The New York Times reports on a privacy issue connected with Bloomberg News:

Reporters at Bloomberg News were trained to use a function on the company’s financial data terminals that allowed them to view subscribers’ contact information and, in some cases, monitor login activity in order to advance news coverage, more than half a dozen former employees said.

More than 315,000 Bloomberg subscribers worldwide use the terminals for instant market news, trading information and communication. Reporters at Bloomberg News, a separate division from the terminal business, were nonetheless told to use the terminals to get an edge in the competitive world of financial journalism where every second counts, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the company’s strict nondisclosure agreements. [...]

Matthew Winkler, editor in chief of Bloomberg News, underscored that the practice was at one time commonplace. In an editorial published on Bloomberg View late Sunday night, he said the practice of allowing reporters access to limited subscriber information dated back to the inception of the news arm of the giant financial information company founded by Michael R. Bloomberg. Read more »

The Washington Post’s Navigator column discusses ways that individuals can protect themselves from identity theft when they’re traveling:

One of the latest threats against travelers is invisible and silent: wireless attacks that siphon your credit card number, personal information and passwords. Anything with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, including your passport or a credit card, can be read from afar. Thieves can also mine valuable data from your smartphone when it automatically logs on to a WiFi network.

Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to thwart these wireless assaults, including new luggage products and common-sense steps that protect your devices and credit cards. [...] Read more »

The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced a revision of the federal government’s computer security guide, “Security and Privacy Controls for Federal information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-53)” (pdf). The update includes “eight new families of privacy controls that are based on the internationally accepted Fair Information Practice Principles,” NIST said. Also:

State-of-the-practice security controls and control enhancements have been integrated into the new revision to address the evolving technology and threat space. Examples include issues particular to mobile and cloud computing; insider threats; applications security; supply chain risks; advanced persistent threat; and trustworthiness, assurance, and resilience of information systems. [...]

SP 800-53, Revision 4 also takes a more holistic approach to information security and risk management. The publication calls for maintaining “cybersecurity hygiene”—the routine best practices that help reduce information security risks—but also appeals for hardening those systems by applying state-of-the-practice architecture and engineering principles to minimize the impacts of cyber attacks and other threats. Read more »

The Los Angeles Times reports that the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff’s departments concerning privacy questions about the use of license-plate recognition systems. The groups have requested through the state public records act one week’s worth of the license-plate scanning data gathered and kept by the departments. (See a previous post for more information on the camera surveillance technology.)

Privacy rights groups on Monday filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County’s two major law enforcement agencies after they refused to turn over information collected by electronic license plate scanners, the suit claimed.

The Washington Post reports that the Federal Trade Commission is warning data brokers (companies that gather, compile and sell or otherwise use consumers’ online and offline information for marketing or other purposes) about privacy:

Federal officials have intensified their scrutiny of the data brokerage industry by issuing a series of formal letters in recent days alerting companies that they may be violating federal restrictions on the collection and sale of personal information.

The letters to 10 companies — ranging from firms that compile consumer lists for credit offersto a Web site that helps parents screen potential nannies — amounted to warning shots at a large and fast-growing industry that gathers personal information and markets it to a variety of customers.

The Federal Trade Commission is probing whether some of these practices violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which regulates how private companies can use personal information. Individuals are supposed to know when data reports affect their eligibility for insurance, credit or employment, and they are supposed to have the opportunity to correct errors. [...] Read more »

CNet reports that President Obama has chosen Nicole Wong, a lawyer for social-networking site Twitter, as chief privacy officer:

President Obama has picked Nicole Wong, Twitter’s legal director, to be the White House’s first chief privacy officer, CNET has learned.

Wong previously was a vice president and deputy general counsel at Google at its Mountain View headquarters, where she managed a team of lawyers that worked with the company’s engineers to review products before they launched. The reviews included privacy, copyright, and removal requests, which earned her a nickname of “The Decider” — as recounted in a 2008 New York Times Magazine article. [...]

Choosing a Silicon Valley lawyer who has been immersed in technology issues is a reversal of the administration’s previous picks for department-level chief privacy officers. Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer Mary Ellen Callahan is a Washington lawyer who previously worked for the Library of Congress.