December 2009
International cyber crime creates new challenges for US authorities
Submitted by SafeInternet on Wed, 2009-12-30 12:12Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Citibank lost millions of dollars to Russian hackers and that the case was currently under investigation by authorities, an assertion that Citibank has denied. According to the article, the "threat was initially detected by U.S. investigators who saw suspicious traffic coming from Internet addresses that had been used by the Russian Business Network, a Russian gang that has sold hacking tools and software for accessing U.S.
What does the health care legislation mean for Health IT?
Submitted by SafeInternet on Wed, 2009-12-23 23:15While millions of Americans watch the current health care reform debate in anticipation of discovering what benefits make it into the bill, many technology experts are paying close attention to a more obscure part of the legislation: Health care IT.
As The Hill's Kim Hart reports, the current bill appoints an assistant secretary for health information technology and targets money toward "community-based telehealth resource centers."
What does the health care legislation mean for Health IT?
Submitted by SafeInternet on Wed, 2009-12-23 23:15While millions of Americans watch the current health care reform debate in anticipation of discovering what benefits make it into the bill, many technology experts are paying close attention to a more obscure part of the legislation: Health care IT.
Too good to be true: Phony e-commerce sites target last minute holiday shoppers
Submitted by SafeInternet on Fri, 2009-12-18 17:57Though some Americans have had their Christmas shopping done for weeks, if not months, there are still plenty more who have once again waited until the last minute to amass their gifts. With online sales increasing every year, many are bypassing the holiday crowds and lines in favor of e-commerce websites, and they're searching for the ones with the best deals. This is just what cyber criminals are counting on.
ISPs Confronting Spam's Real-Time Web Evolution
Submitted by SafeInternet on Thu, 2009-12-17 13:33Late last month, Alan Ralsky, considered by many to be the "Godfather of spam," was sentenced to 51 months in prison for committing wire and mail fraud. He and three others involved in his operation engaged in manipulative stock trading by sending spam e-mails with misleading information that promoted stocks for U.S. companies owned by people in Asia.
Unsafe Content Increasing in Virtual Worlds
Submitted by SafeInternet on Tue, 2009-12-15 11:00Late last year, Sony changed its Terms of Service so it could better regulate and censor content in its virtual worlds. There were some who applauded this move, arguing that unwanted sexual content had begun to flourish in these places and Sony had to step in to police it.
Facebook modifies its privacy controls: An example of more user-friendly privacy options?
Submitted by SafeInternet on Thu, 2009-12-10 14:46Earlier this year, Facebook announced that it would begin to roll out a major tool transition that would result in better privacy controls for its users, and true to form, founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote an open letter last week going into detail as to what this roll-out would entail.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz on the right to privacy in an Internet age
Submitted by SafeInternet on Thu, 2009-12-10 14:45Speaking during a Monday FTC roundtable discussion "to explore the privacy challenges posed by the vast array of 21st century technology and business practices that collect and use consumer data," Chairman Jon Leibowitz credited Louis Brandeis, a Supreme Court justice from the early 20th century, as one of the original thinkers on contemporary philosophy on privacy .
Rates of cyber bullying in texting remain increasingly high
Submitted by SafeInternet on Sat, 2009-12-05 20:40A recent study done in collaboration between the Associated Press and MTV found alarmingly high levels of online and mobile abuse, sometimes referred to as cyber bullying. About half of all adolescents and young adults have experienced at least some form of cyber bullying, while as much as high as 30% had received or sent nude photos. About 10% of people that age have actually sent nude photos, the majority of which were girls: