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Federal Judge Rules That Wifi Sniffing is Perfectly Legal

Posted on Monday, September 17th, 2012 by

You probably remember the famous court case last year in which Google was accused of wiretapping because its “street view” cars gathered fragments of Internet traffic from unencrypted wifi networks across the country.

This ruling seemed to indicate that anyone who “sniffed” or looked at unencrypted data on an open wifi network was committing the crime of wiretapping.

A federal judge in Illinois may have set a new precedent by ruling the exact opposite way in a recent court case. Read on for more startling details.

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Actions Against Cybercriminals Heating Up

Posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 by

The web is a dangerous place for the uninformed and unprotected. Make sure you are trained and aware. Did you know that there have been several major crime busts in the war against cybercriminals recently?

Indeed, a new quarterly report from McAfee Labs shows some eye-opening statistics about actions taken recently against cybercriminals, including the following incidents: Read More

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Hacker Gets 8 Years in Prison, U.S. Attorney Warns ‘Hack and Steal At Your Own Peril, Consequence Is Prison Time’

Posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 by

Joshuah Allen Witt, a 35-year-old Seattle man, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his part in a three-man WiFi hacking and burglary ring.

His two fellow hackers have already been sentenced to federal prison, so this third and final sentencing concludes the court trials for a series of crimes that took more than $3 million from up to 50 local businesses. Read More

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Semper Fi? Woman Sentenced in Online Tax Fraud Targeting U.S. Marines

Posted on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012 by

A 29-year-old Florida woman was sentenced to more than five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with an identity theft tax-fraud scheme targeting the names and personal data of 44 U.S. Marines.

Convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors say Dorothy Boulin expected to be paid 20% of the money obtained from filing phony tax returns. Prosecutors say she had more than 100 photocopies of stolen driver’s license identification cards, Social Security cards, and printouts of more than 200 names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Read More

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FTC Sues Wyndham for Failing to Protect Hotel Guests’ Sensitive Personal Data

Posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012 by

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and three of its subsidiaries for alleged data-security failures and weak security systems.

Even after the hotel chain’s first-known data breach in 2008, Wyndham failed to fix its massive security vulnerabilities, alleges the FTC.

As a result, Wyndham’s security was breached two more times in less than two years. Read More

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Ask the Expert: Could TPP Make Me an Internet Criminal?

Posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2012 by

Q: “I’ve recently heard about something called TPP that apparently criminalizes content sharing on the web. This worries me, because I share things all the time! Could you tell me more about what TPP is and what it might do? Would it make me a criminal?”

A: TPP, which stands for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is a trade agreement currently being discussed by 10 nations that would create highly restrictive intellectual property laws around the world.

This trade agreement raises serious concerns regarding due process, privacy laws, and freedom of expression. If it is ratified, it will completely rewrite intellectual property laws.

TPP would completely change how information is shared on the Internet. It would force ISPs to police our online activity, and give media companies the power to shut down websites and remove content at will.

Sounds pretty scary, huh? Read on to find out more. Read More

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Cell Phone Companies Sell Your Information to the Police

Posted on Monday, May 28th, 2012 by

Did you know that cell phone companies routinely sell personal cell phone data to the police without a warrant or any oversight at all?

If you’re like most Americans, you probably know nothing about it.

No one outside of law enforcement and the cell phone companies know exactly what information is being exchanged and how often. Congress and the courts have no idea either.

And the cell phone companies are fighting very hard to keep it that way. Read More

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Facebook “Likes” Your Organs: The Legal and Privacy Implications

Posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 by

Earlier this week, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook, announced on Good Morning America, the site was introducing what he called a “life saving” feature. As part of the Timeline, users can now add their organ donor status. Although a groundbreaking move that could very well save many lives, the privacy and legal community have much to say about this latest Facebook feature. Read More

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Hopeless HIPAA: Blue Cross Blue Shield Settles Patient Data Breach Case For $1.5 Million

Posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 by

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee after the company’s inadequate security measures allowed 57 unencrypted hard drives containing private health information to be stolen from a medical facility.

The unencrypted hard drives contained the protected health information of over one million individuals, including member names, Social Security numbers, diagnosis codes, dates of birth, and health plan identification numbers. Read More

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WiFi Snooping: Wait, Isn’t that Illegal?

Posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 by

I am often asked if viewing another person’s Internet communications is illegal.

You would think it would be, right? It seems like a no-brainer.

The surprising answer is actually no. In the United States, at least, it is perfectly legal. Read More

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