Loek Essers reports: The German and Canadian data protection commissioners signed an agreement on Monday that aims to ensure people’s digital privacy will be better protected if data travels across borders via the Web, the authorities announced. International cooperation could help put companies like Facebook and Google on a privacy leash. Both countries will inform…
Category: Misc
If I Fly a UAV Over My Neighbor’s House, Is It Trespassing?
Alexis C. Madrigal writes: My poor kitten, who my unfortunate Instagram contacts know too well, gets beat up every time he goes outside. There’s a bully cat in the neighborhood who appears to relish in attacking cute, fluffy things as soon as they get out of human oversight. So, naturally, I bought a Parrot AR.Drone.2.0, a…
PGP founder’s mobile privacy app goes live
Bill Ray reports: Silent Circle, the secure mobile communications app backed by Phil Zimmerman, has gone live – offering protection from all but the most determined of government departments. Silent Circle comprises a handful of iOS/Android/PC apps facilitating secure phone calls, text messaging and video calling, with secure email promised soon, all presented through an…
Social Security record limits hinder research
Kevin Sack of the New York Times reports: A Social Security Administration shift last year to limit access to its death records amid identity-theft concerns is beginning to hamper a broad swath of research, including federal government assessments of hospital safety and financial industry efforts to spot consumer fraud. For example, a research group that…