They're not just after your credit card or Social Security numbers. Fueled by the ease of online commerce, snoops are on the trail of other personal information, too. One of the hottest markets: records of phone calls, especially from cell phones.
If cell phones and other handheld wireless devices are allowed to be used on aircraft by the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice wants built-in terrorism-fighting capabilities to allow fast wiretaps and quick ways to disconnect conversations between terrorists.
From independent brokers and agents to auto body shops, Nationwide Insurance Companies works with thousands of business partners. As Nationwide's associate general counsel and chief privacy officer, Kirk Herath helps to make sure none of those third-party relationships open the Fortune 500 company up to more trouble than they are worth.
A thief stole my credit card number. Am I a victim of identity theft?
Thieves who supply online criminals with stolen IDs are increasingly going for the big score: stealing directly from banking-transaction databases.
In by far the largest caper reported to date, intruders recently cracked into the systems used by Atlanta-based payments processor CardSystems Solutions. The take: 40 million account records for holders of MasterCard, Visa USA, American Express and Discover cards.
You haven't been properly inaugurated into the 21st century until you get a letter warning that your personal information has been stolen and you may be a victim of fraud. I received my letter a few weeks ago. The University of California at Berkeley, where I attended journalism school as a graduate student, wrote to tell me that a computer containing my social security number was stolen in March.
Workers' union GMB has declared open war by threatening strike action unless supermarkets and factories stop using tracking technology on their employees.
The union accuses some companies of making staff feel dehumanised by loading them with portable computers that measure the time they take to perform tasks, such as stock taking and even going to the toilet. The union has implied that staff are missing out on interacting with real live people (and probably a bit of fun), which is making them feel "like slaves" at the mercy of computers.
A recent survey of 332 technology decision-makers at large u.s. companies reveals a growing concern over sensitive information leaving the enterprise through email.
In its 2005 study on outbound email security and content issues, email security vendor Proofpoint found that more than 63% of corporations with 1,000 or more employees either employ or plan to hire workers to read outbound email.
Why? companies are highly concerned about preventing leaks of trade secrets, enforcing corporate email policies, and complying with regulations that affect email usage.
The mobile phone numbers of about 600 Chinese celebrities were posted on-line Saturday, according to Beijing Star Daily.
Many of the writers, film directors, sports stars, singers, actors listed were flooded with calls and said they would change their numbers if it continued. The list was deleted late Sunday's afternoon after being posted for two days.
Xiao Yu, assistant to singer Zhou Yanhong, said Zhou received many phone calls or short messages from strangers, some containing harassing information, during the past two days.
THE Federal Privacy Commissioner is looking into a high-profile law firm that published the intimate details of job applicants on its website. Slater & Gordon published the names, ages, private addresses and telephone numbers of about 50 people, many of them young women.
They had all applied online for jobs.
The law firm, which specialises in class legal actions, was unaware of the privacy breach until alerted by the Herald Sun early yesterday.
Managing partner Andrew Grech blamed it on a software problem.
