Press exposure of Federal data security hole leads to legal threats

Hacks accused of hacking, are researchers next?

An investigation into a security slip that left the identity information for over 170,000 users of a US federal government program publicly available online has led to accusations of hacking and legal threats.…

The Register – Security

Japan forgot data wipe on ship sold to Pyongyang

Former coast guard ship’s navigation records reach NORKS

The Japanese government’s data protection policies have been called into question after it emerged that a decommissioned coast guard vessel was sold to a pro-North Korea organisation without any checks as to whether key data on board was first deleted.…

The Register – Security

Google tool lets you share data from BEYOND the GRAVE

‘If you’re reading this, I must be dead’

Between Google search, GMail, YouTube, and other sites, a vast number of internet users now access Google services every day. So it makes some sense that the Chocolate Factory has implemented a new system that lets you tell it how long you need to have stopped Googling before it assumes you must be dead.…

The Register – Security

Mobile location data identifies individuals

You are where you go

One of the arguments in favour of anonymous mobile location tracking, nanely that it doesn’t provide enough information to identify individuals, has been slapped down by a US-Belgian study. An anonymous trace of one phone’s movements, plus a small amount of external data, can pick out one person out of millions.…

The Register – Security