A watchdog has been appointed to monitor the Government’s National Identity Register, the database which will contain personal details of UK citizens and form the basis for any future ID cards. The appointment of former civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling as the first Identity Commissioner was confirmed by the Home Office today. His duties will…
Did too much privacy protection cost a young life?
A teenage girl may have died at her own hand. Could Sprint have prevented it? A commentary cross-posted from Chronicles of Dissent. The teenager called a suicide hotline for help. She had stabbed herself and taken drugs in an attempt to kill herself, and by the time she called the hotline, she was weak and…
Ex-emergency dispatch agency director given 6 months jail for illegal background checks
Dan Rozek reports: Steven R. Cordes wanted to help his girlfriend keep tabs on who her teenage daughter was dating and hanging out with. So Cordes — director of a Kane County emergency dispatch agency — searched confidential police databases and did criminal background checks on a boyfriend and other friends. But the searches were…
UFO hacker Gary McKinnon to learn of Supreme Court appeal
Self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon, who gained unauthorised access to multiple Pentagon computer systems, will learn this week whether an application for an appeal in his case will be heard by the Supreme Court, the new highest court in the UK. If the appeal goes ahead, then Infosecurity understands an extradition of McKinnon would be unlikely…