Resource Page:
YOUR PRIVACY

Your personal privacy 
as it relates to information technology

April 2002 Mfg.Trust Feature Story

Full Length Article
Trends
Resources
ProQuest: For NCMS Members Only

Full Length Article

A Watchful State
By Jeffrey Rosen, New York Times, Oct. 7, 2001

NY Times Abstract – “Jeffrey Rosen article says biometric cameras installed in Great Britain after terrorist attacks by Irish Republican Army in 1993 and 1994 are not perceived as Big Brother intrusion but rather as friendly eyes in the sky; there are estimated 2.5 million surveillance cameras in country; Britain's experience with them is what Americans can expect if we choose to go down same road in our efforts to achieve 'homeland security'; cameras are designed not to produce arrests but to make people feel that they are being watched at all times; rather than thwarting serious crime, cameras are used to enforce social conformity in ways that Americans may prefer to avoid; photos.” 

(You may purchase this article from the above site for $2.50. It is excellent.)

Trends

(^top) On-line Survey Shows Progress on Privacy
Web Sites Collect Less Info, Provide More Notice & Choice

(March 2002) A new national survey of commercial Internet sites suggests that online privacy practices and policies are “continuing to evolve, and, by at least some criteria, to improve.” Some of the most notable changes are in such consumer hot-button areas as third party information sharing and the use of third-party ‘cookies’, according to the report released by The Progress & Freedom Foundation (which is supported by technology companies and generally supports the view that the government shouldn't interfere in the development of digital technologies). 

Among the most important findings:

• Web sites are collecting less information.

• Privacy notices are more prevalent, more prominent and more complete, and more sites offer choice,

• P3P adoption is off to a rapid start, but seal programs are growing relatively slowly

Banking: Does it Belong Online? 

(June 2001) This informative, but somewhat technical, article by SecuriTeam. SecuriTeam is a communications group within Beyond Security. The article discusses how banks manage Internet account access, and offers the results of some specific investigations by the author.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport installs iris-scanners

(Oct 2001) Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, one of Europe's busiest airports, has installed iris-scanners to identify travelers. Schiphol is the first major international airport to install this type of security device.

Don't Deny Privacy for Security's Sake
Computerworld, March 18 
"One of the more pernicious bits of propaganda to emerge in post-Sept. 11 America is the notion that security must trump liberty. The nation's founders are surely spinning in their graves to see their descendants sell out their heritage."

Companies Get Public With Privacy
(Information Week, January 2002) Includes available privacy protection software for consumers and businesses
link here

Resources

(^top) Electronic Privacy Information Center (see sidebar) 

Microsoft Privacy Home Page
http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/onestop/default.htm

Safe Internet: Microsoft Privacy and Security Fundamentals
http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/safeinternet/  

Some Frequently Asked Questions About Data Privacy and P3P
From Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
http://www.cpsr.org/program/privacy/p3p-faq.html

Carnivore Diagnostic Tool
The FBI reports on its Carnivore Tool

Canada Enacts Broad New Privacy Law, Creating Complex Interplay with U.S. and EU

EU Privacy Laws Bog Down U.S. Firms
NW Fusion

Customer Data Means Money 
(Information Week, August 2001)

Privacy: Can Businesses Build Trust And Exploit Opportunity? 
(Information Week, August 2001)

ProQuest: For NCMS Members Only

(^top)  NCMS Members will find the following relevant articles via their ProQuest Business Information accounts:

Within its first year, New York State's "Do Not Call" Telemarketing Registry has become the largest opt-out program in the country.
Apr. 2, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

To date, 1.7 million households have joined the registry, which is a list of phone numbers telemarketers are prohibited from calling.

About 20 states have similar lists, but New York's is the largest, partly because its list is free while states such as Florida charge a small fee, said Jon Sorensen, spokesman for the state Consumer Protection Board.

Privacy vs. safety: Terrorist threat shifts priorities 
in the online rights debate
Fortune Magazine. Stefanie Olsen; Winter 2002

In recent months law-enforcement agencies have found themselves on the defensive over wiretapping and other intelligence-gathering technology, with Congress and the courts increasingly backing demands for greater accountability and restraint. The terrorist assaults may have reversed that trend.

Patient-privacy issue gets a doctor's care
InformationWeek. Rick Whiting; Dec 24-Dec 31, 2001

The privacy spotlight will glare on the health-care industry next year as providers and insurers scramble to comply with new regulations governing the confidentiality of patient data. While some fight to delay or dilute those regulations, there's someone who champions even broader efforts to protect patient confidentiality, even as he helps create a patient-data IT system that's a model for other health-care institutions.

Bad-tasting medicine 
Network World; Framingham; Dec 3, 2001; Ellen Messmer

Hospitals, health clinics and insurance providers across the country are feverishly working to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' rules for protecting patient data, but many won't be ready in time for the deadline.

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PRIVACY CENTRAL

The Electronic Privacy Information Center

EPIC was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy issues relating to the National Information Infrastructure, such as the Clipper Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, medical records privacy and the sale of consumer data.

EPIC offers comprehensive resources for consumers.

EPIC Online Guide to Privacy Resources

EPIC Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools