A California company has found that computer users consistently choose weak passwords, with the most common one being 123456. The second-most common password is 12345, followed by 123456789. And the fourth most common password is “password.” You can see where this is going. Read more on CBC News. See also Jaikumar Vijayan’s coverage, Users still…
Category: Breaches
FBI Broke Privacy Laws, Says Justice Department Probe
Massimo Calabresi reports: The FBI repeatedly broke the law between April 2003 and November 2006 in its efforts to monitor telecommunications in line with counterterrorism objectives, a Justice Department investigation has found. A report released Wednesday by the Department’s Inspector General, Glenn Fine, reveals that three major telecom companies — whose identities remain classified —…
German DPA Fines Drugstore Chain for Illegal Collection of Health Data
On January 11, 2010, the data protection authority of the German federal state of Baden-Wurtemberg issued a press release stating that it had fined the Müller Group €137,500 for illegal retention of health-related data and failure to appoint a Data Protection Officer. In April 2009, the German press reported that the Müller Group, a drugstore…
Swedes swap passwords for chocolate treats
First it was the Brits. Now it’s the Swedes who will give you their passwords for a chocolate. Paul O’Mahony reports: Sweet-toothed Swedes are happy to trade their internet passwords for bars of chocolate, according to a poll carried out by an appalled computer magazine. The computer buffs behind PC magazine were left reeling after…