High school principal puts camera in bathroom
Mack Bedor went to the bathroom one day at school, and was shocked to find a video camera. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he took out the camera, took it home and showed it to his mother, Cindy Champion. School officials gave him a five-day suspension for “stealing school property.’ The school is
Denver bus riders forced to show ID or risk arrest and prosecution
Deborah Davis was riding the bus to work in Denver one fateful morning last September, when security guards boarded the bus and demanded to see everyone’s ID. Davis refused and federal police boarded and arrested her. The Denver bus route that Davis used happens to cross the Denver Federal Center, and although Davis doesn’t get
Adult website tries to shut down Google Image Search
Adult entertainment website Perfect 10 has sued Google in federal court, requesting an injunction to shut down Google Image Search. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has gone to bat (PDF) for Google in this case, saying that Google Image Search is fair use under copyright law. “Google Image Search helps millions of people locate and learn
CNN screws up interview with Kevin Mitnick
CNN on Friday published an interview with the infamous hacker Kevin Mitnick, and the interview is a fascinating look into what Mitnick is doing now that he’s out of prison and no longer on parole. However, CNN got a few vital facts wrong. The interview starts off with the obligatory introduction: To many, the name
Trusted computing? Not with Microsoft
A while back I wrote about trusted computing and how Microsoft’s implementation, the Next Generation Secure Computing Base, was set to impose onerous restrictions on computer owners, such as preventing them from playing legally purchased media with a player not approved by Microsoft. The post got some scathing criticism from some trusted computing practitioners who
USA PATRIOT Act renewal passed Senate
Last Friday, before the Senate went on recess, they unanimously passed the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act. Lawmakers must meet in conference when they return in the fall to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions. The bills do make some modifications to the act. Among the changes: The Senate version would
Freedom is irrelevant, you will be a PATRIOT
(I’ve been in bed Friday with a severe headache, the kind which prevents coherent thought, or even standing up, but I’m back! No promises on coherent thoughts, though.) On Thursday the U.S. House of Representatives voted 257-171 to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act, making permament 14 of 16 of its provisions, and extending for another
FBI monitored free speech in counterterrorism investigation
A Washington Post report today details how the FBI’s counterterrorism unit monitored several Web sites calling for protests on the 2004 Republican and Democratic national conventions. “It’s increasingly clear that the government is involved in political surveillance of organizations that are involved in nothing more than lawful First Amendment activities,’ said Anthony Romero, executive director
Disney requires finger scan to enter park
If you were planning a trip to any of the Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando, Fla., you will now have to scan your fingers at the front gates before you’ll be admitted to the park. Previously only season ticket holders’ fingers were scanned, but now everyone has to have their fingers scanned. Disney
IRS loses control of taxpayer and banking data
The Internal Revenue Service has launched an internal investigation into whether taxpayer and financial data it stores may have been compromised, according to a Reuters report. [The] Government Accountability Office said in April that the IRS “routinely permitted excessive access’ to the computer files. The GAO team was able to tap into the data without
