Google deliberately stole information but executives 'covered it up' for years Work of Street View cars to be examined over allegations Google used them to download personal detailsEmails, texts, photos and documents taken from wi-fi networks as cars photographed British roadsEngineer who designed software said a privacy lawyer should be consultedCalls for police and Information Commissioner to investigate new evidence By Jack Doyle and Daniel Bates Published: 11:50 GMT, 27 May 2012 | Updated: 11:06 GMT, 29 May 2012 Google, pictured street-mapping in Bristol, has always claimed that it didn't know its software would collect the private information Google is facing an inquiry into claims that it deliberately harvested information from millions of UK home computers. The Information Commissioner data protection watchdog is expected to examine the work of the internet giant’s Street View cars. They downloaded emails, text messages, photographs and documents from wi-fi networks as they photographed virtually every British road. MARCH 2009: Street View launches in the UK.
» Judge Napolitano: First Patriot To Shoot Down A Government Spy Drone Will Be A Hero Alex Jones Blasts illegal use of “plastic drones” to spy on Americans in their backyards Steve Watson Infowars.com May 16, 2012 Judge Andrew Napolitano has warned Congress not to act “like potted plants” regarding the increased use of unmanned surveillance drones without warrants over US skies by military, government, and law enforcement agencies. Echoing the recent comments of his Fox News colleague Charles Krauthammer, Napolitano also said that “The first American patriot that shoots down one of these drones that comes too close to his children in his backyard will be an American hero.” The federal government is rolling out new rules on the use of the unmanned drones this week, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing procedures will “streamline” the process through which government agencies, including local law enforcement, receive licenses to operate the aircraft. Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. Print this page.
The New Pay Phone and What It Knows About You The term pay phone has a new meaning today. For consumers who wish to ditch their wallets, paying through a mobile phone can be awfully convenient. Those same consumers can also, often unwittingly, give up valuable information about themselves to merchants that want to sell them things. A new survey by law professors at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that most Americans are uneasy with the idea that their phones could divulge behavioral and personal information, like phone numbers and in-store browsing habits. The survey was created by Chris Hoofnagle and Jennifer Urban, who study digital privacy issues, and financed by Nokia, which makes cellphones. It found that four out of five of those surveyed “objected to the transfer of their phone number to a store where they purchase goods,” while 15 percent said they would “probably allow” transmission of that information and only 3 percent said they would “definitely allow it.”
The Advertising Industry Has Quietly Launched One Of History's Biggest Efforts In Social Profiling - Business Insider Does the Internet empower consumers? Or does it make them more vulnerable to manipulation by companies and potentially the government? While both statements might be correct, the balance tilts definitely toward the latter, according to Joseph Turow, a professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge@Wharton: At the beginning of your book, you say that the advertising industry has launched what you call one of history’s most massive stealth efforts in social profiling. Joseph Turow: A lot of it is happening because companies feel that they have to know a heck of a lot more about their consumers, the users of their products, than they ever have before. Knowledge@Wharton: Historically, if we look at the rise of the media agencies, what were some of the under-the-hood forces that led to this environment of digital intrusiveness? Knowledge@Wharton: How so? Turow: No question. Turow: Yes.
Massive Data Breach Strikes Visa, MasterCard, Others Four giant card-payment processors and large U.S. banks that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach after third-party services provider Global Payments Inc discovered its systems were compromised by unauthorized access. It was not immediately clear how many cardholders became victims of the breach, which affected MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services, as well as banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. U.S. law enforcement authorities including the Secret Service are investigating and MasterCard said it has hired an independent data-security organization to review the incident. The shares of Atlanta-based Global Payments, which acts as a credit-checking middleman between merchants and card processors, were halted on Friday afternoon after dropping more than 9 percent on the news. Global Payments is holding an investor conference call Monday morning to discuss the issue. "It was very unusual," he said.
Issues Final Commission Report on Protecting Consumer Privacy The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's chief privacy policy and enforcement agency, issued a final report setting forth best practices for businesses to protect the privacy of American consumers and give them greater control over the collection and use of their personal data. In the report, "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers," the FTC also recommends that Congress consider enacting general privacy legislation, data security and breach notification legislation, and data broker legislation. "If companies adopt our final recommendations for best practices – and many of them already have – they will be able to innovate and deliver creative new services that consumers can enjoy without sacrificing their privacy," said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. The final privacy report expands on a preliminary staff report the FTC issued in December 2010. The final report changes the guidance's scope.
Is Procter & Gamble Losing Its Edge on the Competition? | News Digital has been a hallmark of Procter & Gamble Chairman-CEO Bob McDonald's tenure, hailed as key to wringing $10 billion in overall costs and $1 billion in marketing savings out of its massive budgets in five years. But while P&G has gotten plenty of media play lately -- social and otherwise -- over its digital ambitions, it faces growing questions about how much good digital marketing can do amid broader signs P&G is losing its edge. Some analysts and competitors question whether P&G can digitize its way out of its deeper issues, or enjoy the same scale advantages in a digital world that it had in traditional marketing. P&G is far from collapse. Share loss. Decreasing ad effectiveness. Sliding retailer ratings . Go-to-market issues. Mr. Competitive woes. The P&G spokeswoman said: "Clairol paid off quickly via the cost synergies we were able to deliver. P&G has talked increasingly about digital marketing and broader digitization as part of the solution.
The CIA wants to spy on you through your TV: Agency director says net-connected gadgets will 'transform' surveillance Devices connected to internet leak informationCIA director says these gadgets will 'transform clandestine tradecraft' Spies could watch thousands via supercomputersPeople 'bug' their own homes with web-connected devices By Rob Waugh Published: 13:20 GMT, 16 March 2012 | Updated: 13:55 GMT, 16 March 2012 When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are. Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home - the rise of 'connected' gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people 'bug' their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus. The CIA claims it will be able to 'read' these devices via the internet - and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home. A Sony internet TV: The rise of 'connected' devices in the home offers spies a window into people's lives - CIA director David Petraeus says the technologies will 'transform' surveillance
March 2012 | Retail Insight Blog Did Target Go Too Far with Analytics? By Joe Skorupa The end game of predictive analytics in retail is to know shopper buying patterns before anyone else knows them. But does this include knowing personal details that are intimate and sensitive? Or, specifically, in the case of Target, does it mean knowing a teen is pregnant before the teen’s father knows? If you missed the story “How Companies Learn Your Secrets” by Charles Duhigg and published in the New York Times, then I suggest reading it and catching up with the furor it caused. Some reactions to Target’s use of advanced analytics were negative, but not all. The State of Analytics in Retail Even before the Target story broke, RIS wanted to find out where retailers stand on an analytics maturity ladder. What we found during a survey of national retailers done in early February is that while a few high performers have made analytics central to their business models most have not. · Where are the marketers? Related Story
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