InfoPolitics

Personal Information Government Databases Cookies, S/Ns, and DejaNews Censorship Scams Related Sites AnonymityCrypto

Personal Information

• The crime of identity theft is on the rise.
  • Even though victims are usually not saddled with paying their imposters' bills, they are often left with a bad credit report and must spend months and even years regaining their financial health.
  • Victims of identity theft find almost no help from the authorities as they attempt to untangle the web of deception that has allowed another person to impersonate them
  • Linda Tapia reported her stolen identification to the police but got more bad news. She was told that in California, it's not a crime to steal someone's credit identity,
  • Time Magazine has an excellent article on the loss of privacy and some ideas about how you can protect yourself. Invasion of Privacy
  • Interactive Week Magazine has a series on the loss of privacy and the collection and use of data about you: Part 1: Databases Online Part 2: Personal Data Up For Grabs
  • Employment Scams Including your social security number on your resume can be expensive.
  • Privacy Thieves A Time Magazine article about what *can* happen to you (and *did* happen to the reporter)
  • Here's a few things you can do to protect yourself.
• Personal information databases West Publishing and Lexis are only two of the larger and more visible commercial enterprises that collect and sell personal information about you.
• Credit reports Experian (was TRW) makes your credit report available online. On their first day of service, they sent the wrong reports to the wrong people.
  • and they aren't alone. See credit laws and agencies
  • They also sell your personal information to telemarketers. But in CA, MA, and NH you can "opt out" by phoning or writing these agencies. Phone numbers are at credit laws and agencies
  • "Unlike a criminal case, in which people are innocent until proven guilty, victims of credit fraud often need to prove they are not the individuals who fraudulently obtained the credit cards and ran up the bills."
  • Here's a site that describes what has happened to some victims of the credit reporting system VCR
  • Here's a 1994 FAQ that describes how credit ratings are assigned.
• With the advent of computerized medical records and the growth of managed care, some very intimate information is now at the fingertips of almost any computer-savvy person, experts say.
  • See also Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and EPIC
• Your driving record may be on the Internet American Automated Systems is another commercial service which collects and sells your driving information if you live in a state with weak privacy laws.
• Your Signature for Sale? UPS collects your signature electronically on their pen computers. Shippers can access this signature, and UPS does not prohibit them from reselling it.
• Your personal data may be keyed in by a prison inmate You generally have no way of finding out what junk data exists about you, nor who is using it or handling it. Direct marketers have long been attracted by the lower wages paid to prisoners.
• Where do You live? This service draws a map to your house. Not really a privacy concern, unless it's used by the prisoner in the above article who doesn't have a map...
• Reverse phone number lookup Find somebody with only their phone number; use the address to find their house above. Can you say "Caller ID"?
• Reverse phone number lookup The "Stalker's Home Page" has a reverse phone number lookup a few pages down, but also explains some of the risks.
• Caller ID: Beginning June 1996 (in California), when you make a phone call, your telephone number will be sent to the person or office you are calling -- even if you have an unlisted number.
• GTE sells unlisted phone numbers . In April of 1998, GTE admitted to inadvertently leasing phone books containing "unlisted" numbers to telemarketers FOX ABC
• What your browser reveals A page that will show you what a web site can find out about you.
• Here's an analysis of your internet connection.
• Cookies can be used to track your activities for telemarketing purposes, but most users don't even know about them.
  • The most prevalent implication against using cookies is privacy. As Privacy Times editor Evan Hendricks states, "Cookies represent a coming effort by organizations to monitor people's interest in their products and services through the covert gathering of personal data without their knowledge and consent."
  • [But], new versions of Netscape and Microsoft Explorer have options to turn off the capability to receive cookies. Therefore, if one deletes the cookie file or activates the option to prevent receiving cookies, very little information will ever be captured from the user. Here's how to protect yourself
  • Andy's HTTP Cookie Notes A non-technical explanation with security tips, problems, and links, including one to Netscape's technical specification
  • Cookie Central uses of cookies, cookies and viruses, the dark side, stopping cookies, and a FAQ.
  • Cybersnoops A journalist's take on cookies.
  • PC Magazine says cookies can be used to store personal information, including credit card numbers, if you're not careful.
  • Cookies Penn's cookie page, a long list of links with everything you could ask about cookies.
  • Java and Active-X also have implications for your privacy.
  • Simply opening your e-mail may reveal information about you to snoopers.
• Computer Serial Numbers, readily accessible to anyone on the internet, can be used to identify you
  • Intel has decided to put a serial number, which can be retrieved over the Internet, in its PIII (and some PII) chips. Here's what ZDNet has to say about that.
  • Intel claims that this S/N is intended to permit secure commerce. Critics suggest that it can be used by telemarketers and software vendors searching for pirated software.
  • MicroSoft has been caught entering a unique document GUID into all Office documents, making it possible to trace those documents to a particular computer. This from a company that set up its software to automatically dial MicroSoft at midnight for "software upgrades". And they've done something similar with their "registration wizard". Here's what Microsoft has to say about it.
  • Here's a program to defeat the MicroSoft GUID
• DejaNews There's an outfit called DejaNews that archives all of your postings to usenet. (and it's not the only one)
  • Telemarketing: Deja News." To successfully market on the Internet, you need a highly qualified audience, a means of keeping that audience interested, and the technology to quickly measure and act on your results. As the Internet's premier interface to discussion groups Deja News brings all these powerful features together."
  • Deja News Query Form lets you search for all articles ever posted from a given e-mail address.
  • Deja News Author Profile gives you a statistical profile of your preferences (or anyone else's)
• Europe has enacted strong privacy laws; in fact, Europe has threatened to prohibit US businesses which do not abide by these laws. Vice President Gore, recognizing that self-regulation has been ineffective, has proposed US privacy protection.
• e-mail Congress Here's a handy page that will let you e-mail your congresscritter. Bear in mind that e-mail is not as effective as a signed snail-mail letter with your return address on it, but it does provide a convenient way for you to express your opinions.

Government Data Insecurity

• The Surveillance and Privacy Page see "The World's Greatest Hacking Links" CIA/DOJ Hacks for hacked (low-security) CIA and DOJ web sites.
• FBI Hack - You can fool all of of people some of the time...
• Government databases are not secure! (The AIDS list). The greatest risk to our privacy is not malicious or crooked government employees with access to our records, but they do exist.
• Government databases are not secure! (The W-2 snafu). The greatest risk is errors made by overworked, undertrained, or incompetent government employees.
• Government databases are not secure! (Hackers Stole Secrets for Saddam).
  • There is some dispute about this one; but there are real enemies out there.
  • Remember that the general battle plan for the gulf war was stored on a laptop computer that was stolen from an unattended car just before the air war started. See Colin Powell's My American Journey (p. 486 in the Ballantine edition).
  • The British government managed to let a highly secret list of MI6 officers get out onto the Internet
• GAO AIMD-96-110 Government Data Insecurity This is a 1996 report prepared by the Government Accounting Office which illustrates the problem.
• The IRS saves millions, loses billions.
• The government does, however, spy on people..
  • The FBI spied on Martin Luther King, John Lennon, and Frank Sinatra for years, despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing on their part.
  • A fascinating article on the NSA's Echelon monitoring system seems to have disappeared from the Center for Technology Policy; but it's still here.
  • New banking regulations will require your bank to report "suspicious activity" to the police.

Censorship

• Johann Gutenberg broke the catholic church's monopoly on the bible in 1448 CE, and the world changed dramatically. A democratic revolution similar to Gutenberg's is taking place today in the transmission and presentation of news. The Internet, in general, and the published pages of the World-Wide Web, in particular, make the suppression of information nearly impossible. See The Internet and the Death of the News Monopoly

• By Governments
  • Germany has no First Amendment. German Prosecutors are attempting (so far, unsuccessfully) to cut links to foreign web sites which would be illegal in Germany
  • Austria censors the internet Child pornography provides a ready excuse to seize the computers of ISPs. See Kiddie Porn
  • China and Burma censor the internet Unlike Germany and Austria, China and Burma make no bones about the fact that they would like to censor sites offensive to the ruling parties.
  • The UAE censors the internet Some countries seek to censor sites in cyberspace that breach local moral values and traditions.
  • Censorship by Copyright Copyright law, intended to protect the intellectual property of authors, is increasingly being used to shut down sites that offend the copyright holder in some way. In addition, some entrepeneurs are copyrighting public information (such as court decisions) and prohibiting others from publishing this information. See Taxpayer Assets Project
  • Censorship by Restricting Access One way governments can control the flow of information is to cut off all internet access. Another is to drive up the cost until only the rich can afford it.
  • Casewatch: Recent court cases involving the internet
  • Censorship may be futile... Open phone lines, re-directed links, and the sheer volume of information may make any attempt to control the internet an exercise in futility.
  • and, in the USA, unconstitutional. The Communications Decency Act is overturned
  • Index Expurgatorium The Online Index of Banned Books (this URL is, by the way, itself banned by NetNanny)
• By Religious Cults
  • According to an article in Forbes Magazine, scientologists believe that Earth was invaded by space aliens 75 million years ago. (Honest!). For obvious reasons, they don't want the public to know about that, so they've copyrighted their "secret scriptures". They have gone to extreme lengths to prevent public discussion of their cult.
  • Time Magazine on Scientology This 1991 Time Magazine article prompted a furious lawsuit by the Church of Scientology which reportedly cost Time seventeen million dollars before Time finally won in 1996.
  • The Wall Street Journal on Scientology This 1997 article compares Scientology to a business, despite an unexplained 1993 reversal by the IRS allowing tax exemption.
  • Scientology and the Courts According to scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard, the purpose of litigation "is to harass and discourage rather than to win." Here's what some judges have had to say.
  • The Church of Scientology vs. the Net Ron Newman's page details Scientologist raids on the homes of their critics. Includes an exhaustive list of published articles.
  • The Church of Scientology vs. Penet In view of the harassment inflicted on their critics by scientologists, critics began to use an anonymous remailing service in Finland. This service, also used by victims of abuse and oppression, was shut down by it's operator after scientologists persuaded Finnish police to give them the name of one of those critics.
  • An Introduction To Scientology Modemac's Scientology page.
  • Scientologists raid private homes, seize computers
  • Ex Parte Civil Seizures Here's the legal basis for the Church of Scientology's raids on private homes.
  • And it's legal...17 USC 503(a) Writ of Civil Seizure And here's the statute that allows for it.
  • Scientology in Germany In Germany, scientology is treated as a scam. But John Travolta has testified before congress that German prosecution of scientologist fraud should be treated as religious persecution. Tom Cruise films have been boycotted in Germany because of his affilitation with the cult.
• By Businesses
  • Prohibited Web Links The Electronic Frontiers Georgia page, concerns businesses seeking to prohibit web page publishers from linking to their pages.
  • Attack of the Slamming Sites The Web lets you sell. The Web lets you advertise. But it's a two-way street. Anyone from a disgruntled former employee to a dissatisfied customer can spread his or her own messages.
  • Northwest Airlines managed to get a court order allowing it to search the home computers of union organizers.
  • Cybersitter Censors its Critics Some useful advice to parents from VTW and ZD, BUT Cybersitter apparently is using its parental control software to censor more than just pornography.
  • Web Wars Fox asks fan to remove Millenium fan page, K-Mart threatens ISP over unflattering page, the Church of Scientology sues.
  • HMOs Health Management Organizations routinely threaten to fire doctors who tell their patients the truth
  • Product Disparagement Statutes are attempts by producers of perishable food products to silence criticism of their products. One notorious case involved Oprah Winfrey, whose discussion of the practice of feeding dead cows to other cows offended Texas cattlemen.
  • The Orange County Register shuts down web site critical of its operations. Philip Services Corp. got a court order requiring several ISPs to release names of subscibers.
  • The Shetland News An electronic journal provides links to a print journal's web pages; is publication of an address plagiarism?
  • Copyright FAQ A series of links to treatises and statutes concerning copyright law.
  • Intellectual Law Primer For multimedia and web developers; what the Copyright Act means.
  • Does West Publishing "own" the Law? West claims copyright on US court decisions. The government and courts have upheld this copyright. Competitors are prevented from publishing court decisions using standard citations required by courts.
    • Taxpayer Assets Project A number of entrepeneurs are claiming copyright on public data.
    • West Publishing and the Courts The Minneapolis Star-Tribune articles on West Publishing
    • Does West Publishing buy the Law? West runs its own PAC.
    • Attempts to copyright data collected from other sources were overruled by Feist vs. Rural Telephone 499 US 340:
    • But there are currently attempts to bypass this ruling by means of an international treaty. See WIPO
      • The treaty has been signed. Currently there are efforts in Congress to implement this treaty into law. See the Digital Future Coalitionfor details.

Scams and Hoaxes

• Scams
  • Phone Scams Messages telling you to call (809) xxx-xxxx to settle your bill or face litigation can be expensive
  • Employment Scams Including your social security number on your resume can be expensive.
  • The Woodside Literary Agency spams usenet with ads soliciting manuscripts, then demands a "reading fee". They also stalked one of their critics, until forced out of business by a court order.
  • Taxpayer Protests Listening to people who claim that there is no authority for the federal income tax can land you in jail...
• Hoaxes
  • Craig Shergold the (no longer) dying boy who wanted to set a record for get-well cards. He's sorry he asked, and so is the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
  • Virus Hoaxes Good Times, Penpal, Join the Crew and other widespread but fake virus warnings, brought to you by the Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capability
  • Computer Virus Myths a much more extensive site listing hundreds of hoaxes; includes an essay about why these stories spread.
  • AFU the AFU and Urban Legends Archive. The truth about that story "a friend of a friend" told you.
  • Urban Legends Reference Pages. An alternate site for well known (and bogus) stories. Don't embarrass yourself by repeating these.
  • AFU FAQ The official FAQ for alt.folklore.urban
  • Yahoo Search Here's a canned Yahoo search for current web postings on this subject.

Privacy Related Internet Sites

• Cryptography FAQ
• WWW Security FAQ
• Snake Oil: Cryptography Software to Avoid
• PC Computer Privacy and Security (Private Idaho)
• Steganography
• Surreptitious recording
• Doug Monroe's Privacy Page Credit reports, personal information, medical records, criminal records, and more.
• Golden Key The Internet Privacy Coalition; supports free availability of strong encryption. News, resources, and alerts.
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Fact sheets on telemarketing, junk mail, credit reporting, stalkers, medical records, employer intrusions, and more.
• InfoWar Privacy, espionage, terrorism, and the military. Graphics intensive, slow.
• How to Get Rid of Junk Mail, Spam, and Telemarketers What (little) you can do to keep yourself off of mailing lists.
• Spam Unwanted Commercial E-mail (UCE), Excessive Multi-Posting (EMP), and Excessive Cross-Posting (ECP or Velveeta)
• JCR Junk E-Mail Site Since nothing else works, legislation is called for. Support the Smith bill, avoid the Murkowski and Torricelli bills. Links to CAUCE
• The Avenger's Front Page The author provides a list of "dirty tricks".
• Rowan vs. Post Office Department 397 US 728 (1970)
  • Right of postal recipient to be let alone supersedes advertiser's right to communicate
  • "[A] mailer's right to communicate must stop at the mailbox of an unreceptive addressee."
• Chain Letters are illegal; here's what to do:
  • Chain Letters
  • National Fraud Information Center NFIC helps consumers report fraud and offers helpful advice on how to avoid becoming a victim.
  • Here's a list of national consumer organizations.
  • 18 USC 1302
  • 18 USC 1341
• Memorable Quotes from EFF A collection of the wittiest and stupidest, most sublime and most inane comments ever said or written about free speech, cryptography, privacy, civil liberties, networking, government, communication, society, human nature, reason, optimism and pessimism, progress, and more.
• Memorable Quotes from UseNet A similar collection posted to UseNet by Giovanni8.
• Question Authority and The Authorities Will Question YOU!
  Perilous Times: Who's Watching Who? Conspiracy theories, Big Brother, employer surveillance.
• And here's the Risks Digest - a compendium of stories about what all can go wrong with computers.
• Finally, the Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion of the effect of technology on privacy.

Anonymity

• Anonymous Remailers Declan McCullagh's article on anonymity and the AAAS summit.
• Talley vs. California - State cannot force distributor of handbills to disclose identity
• N.A.A.C.P vs. Alabama - State cannot compel organization to disclose membership list
• New York Times vs. Sullivan - Public Official cannot sue newspaper for slander absent "reckless disregard" for the truth
• McIntyre vs Ohio 514 U.S. 334 (1995)- Ohio needed to be reminded that state cannot force distributor of handbills to disclose identity.
• ACLU of Georgia v. Miller 977 F. Supp. 1228 (N.D. Ga. 1997) - Georgia tried (and failed) to prohibit anonymity on the internet.
• Buckley vs. American Constitutional Law Foundation- Colorado needed to be reminded that state cannot force petition circulators to disclose identity.
• Scientology vs. Penet While the preceding cases seem to clearly state that the State cannot prohibit anonymous political speech, attacks on anonymous internet posting continue.

Secure Encryption

Administration Policy on Encryption:

• Encryption Policy The Administration, the FBI, Congress, the S.A.F.E. bill, and current lawsuits concerning private use of encryption. Here's the Department of Justice argument.
• An eye-opening (and accidentally released) report on encryption policy in Australia.
• FBI Documents Prove an Intent to Outlaw Private Encryption This 1995 article was written at a time when the FBI still claimed that it had no desire to outlaw domestic encryption.
• Administration Policy on GAK
• It's a losing battle. even the NSA can't keep up.
• Europe Rejects Administration Policy on GAK because 1. hackers could break it 2. it violates individual privacy 3. it would not deter criminals.
• Europe spikes spooks' e-mail eavesdrop bid Since 1991, the Clinton administration has been trying to persuade its citizens and allies to adopt a system for secret government access to private code keys. The Commission says it found no evidence that regulation could or would stop criminals from using effective encryption.
• NSA The NSA intercepts as much of the electronic data online as it can. Secure encryption could render their efforts futile.
• Survey of International Crypto Laws This is a survey of existing and proposed laws and regulations on cryptography - systems used for protecting information against unauthorized access. Governments have long restricted export of cryptography for fear that their intelligence activities are hampered by the crypto use of foreign states and scoundrels.
• FBI wants unlimited wiretaps
• FBI History shows why the bureau should not be granted unlimited wiretaps
  • J. Edgar Hoover amassed secret files on America's most prominent figures, files he used to smear and control presidents and politicians.
  • After 14 years of stonewalling, the FBI was finally forced to release its files on John Lennon. ``These released documents prove that the investigation of John Lennon was motivated by the fear of his political influence and not any criminal activity,'' the ACLU said in a statment. "The FBI later responded, saying the investigation reflected the ethos of a different era.
  • John Lennon: here are the files the FBI claimed would compromise "national security"
  • To millions of parents, he was the trusted baby doctor who dispensed advice on topics ranging from breast-feeding to dealing with tantrums to toilet training. But to the FBI, Benjamin Spock was a subversive and a "rabble-rouser" whose speeches against the Vietnam War made him the target of intensive bureau surveillance.files on Benjamin Spock.

• Commercial Encryption Export Controls (ITAR) This regulation restricting the export of munitions has been used by the administration in an attempt to control the spread of encryption.
• The Bernstein case: California Disstrict court holds ITAR unconstitutional
  • Judge Rules Encrypted Software Legal (C/Net)
  • ITAR held unconstitutional (EFF)
  • Crypto Free Speech (Wired)
  • ITAR held unconstitutional (VTW); details at Bernstein
  • The entire ruling is at Electronic Commerce & Law
• Junger vs. Daley Ohio District Court holds ITAR is constitutional. That case is at CWRU
• Charles Booher has made stong encryption available on a web site; the Commerce Department investigates.
• Netscape Supports Government Access to Documents Prepared With Its Browser
• Exportable Encryption Broken Within Hours It took a Berkely student less than four hours to break the strongest encryption approved for export by U.S. law.
• DES cracked Government-standard and approved encryption no longer provides adequate security.