People are increasingly using household robots for chores, communication, entertainment and companionship. But safety and privacy risks of information-gathering objects that move around our homes are not yet adequately addressed, according to a new University of Washington study. It’s not a question of evil robots, but of robots that can be misused. “A lot of…
Senate committee passes bill to reauthorize Patriot Act provisions
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-8 to approve legislation to reauthorize expiring provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act and improve oversight of several tools used to gather intelligence. The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act reauthorizes three provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire at the end of the year:…
If you ever received a Citi prepaid rebate card, read this
A post on The Consumerist draws attention to an important privacy alert concerning Citi prepaid rebate cards: ….. Citi reserves the right to sell all of your information to the highest bidder WITHOUT your consent, unless you mail them an opt-out form or call a phone number. To be more specific, the section of the…
Gary McKinnon to learn if he can appeal extradition
Hacker Gary McKinnon is set to hear whether he will be allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court against his extradition to the US. Mr McKinnon is accused of hacking Pentagon and Nasa (sic) computer networks and has been identified by the US as a serious offender. His mother Janis Sharp has accused the Government…