Category «Other»

You have rights when you go to vote – and many people are there to help if there’s trouble at the polls

Despite all the challenges to this year’s election – long lines, calls for voter intimidation, baseless claims of fraud – voting is a fundamental civil right. As a political scientist who studies campaigns and elections, Daniel R. Birdsong has confidence in American democracy. Lots of people are working at the polls and behind the scenes to ensure election 2020 runs smoothly and safely. In this article Birdsong outlines your rights as a voter and explain where to turn if you encounter trouble at the polls.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, KM, Legal Research, Librarian Resources

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 25, 2020

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: Trump Administration Develops Governmentwide Office Reopening Guidelines, With Contractor Help; USPS looks to monetize its mapping data; Amazon Faces Allegations It Harvested Sensitive Voice Data; and Google: Chinese Hackers Are Posing as McAfee to Install Malware.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Communications, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Data Mining, Government Resources, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, Social Media, United States Law

Increased ebook lending popularity leaves publishers worried, librarians still dissatisfied

Chris Meadows was Editor and Senior Staff Writer at TeleRead, a site focusing on e-book and library news. It is with sadness that I share one of his last articles – he passed away last week after a hit and run accident. Chris was an expert on all facets of digital content issues, and the son of two librarians. I have included more information in my editor’s note at the end of the article. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family.

Subjects: Copyright, E-Books, Education, Gadgets/Gizmos, Health, Healthcare, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Library Software & Technology, Publishing & Publishers (Legal), Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020

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: Amazon’s Latest Gimmicks Are Pushing the Limits of Privacy; Data Security: Recent K-12 Data Breaches Show That Students Are Vulnerable to Harm; How to Implement implement zero trust without impacting productivity; and ‘So hard to prove you exist’: Flawed fraud protections deny unemployment to millions.

Subjects: Congress, Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Education, Email Security, Encryption, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Privacy, Telecommuting

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 10, 2020

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: Google is giving data to police based on search keywords; IRS under investigation for buying Americans’ smartphone location data; Why You Should Stop This ‘Hidden’ Location Tracking On Your iPhone; and Privacy of biometric data in DHS hands in doubt, inspector general says.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Health, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 3, 2020

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: CISA Releases Telework Essentials Toolkit; A New Tool for Detecting Deepfakes Looks for What Isn’t There: an Invisible Pulse; Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and What to do when someone steals your identity.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Civil Liberties, Computer Security, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Government Resources, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Technology Trends, Telecommuting

A Time to Act: Putting Awareness into Action

Wendy L. Werner’s call to action is clear: “lawyers have a unique opportunity to intervene on behalf of those with fewer resources, and people who have been under served and under-represented. Many of us have been impacted by the growing knowledge of racial inequities, and recognition of disparities. This is a moment to intervene and no one group has more power to make a difference than lawyers. Now is the time.”

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Continuing Legal Education, Free Speech, Leadership, Legal Education, Legal Profession, Legal Research

RSS Feeds, PACER, and the Fight for Access to Federal Docket Information

What is RSS and how do federal courts use it? Rebecca Fordon informs us that courts vary in the types of documents they provide via RSS feeds – only about 70% of bankruptcy courts and 50% of district courts provide full feeds. The effort urging courts to fully enable RSS feeds has many advocates and would have a significant positive impact for legal researchers in all sectors.

Subjects: Court Resources, Courts & Technology, Freedom of Information, Government Resources, Legal Technology, Public Records, RSS Newsfeeds, United States Law

How to Identify a Phishing Attempt and Thwart It

There has been a huge surge in phishing attacks and swindles during the COVID-19 pandemic as more people are working remotely. The attacks and scams have been perpetrated against businesses and individuals alike. Catherine Sanders Reach talks about the increased importance for lawyers and their teams in the office or working from home to understand the threats, and how to actively engage in efforts to reduce both individual and enterprise wide exposure.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email, Email Security, Law Firm Security, Privacy

Book Review: A Short And Happy Guide To Advanced Legal Research

Nicole L. Black’s review highlights this book’s breadth of coverage and its format, information about a variety of free online tools, including public records databases, newsletters, and encyclopedias, and case law and statutes, fee-based legal research tools, as well as traditional case law and statutory research tools, and cutting edge AI-based legal research and data analytics software.

Subjects: AI, Book Reviews, Legal Research, LEXIS, Online Legal Research Services, Reference Resources, Westlaw