Kashmir Hill writes: A debate is currently raging in Washington, D.C. and various politically-engaged spots on the Internet over CISPA, a bill that promises to increase cybersecurity by giving private companies carte blanche to hand over information about cyberthreats they see on their networks. Lawmakers have seemingly decided the best way to fight cybercriminals is to deputize private industry…
Category: Govt
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges With Upromise
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Upromise, Inc., a membership reward service aimed at consumers trying to save money for college used a web-browser toolbar to collect consumers’ personal information without adequately disclosing the extent of the information it was collecting. The settlement order will…
The census’ broken privacy promise
Adam Marcus reports: Seventy-two years ago, the federal government made a promise to the American public: “No one has access to your census record except you.” So said a radio ad intended to promote participation in the 1940 census by assuaging privacy concerns. President Franklin Roosevelt even proclaimed, “No person can be harmed in any…
The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
James Bamford writes: Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the…