Byron Acohido reports: Americans are willing to have their thumbprints and eyeballs scanned to keep cybercriminals from stealing their sensitive data, according to survey results released this week. Of the 583 respondents polled by tech consulting firm Unisys and Leiberman Research, 93% said they would be interested in using fingerprinting to secure their data; 58%…
Category: Surveillance
Deutsche Bahn fined 1.12 million euros for data protection breach
Germany’s rail carrier Deutsche Bahn was fined a record 1.12 million euros (1.7 million dollars) on Friday, for breaching data protection laws. Earlier this year, it emerged that the rail operator had been accessing confidential staff data including emails and bank accounts for more than a decade, in attempts to fight possible corruption. The head…
Cell-Tracking Bills Require Info Dump for Missing Persons
David Kravets reports: Mobile phone companies would have to immediately turn over location data to emergency responders to help them quickly track missing persons, if any one of the four bills floating in the House get traction. The law already allows, but does not automatically require, phone companies to turn over ping data from cell…
Writers strike case fuels criticism about how the WGA investigates misconduct
Richard Verrier reports: As a 20-year member of the Writers Guild of America, Jonathan Prince was startled to learn that his union was accusing him of being a scab during the writers strike. But he was even more stunned when he learned that the guild had been relying on a secret informant, code-named Clyde, who…