Hillary Clinton wants White House 'privacy czar' (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/16/clinton.privacy.ap/index.html)

Friday, June 16, 2006; Posted: 12:35 p.m. EDT (16:35 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, drawing on her experiences as a young Watergate lawyer who decades later was investigated as first lady, urged creation of a "privacy bill of rights" Friday to protect people's personal data.

"Modern life makes many things easier and many things easier to know, and yet privacy is somehow caught in the crosshairs of these changes," Clinton said in a speech to a left-leaning legal group.

Clinton's speech on protecting consumers from identity theft and citizens from government snooping was the latest in a series of talks billed as "major addresses" by aides. Previous speeches were on energy and the economy.

[More... (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/16/clinton.privacy.ap/index.html)]

Computer with D.C. workers' data stolen (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060618/ap_on_hi_te/data_theft_d_c)

Sun Jun 18, 6:45 AM ET

WASHINGTON - A laptop containing the Social Security numbers and other personal data of 13,000 District of Columbia employees and retirees has been stolen, officials said.

The computer was stolen Monday from the Washington home of an employee of ING U.S. Financial Services, said officials with the company, which administers the district's retirement plan.

The company did not notify city employees of the theft until late Friday because it took officials several days to determine what information was stored on the laptop, ING spokeswoman Caroline Campbell said.

The laptop was not password-protected and the data was not encrypted, Campbell said.

[More... (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060618/ap_on_hi_te/data_theft_d_c)]

When will the fricktards of the world stop putting our data, unecrypted, on their laptops? It also happened that gazillions of people's info was stolen from an AIG (Insurer) laptop and the info, 3 months later, is only just now being told to people.

When will the fricktards of the world stop putting our data, unecrypted, on their laptops? It also happened that gazillions of people's info was stolen from an AIG (Insurer) laptop and the info, 3 months later, is only just now being told to people.

It should not be on a laptop at a persons home period, password protected or encrypted or not.

Every quarter we have to read a security magazine at work. Every quarter it talks about laptops being stolen. I guess these other people either don't have to read them or ignore them.

Perhaps personal information should be labeled as classified. I'd suggest making up a new name but for bureaucracy's sake, lets use a label we already have. With that label, you are not allowed to give out the data to anyone else unless they demonstrate a need to know and have the proper clearances. Furthermore, you can't store it on your laptop. Failure in either of these carries the thread of prosecution backed by years of precedent.

The thing that kills me is people like my sister are compulsively shredding everything because they're afraid someone will steal their info. Meanwhile some doofus with actual sensitive information, like your credit card numbers and social security number, is downloading your crap to his laptop!

There's something theraputic about shredding stuff though!

It's nothing short of stupid for the data to be on laptops, ESPECIALLY unencrypted/password-protected ones.

When will the fricktards of the world stop putting our data, unecrypted, on their laptops?
Perhaps when the costs of their carelessness outweigh the convenience of access. That's part of why I like the idea of "legislation to let consumers know what information companies are keeping about them and how it is used, and create a tiered system of penalties for companies who are not careful with consumer data."

A nice bonus to this legislation would be that we'd finally get to see why Radio Shack always asks for our phone numbers.

We license woman who want to cut other women's hair, and do their nails.

We license people if they want to move your sofa.

Yet we do not license Network Administrators.

That is silly.

Although it would be nice if SSN's dont get stolen, them being stolen isnt the problem, its that SSN's are used for too many things, even with more protocol and security, they will still get stolen

I don't know how, but I'd be much more comfortable withing a different way to indentify myself, Federal ID card or something I dont know, but the SSN as it is is wholely inadequate

I think that's just shifting the problem elsewhere. So we get another number... and that number will get abused too. What does it solve? Until there's a real way of validating that someone is who they say they are we've done nothing except create a lot of new numbers.

Gattaca!!!

I dont mean a federal ID card that is just a number I mean something that else.... something better!

hell if i know what it is, but the SSN is not a good system

A DNA sequence would work...

We license woman who want to cut other women's hair, and do their nails.

Because of health reasons.

We license people if they want to move your sofa.

Um...I've moved many a sofa in my life. I've never needed a license. You're smoking some crack.

Yet we do not license Network Administrators.

That is silly.

Heh, you want licensed Admins on one hand...and on the other want it to remain legal to illegally access your neighbors wifi...make up your mind.

A DNA sequence would work...

Yes, lets give up more liberty in the interest of security...and this isn't even physical security, but merely the security against having to sort through cleaning up ident theft (albeit a real pain in the ass).

What needs to happen is a law similiar to the HIPAA (http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/pl104191.htm)law. I find HIPAA a pain in the a$$ but it at least keeps information protected. You would think that the government would have a similiar law for the information it stores on individuals.

What needs to happen is a law similiar to the HIPAA (http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/pl104191.htm)law. I find HIPAA a pain in the a$$ but it at least keeps information protected. You would think that the government would have a similiar law for the information it stores on individuals.
HIPAA was written with one disease in mind.

HIV.

HIPAA makes it mandatory for healthcare workers to help the spread of HIV.

If we treated this disease like any other deadly disease during the 80s and 90s, we would have eradicated it for the most part from the American landscape. If we treated it like the P0rn industry treats it, it would have all been wiped by now here in the US.

It is notable that p0rnographers and prostitutes know how to stop the disease better than politicians, bureaucrats, doctors, and nurses.

Yes, lets give up more liberty in the interest of security...and this isn't even physical security, but merely the security against having to sort through cleaning up ident theft (albeit a real pain in the ass).
Well, it isn't actually even feasible yet. Takes too long to sequence.