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"Plans for Wireless Directory Raise Concerns About Privacy"
Congress has proposed the Wireless 411 Consumer Privacy Act, which would require current wireless customers to opt into a national database if they want to be listed, while new subscribers would have to opt out of the database if they do not want to be listed. Moreover, customers would not be charged a fee to opt out of the database, which has angered many wireless companies, since land-line phone companies generate $50 million from opt-out fees annually. Lawmakers are hoping that the bill will allow consumers to retain the amount of privacy they now have without a national wireless database. Meanwhile, many mobile phone carriers have been working together under the Cellular Communications Internet Association to create a directory assistance business, which could be worth over $3 billion per year in revenue for the sector. Carriers contend that the proposed law would only further complicate the communications industry, which is already barred from making unwanted calls to customers on the Federal Trade Commission's do-not-call list.
www.nytimes.com
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"Security Program Collars Criminals"
In a span of just three weeks, the Homeland Security Department's new U.S. VISIT program has processed more than 600,000 foreign visitors and helped authorities capture at least 30 wanted criminals, according to Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the department. The captured criminals include foreign visitors using false documentation, drug traffickers, and fugitives. Hutchinson, testifying before a House panel, predicted that the U.S. VISIT program would act as a deterrent to help stem the tide of criminals and terrorists entering the United States. Before the U.S. VISIT program was put in place on Jan. 5, several of the recently captured criminals had repeatedly visited and departed the United States by using aliases, eluding capture because their real identities could not be confirmed. The House panel also heard testimony from the top lobbyist for the airline industry, who expressed concern that subsequent phases of the U.S. VISIT program would burden airline employees with the responsibility of tracking foreign visitors who depart the country. That phase of the program is already being tested at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and is expected to reach the level of a full roll-out within several months.
www.washingtonpost.com
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"Big Brother in the Passenger Seat"
Variants of "black box" technology common in aircraft have begun showing up in automobiles, the most sophisticated being memory units embedded in airbags that store critical information--engine running speed, seatbelt status, etc.--gathered by sensors in the last five seconds before the airbag is deployed. The technology would be significantly advantageous to law enforcement and crash investigators who find it increasingly difficult to reconstruct car crashes because of advanced automotive technology such as anti-lock brakes. Other potential black box beneficiaries include insurance companies looking for ways to make sure that motorists deserve their lower premiums by driving responsibly, and parents who wish to keep track of their teenagers. Companies that make products designed to collect and process the information stored in automotive black boxes also stand to benefit. However, the technology faces reluctance on the part of manufacturers to adopt it, while drivers cite privacy concerns. In Europe, most new autos gather data in some way, but lack a central memory unit in which to store it; furthermore, no consensus has been reached on what data should be stored or how such data may be easily downloaded without the involvement of manufacturers. The situation is very different in the United States, where General Motors, Ford, Isuzu, and Toyota are rolling out or planning to roll out cars with black boxes. U.S. manufacturers are eager to embrace the technology as a tool to discredit false accident claims by car owners, while accident investigators applaud GM's decision to uphold a recent court ruling that collecting crash data does not constitute privacy infringement.
www.newscientist.com
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"FBI: U.S. Seaports Are Vulnerable Targets"
Intelligence reports suggest that terrorists are interested in U.S. seaports, which continue to remain one of the weak links in homeland security, the FBI says. The FBI refrained from detailing the specifics of the threat picked up by intelligence. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) are calling for increased security at ports, with Feinstein saying that "the ports are the soft underbelly of our nation's security." As of Dec. 31, 2003, ports, fuel-chemical facilities, vessels, and other operations with maritime interests were required to have created and submitted a set of security plans to the Coast Guard. A spokesman for the Coast Guard says that officials are still in the process of determining how many operators met the deadline, but the initial estimates indicate that only 75 percent of vessels and 60 percent of facilities have submitted their plans. A spokesman for the Customs Service says that from 2002 to 2003 the percentage of cargo containers inspected at U.S. ports doubled, up to 5.4 percent in 2003. "It's important to note we think this is the right 5.4 percent," the spokesman says.
www.miami.com
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FEMA Publishes Risk Prevention Manuals
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has published a series of documents on risk management. The online collection provides information on protecting infrastructure against terrorist threats across a wide range of public and private entities. The publications are available for download in pdf and text format, along with a list of future publications and other emergency management resources now available.
www.anser.org
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"Security as an Issue for Small Banks"
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) serves as an anonymous clearinghouse for computer viruses, electronic attacks, terrorism threats, and other types of security threats confronting financial firms. The center, which was formed by several large financial services companies in 1999, is aggressively attempting to increase its membership among smaller financial firms, including small banks and credit unions. The Treasury Department views the FS-ISAC as a valuable ally in the war on terrorism and has invested $2 million in the center to help expand the center's membership base and improve its technology. Treasury Department official Michael A. Dawson says the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks highlighted the importance of protecting the nation's financial infrastructure--thus the importance of expanding the FS-ISAC's membership base. The center's executive director, Byron Yancey, agrees, noting that banks and financial firms are interlinked to such a degree that the weakest link in the chain can threaten the entire infrastructure. The financial sector was confronted with several new threats in 2003: the Slammer and BugBear.B computer worms, the August power blackout, Hurricane Isabel, and the terrorist bombings of HSBC Holdings' Istanbul offices. Dawson says the computer worms showed how important good software and software patches are to the financial industry. "Big banks can be made vulnerable to viruses not through any fault of their own, but as a result of connections that they have with third parties who may be running a portion of their operations," Dawson says.
www.americanbanker.com
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"Courts Support Workplace Violence Prevention Efforts"
A California court ruling has given employers more power in pursuing legal action against employees who make threats of violence. In the case, USS-Posco v. Edwards, Ezell Edwards sued his employer, USS-Posco Industries, when the company fired him and obtained an injunction against him after he made violent threats in the workplace. The California First District Court of Appeal has affirmed the injunction against Edwards--a move that could give employers in the state more power in taking action against workplace violence. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that workplace violence has actually declined over the past several years, but experts say that dealing with workplace violence is becoming an increasing priority for employers. More companies are implementing communication and training programs to prevent violence in the workplace, and more employers are adopting "zero-tolerance" policies and seeking to take legal action against potentially violent employees. While some experts maintain that zero-tolerance policies have become too extreme, state and federal regulators are standing behind employers' efforts to improve the safety of their workplaces. Experts note that employers today are not only seeking to protect employees, but to avoid the significant legal risks associated violent incidents in the workplace.
www.corporatelegaltimes.com
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"The Healthcare Collaborative Network"
Though health officials have long known of the need for a computerized nationwide health monitoring network to track the spread of infectious disease from common influenza to bioterrorism agents like smallpox, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax mailings have brought that need to the attention of more than just health experts. The Internet makes such a network a real possibility, linking clinical data from hospital emergency rooms, laboratories, and pharmacies to agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which can analyze the information to determine trends in illness. Yet the privatized healthcare industry in the United States precludes significant linkages, even if an open standard were in place; currently, there is no standard, though the Department of Health and Human Services has introduced uniform standards for the exchange of clinical health information via the government. A pilot program called the Healthcare Collaborative Network is linking three hospitals to monitor the ways that information can be passed to the government and collected from it, working toward a near-real time system that tracks disease outbreaks, contaminated resources, and can even help to reduce medical errors like adverse drug events.
www.healthcare-informatics.com
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"Perfecting Protection"
A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington are studying new ways to help protect the nation from terrorist attacks. The researchers are involved in a five-year project, the Pervasively Secure Infrastructure, that is being funded by a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Data collecting and data-mining are the focus of their work in that the researchers are looking to gather and process data about the environment or a suspicious-looking person for real-time communication to determine if there is a real threat. For example, the technology could be used in a device such as a camera that can focus on eye movements, and detect potentially troublesome situations. Another solution from their research, which could help in a national disaster, is a pattern-finding device that would be able to determine the location of a person under rubble without digging through stone. The researchers even envision their work leading to sensors that would be able to add up merchandise taken from store shelves and charge items to the credit card of the person. "Shoplifting would essentially go away," Behrooz Shirazi, a computer and engineering professor, says of the crime-fighting capabilities of their research. "We think this is the wave of the future." Dr. Sajal Das, the project's principal investigator, and his team are also working with researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Kentucky.
www.theshorthorn.com
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"Safety Act Reduces Terrorism Liability Fears"
The Support Antiterrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act (SAFETY), which was signed into law last year, provides companies that develop antiterrorism products further protection from liabilities associated with their products. The new law, which was proposed by the Department of Homeland Security, seeks to encourage more companies to develop technologies to combat terrorism and help protect the nation. The law provides relief to suppliers of antiterrorism technology and services by reducing their potential liability exposures. The legislation requires companies to apply for coverage through the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Science and Technology. Companies that are approved will receive certain protections from liability, and in some cases are required to purchase minimal insurance to cover their liabilities. Experts say that, without the law, fewer companies would feel safe releasing their new anti-terrorism products.
www.riskandinsurance.com
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