Disclaimer: The opinions of the columnists are their own and not necessarily those of their employer.

Category Archives: Privacy

Losing Friends on Facebook: A Privacy Story

– Reconnecting with past friends and acquaintances, to me, is the primary value of Facebook. It is a simple way to establish ties to people you knew but lost touch with over the years. It’s a common experience on Facebook to befriend past best friends, people you’ve dated, and high…

Slashdot Post On Security Ethics Demonstrates Professional Naiveness

– Over at Slashdot, an anonymous reader was quoted as follows (in entirety): “I am a senior security xxx in a Fortune 300 company and I am very frustrated at what I see. I see our customers turn a blind eye to blatant security issues, in the name of the application or business requirements. I…

Did Facebook Take My Advice on Privacy?

– In late 2007, I wrote an article that a major issue with Facebook is that one could not control what one’s friends see after you authenticated them to your profile. It was a boolean expression: if they were your friend they could see everything or you could block them. I wrote: I know a…

Eliot Spitzer: The Primary Lesson for Information Security Professionals

– Amidst the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, there is one primary lesson to be learned from the scandal (as it relates to our field). For those who do not know, as Attorney General of NYS on of Spitzer’s roles was to prosecute prostitution rings. It is most likely the case that he knew how the…

Data Tracing: Proposal for a Privacy and Data Security Law

– My recent Equifax issue (here, here) lead me to wonder about my personal data. Consumers should be able to find out the following: 1. What a given company is doing with one’s personal information (processing / data mining) 2. Which third parties are privy and have access to their…