by Daniel J. Solove
I have created a new resource page for the TeachPrivacy website: Privacy and Security Training Requirements.
by Daniel J. Solove
The IAPP recently released a report on the salaries of privacy professionals, and the findings are quite interesting. According to the results:
By Daniel J. Solove
Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham is a timeless classic that is read to millions of children. At first the simple rhymes and cute drawings are alluring. But parents will soon discover the book’s terrifying equation: The tiresome repetition of the book multiplied by the number of times a child will want the book read. The result is mind-numbing and will make parents curse the day they decided to make the book part of their child’s library.
by Daniel J. Solove
In Sorrell vs. IMS Health, 131 S. Ct. 2653 (2011), the Supreme Court struck down Vermont’s Prescription Confidentiality Law as a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. The Vermont law restricted the sale and marketing use of information that would identify prescribers without their consent. The Supreme Court reasoned that the Vermont law “enacts content- and speaker-based restrictions on the sale, disclosure, and use of prescriber-identifying information.” According to the Court, the statute made content-based restrictions because it singled out marketing, and the statute made speaker-based restrictions because it focused on pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Court stated: “The law on its face burdens disfavored speech by disfavored speakers.”
by Daniel J. Solove
Although we are seeing increasingly more sophisticated attempts at phishing, it appears as though many phishers still haven’t been able to get their hands on a program with spell check. Why are we still seeing the $10 million lottery winning emails? Or the long lost relative of yours living in Fiji who is leaving you $4 million?
A recent article explains that for the phishers, it is all a numbers game:
“So, if 97 per cent of phishing attempts are unsuccessful, why is it such a large issue? Because there are 156 million phishing emails sent worldwide daily. . . . Of the 156 million phishing emails sent daily, 16 million get through filters. Another eight million are opened by recipients. 800,000 click on the link provided, and 80,000 provide the information requested.”
by Daniel J. Solove
Over at the website, Information Is Beautiful, is this amazing chart of the biggest data breaches in the world.
Who knew data breaches could be so beautiful? For those who have suffered from their data being lost in a data breach to those who have suffered because they had to clean up after a data breach, there is a larger meaning to all your pain — it was for art!
This chart is so cool that it would almost be worth all the pain.
By Daniel J. Solove
A recent study by TeleSign revealed that many people engage in some troublesome password practices. Some of the most alarming findings from the report include:
— 73% of accounts use duplicate passwords.
— Nearly half of consumers have a password they haven’t changed in 5+ years
— “Consumers have an average of 24 online accounts, but use only 6 unique passwords.”
— “Only 30 percent of consumers are confident that their passwords will protect the security of their online accounts.”
These findings demonstrate why better authentication is needed. Enforcing good password practices is tremendously difficult. People have so many passwords that they must memorize, and if they must be long and complex, this compounds the challenge. Alternative means of authentication — such as two-factor authentication — should be explored, as they can be affordable and efficient.
By Daniel J. Solove
Co-authored with Professor Paul Schwartz
This post is part of a post series where we round up some of the interesting news and resources we’re finding. We have split the health/HIPAA material from our updates on other topics. To see our updates for other topics, click here.
For a PDF version of this post, and for archived issues of previous posts, click here.
I am a lover of literature (I teach a class in law and literature), and I also love privacy and security, so I thought I’d list some of my favorite novels about privacy and security.
I’m also trying to compile a more comprehensive list of literary works about privacy and security, and I welcome your suggestions.
By Daniel J. Solove
Co-authored by Professor Paul Schwartz
This post is part of a post series where we round up some of the interesting news and resources we’re finding. This post includes developments from the first part of 2015. For a PDF version of this post, and for archived issues of previous posts, click here.
NOTE: Health privacy and security issues will now be covered in a separate update post.
