November 13, 2014
The Age in Fly on the wall: Security footage from Australia shows inside lounge rooms, bedrooms and shops highlights and the Canberra Times in Canberrans’ privacy compromised in security camera hack both report on on line footage from security cameras being streamed on line for anyone to see.
This seems to have prompted the Privacy Commissioner to Read the rest of this entry »
In Company director fined for illegally accessing mobile phone company’s customer database the UK Information Commissioner’s Office highlights the need for staff to be properly trained to deal with attempts by outsiders to access customer database. The release relates to the prosecution of a a company director who successfully obtained records of 1,066 customers of Everything Everywhere which he used as a resource for marketing services of his telecommunications companies. The methodology was quite typical, masquerade as someone who could credibly have access to passwords and logins, such as a person from IT security. This type of social engineering is Read the rest of this entry »
November 11, 2014
The latest edition of the Harvard Law Review has been published and with it an analysis of Riley v California. The court’s judgement is found here. While UK/NZ/Australian jurisprudence in the privacy sphere takes very little from the US Constitutional consideration of privacy rights, primarily the 4th but also the 14th amendment, it is always Read the rest of this entry »
November 10, 2014
The ABC reports today in Firefighting helicopters to be grounded if drones spotted in bushfire areas, authorities say about concerns about drones flying in a bushfire area causing a threat to aerial firefighters. While the concern is specific the general threat of drones to aviation has been well-known for some time the increasing number of drones and their improved technical capacity makes the issue even more pressing. Not that the review by CASA is moving at lightening speed. But CASA’s role relates to Read the rest of this entry »
November 8, 2014
Home Depot previously announced that it lost 56 million payment card details in a data breach (see my post on 24 September here). It has now announced that the data breach also involved Read the rest of this entry »
November 7, 2014
In the latest UNSW Law Journal there is an excellent article, Dawn of the Age of the Drone. It is mandatory reading for anyone who has an interest in privacy law and the rapid development of this technology.
In addition there are two interesting articles on the practical use of drones. The first is by Slate in Unidentified Drones Keep Flying Over French Nuclear Plants where it reports on Read the rest of this entry »
November 4, 2014
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced a $10 million fine on TerraCom and its affiliate YourTel America for poor data security practices. This comes in the same week as the FCC announced that it was joining the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, the second US regulatory agency to join the Network, after the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”).
The nub of the complaint is Read the rest of this entry »
November 2, 2014
In Google Loses Lawsuit For Posting Woman’s Cleavage the issue a Canadian Court dealt with was the liability of Google for taking a photograph of a woman sitting on her stoop. The photograph showed Read the rest of this entry »
October 25, 2014
The Federal Court proceeding Professor Barry Spurr v At Large Media Pty Ltd ACN 144 75 316 & Anor has generated considerable reportage and analysis about privacy law and its inadequacies in equal measure with commentary on Professor Spurr’s attitude to various groups within the community and his general penmanship as revealed by his leaked emails. His claim appears to be Read the rest of this entry »
October 23, 2014
Barry Spurr’s action in the Federal Court against New Matilda may have received reasonably close coverage but the basis of the claim for injunctive relief has not been Read the rest of this entry »