick’s instructive paper promotes a proactive approach to a rapidly increasing online security crisis. Strick states that in the dynamic landscape of cybersecurity, scam baiting has emerged as a captivating and unconventional approach to combating online fraud. Scam baiting is the practice of engaging with scammers to expose their tactics and disrupt their operations. It serves as an offensive and a defensive measure, safeguarding individuals from falling prey to scams, promoting data protection education, and empowering individuals to protect their digital security.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, KM, Legal Research, Social Media

What Happens to Your Sensitive Data When a Data Broker Goes Bankrupt?

In 2021, a company specializing in collecting and selling location data called Near bragged that it was “The World’s Largest Dataset of People’s Behavior in the Real-World,” with data representing “1.6B people across 44 countries.” Last year the company went public with a valuation of $1 billion (via a SPAC). Seven months later it filed for bankruptcy and has agreed to sell the company. Jon Keegan highlights the ramifications to the public.

Subjects: Big Data, Business Research, Competitive Intelligence, Healthcare, Information Management, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 24, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, 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 online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: As AI Looms Large, FTC Says Big Tech Can’t Feed it Your Data Without Your Permission; Protect Yourself from Identity Thieves; Survey Finds Workers are Putting Businesses at Risk by Oversharing with GenAI Tools; and Meet the shady companies helping governments hack citizens’ phones.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Government Resources, Healthcare, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Violence Against Women and International Law – Updated February 2024

Sabrina I. Pacifici is identifying and documenting pertinent sources for researchers on the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and violence against women and girls. The guide was originally published on November 23, 2023 – link here, and had 8 pertinent sources on this topic comprising government reports, academic papers, reviews of UN/NGO programs, news, databases, analysis and commentary. Part 2 of this series, published December 31, 2023 – link here, expanded the original guide with more than a dozen new sources. This update comprises primary government sources and secondary news sources along with extensive video footage and eye witness testimony to facilitate accurate research about the atrocities committed on October 7, 2023. It includes links and abstracts to more than a dozen additional sources from interviews, reports, and ongoing investigations identifying critical facts about the planning and systemic use of violence against women and girls during, and subsequent to, the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Resources, Legal Research