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The Researching Paralegal

Category Archives: Privacy

By Playing Facebook “Test,” How Much Private Personally Identifiable Information Did You Inadvertently Reveal?

26 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Consumer Privacy, Facebook, Privacy, Social Media

≈ Comments Off on By Playing Facebook “Test,” How Much Private Personally Identifiable Information Did You Inadvertently Reveal?

Tags

Adam Levin, Cloud App, Consumer Privacy, Facebook, Huffington Post Blog, Vonvon

Facebook “Most Used Words” App as Privacy Lesson,  by Adam Levin, Huffington Post Blog

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-levin/facebook-most-used-words_b_8651034.html

If you spend any time on Facebook, no doubt you have noticed an assortment of games or tests meant to reveal something about your personality. Have you ever wondered how much personal information you reveal about yourself, your friends, or  other privacy details? If not, you should, as well as how it could be used to your detriment.

Conversely, if your intent was to obtain research on that individual, how much information did it reveal? -CCE

If you have an account on Facebook, you may have noticed posts featuring a nicely designed cloud comprised of the words your Facebook friends use most often. It’s powered by an app from a company called Vonvon, and it’s been getting a lot of attention this week from consumer privacy experts.

The reason this app has privacy hawks screeching is simple: it grabs an enormous amount of personally identifiable information and private details about Facebook users for way too little in return.

In exchange for a graphically-appealing cloud featuring the names of your children and/or significant others, pets, the stuff of warm-hearted Aws and Ohs — and, let’s not forget, potential answers to security questions that might allow a clever fraudster to execute an account takeover — the app seems to get virtually everything there is to know about you. . . .

Continue reading →

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Westlaw Public Records Database Breached. Who Is Affected?

16 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Cybersecurity, Encryption, Identity Theft, Legal Technology, Privacy, References, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on Westlaw Public Records Database Breached. Who Is Affected?

Tags

Credit Monitoring, Data Breach, Identity Theft, New Hampshire, Privacy, Westlaw

Westlaw Discloses Breach Of Public Records Database, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog

http://tinyurl.com/pffqhny

News release: ‘West Publishing Corporation, a unit of Thomson Reuters, has notified the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office of a breach involving their Westlaw subscription-only public records database. In a letter dated November 4th to those affected, Senior Vice President Andy Martens explained that on October 14, they detected unusual search activity. Investigation revealed that some subscribers’ passwords had been compromised and used to access the database. The types of information involved included addresses, date of birth, and in some cases, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers. No bank account or credit card information was involved. In response to the breach, West removed external access to full sensitive identifiers in public records, forced a password reset on all public user accounts, and implemented  additional technological controls to detect and respond to searches of more limited public records that also appeared unauthorized. Federal law enforcement was also contacted. West offered those affected two years of free credit monitoring with Experian ProtectMyID Elite. Nine NH residents were notified. The total number of individuals notified was not indicated in their report to New Hampshire.’

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Government Can Access Individual’s Gmail Account In Money Laundering Probe.

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Android Phones, Appellate Law, Apple, Blackberry Phones, Cell Phones, Computer Forensics, Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Law, Cybersecurity, Discovery, E-Discovery, Emails, Evidence, Experts, Forensic Evidence, Forensic Evidence, Forensic Expert Witness, Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure, Google, Internet, iPad, iPhones, Legal Technology, Mac, PC Computers, Privacy, Search Warrants, Tablets, Trial Tips and Techniques, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

≈ Comments Off on Government Can Access Individual’s Gmail Account In Money Laundering Probe.

Tags

Computers, Email, Evidence, Forensic Experts, Gmail, Google, Hard Drives, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein, Money Laundering, Search & Seizure, Warrants

Federal Judge Rules Gmail Account Can Be Accessed For Investigation, by evanino in Evanino Blog

http://www.evanino.com/federal-judge-rules-gmail-account-can-accessed-investigation/

In a landmark ruling that might fuel a nationwide debate, the New York Court issued a warrant against Google, giving access to user emails.

A New York Court issued a warrant against Google Inc ruling that the government can access all mails of a Gmail account of an individual under a money laundering probe. The judge said that courts have long been waiting for law enforcement to take the required documents in the custody if it is within the purview of the warrant.

Contrary to previous rulings

This decision is not in line with the previous court rulings including courts in the Districts of Columbia and Kansas, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York noted on Friday. Also, this latest ruling will spark a debate over the privacy, in the country, according to Computer World.

A District of Columbia judge denied from revealing the entire content of the email as this will seize a large amount of emails for which the authorities have not given any reason.

The Court in Kansas, also, did not rule in favor of a similar warrant, stating that it failed to ‘limit the universe of electronic communications and information to be turned over to the government to the specific crimes being investigated.’

However, the New York Court ruled in favor of such warrant, allowing authorities to take into account the emails and other information from a Google inc’s Gmail account, including the address book and draft mails, and also the authority to search the emails for certain specific categories of evidence.

Experts must scan emails, not Google employee

Judge Gorenstein argued that it is not possible to search the hard-disk drives of computers and other storage devices on the spot due to the complexities of electronic searches. Thus, the authorities can seize such storage.

‘We perceive no constitutionally significant difference between the searches of hard drives just discussed and searches of email accounts,’ the judge wrote. He added that in most of the cases data in an email account will be less ‘expansive’ compared to the information contained in the hard drive.

Judge Gorenstein stated that Google employees are not expert enough to know the importance of particular emails without having been given proper training in the substance of the investigation. Judge said this in response to an opinion by the District of Columbia court that gave the government the option of getting the email scanned by the host itself.

He said that an agent, who is completely absorbed in the investigation, will be able to understand the importance of a particular language in emails contrary to the employee.

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Forget Me – Europe Rules On Removing Google Links.

17 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Copyright, Google, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Technology, Privacy, Public Domain

≈ Comments Off on Forget Me – Europe Rules On Removing Google Links.

Tags

Copyright Holders, Data Protection, Google, Privacy, Remove Links, Reputation

European Ruling On Removing Google Links May Leave A Mess, by Aarti Shanani, All Tech Considered, NPR

http://tinyurl.com/k747wvt

Google’s lawyers are trying to make sense of a ruling they did not expect.

This week, Europe’s highest court decided that people have a right to have search results about them deleted from online databases. So Google has to remove links to certain pages. Legal experts in Europe are torn about what, exactly, that means.

What Prompted The Ruling

There’s a man in Spain who doesn’t like his search results. I ask a fellow Spaniard, Cristina de la Serna in Madrid, to show us why.

She goes to Google.es, Spain’s version of the search engine, and types in the name Mario Costeja Gonzalez. The second result she gets for Gonzalez is a link to a 1998 Spanish newspaper clip. It shows his home was repossessed because of debt.

Google Must Delete Personal Data When Asked, European Court Says

Gonzalez wants the old blemish to go away, and de la Serna thinks he’s got a point. Searching people isn’t the same as searching for shoes, cars or books. . . .

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FAA Appeals Commercial Use of Drones for Aerial Photographs.

16 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Aerial Photographs, Aviation Law, Drones, Federal Aviation Administration, Government, National Transportation and Safety Board, Privacy

≈ Comments Off on FAA Appeals Commercial Use of Drones for Aerial Photographs.

Tags

Aerial Photographs, Aviation, Commercial Drones, Drones, FAA Modernization and Reform Act, Federal Aviation Administration, Model Aircraft, National Transportation and Safety Board, Privacy, Raphael Pirker

The Federal Aviation Administration Appeals Most Recent Drone Ruling, by Charles D. Tobin, Holland & Knight LLP

http://perma.cc/ED68-NEUC

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has appealed this month’s ruling by an administrative law judge striking down a fine against a paid photographer who had strapped cameras to a model airplane and photographed the University of Virginia.

The case, now pending before the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), could alter the flight path of the current development of regulations and laws that will affect newsrooms’ abilities to use drones to gather news. . . .

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Can Law Enforcement Search A Cell Phone Without A Warrant?

02 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Android Phones, California Supreme Court, Cell Phones, Constitution, Florida Supreme Court, Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure, Georgia Supreme Court, iPad, iPhones, Legal Technology, Massachusetts Supreme Court, Ohio Supreme Court, Privacy, Tablets, United States Supreme Court

≈ Comments Off on Can Law Enforcement Search A Cell Phone Without A Warrant?

Tags

California Supreme Court, Cell Phones, Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals, First U.S. Court of Appeals, Florida Supreme Court, Fourth Amendment, Fourth U.S. Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, Kwame Opam, Law Enforcement, Massachusetts Supreme Court, Ohio Supreme Court, Police, Probable Cause, Search and Seizure, Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals, The Verge, U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court Will Decide If Warrantless Cellphone Searches Are Constitutional, by Kwame Opam, The Verge

http://tinyurl.com/p7n2oqy

The United States Supreme Court will rule on two cases on whether a warrantless search of cell phones is legal under the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions will impact Fourth Amendment search and seizure procedures for law enforcement – must police first obtain a search warrant to access the data on an arrestee’s cell phone? May a cell phone and its digital data be used as evidence?

At this time, both federal circuit courts and state supreme courts disagree as to whether the police can search a cell phone without a warrant. The Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals, together with the Supreme Courts of Georgia, California, and Massachusetts say yes, they can. The First Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Courts of Florida and Ohio disagree.

The courts are not the only ones paying close attention to the outcome of these two cases. Several organizations and others are concerned about maintaining privacy of digital devices and data. Law enforcement is in favor a final decision allowing warrantless searches on cell phones if there is probable cause.

The Supreme Court may rule as early as April 2014. -CCE

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Will Using Electronic Health Records Affect Your Privacy?

19 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Electronic Records, Health Law, HIPAA, Privacy

≈ Comments Off on Will Using Electronic Health Records Affect Your Privacy?

Tags

Electronic Records, Health Records, HIPAA, Privacy, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights

Privacy, Security, And Electronic Health Records, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights

http://tinyurl.com/kd7plbb

For more information, go to http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/.

Your health care provider may be moving from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs) or may be using EHRs already. EHRs allow providers to use information more effectively to improve the quality and efficiency of your care, but EHRs will not change the privacy protections or security safeguards that apply to your health information.

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Android Flashlight App Violated Users’ Privacy By Secretly Sharing Information.

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Android Phones, Apps, Cell Phones, Federal Trade Commission, Legal Technology, Privacy

≈ Comments Off on Android Flashlight App Violated Users’ Privacy By Secretly Sharing Information.

Tags

Advertising, Android, Android Apps, Federal Trade Commission, Flashlight, FTC, Privacy policy

Android Flashlight App Developer Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers, Federal Trade Commission

http://tinyurl.com/o7fecue

This flashlight app seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, it secretly shared its users’ information with advertisers and other third parties without the users’ knowledge. -CCE

The creator of one of the most popular apps for Android mobile devices has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the free app, which allows a device to be used as a flashlight, deceived consumers about how their geolocation information would be shared with advertising networks and other third parties.

Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, managed by Erik M. Geidl, is the company behind the ‘Brightest Flashlight Free’ app, which has been downloaded tens of millions of times by users of the Android operating system. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company’s privacy policy deceptively failed to disclose that the app transmitted users’ precise location and unique device identifier to third parties, including advertising networks. In addition, the complaint alleges that the company deceived consumers by presenting them with an option to not share their information, even though it was shared automatically rendering the option meaningless.

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Legal Rules Needed For Police To Allow Access To Your Cell Phone Data.

08 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Android Phones, Cell Phones, Criminal Law, Evidence, iPhones, Privacy, Subpoenas

≈ Comments Off on Legal Rules Needed For Police To Allow Access To Your Cell Phone Data.

Tags

Cell Phones, Crime, John Kelly, New Jersey, Police, Susanne Cervenka, T-Mobile, USA TODAY

Cell Data Dumps: A Legally Fuzzy Area, by John Kelly and Susanne Cervenka, USA TODAY

http://tinyurl.com/k9kudm2

The rules governing how police obtain and use data from cellphones is a target on the move, as state legislatures act to protect residents’ privacy and real-life criminal cases wend their way through state and federal courts.

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Two Landmark Decisions With Different Conclusions on Personal Privacy Protections

22 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Android Phones, Cell Phones, iPhones, Legal Technology, Privacy

≈ Comments Off on Two Landmark Decisions With Different Conclusions on Personal Privacy Protections

Tags

Cell Phones, GPS, Privacy

Mixed Signals in Cell Phone Location Decisions, by Hanni Fakhoury, JURIST – Hotline
http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/09/hanni-fakhoury-cell-phone.php

 

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