Homeland (Cyber)Security? – Congress moves toward giving DHS control of Internet security

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 10:48 am, February 7, 2012

Since 9/11, this nation is increasingly characterized by foolish overreactions to hysterical flights of fancy.  In the name of preparing for a thousand and one unlikely scenarios, we are spending like drunken sailors and throwing civil liberties out the proverbial window. Case in point: a U.S. House panel approved legislation transferring control of private networks [...]

Radiation may cause cancer. Who knew?

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 4:42 pm, February 6, 2012

Under the bogglingly illogical government we have so judiciously elected, there’s no problem in blasting people with radiation so long as it’s not designated to be for medical purposes.  We all know what this means; because airport scanners aren’t rearranging our atoms for a medical benefit, they don’t come under FDA control.  Hence, your guess is as [...]

The Borking of Netflix: movie service finds privacy law to be an inconvenience

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 2:35 pm, February 6, 2012

In the 1980s, Senate Democrats went all out to derail Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.  Among other underhanded moves, Bork’s movie rental history somehow found its way into the public discourse.  There was nothing at all remarkable about the man’s cinematic taste, and the failure of Bork’s nomination owes much more to Ted [...]

Three cheers for data privacy, but is a ‘Right to be Forgotten’ too much?

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:30 am, February 3, 2012

New data privacy laws in European Union states have created just that – a digital ‘right’ to be forgotten.  All countries doing business in EU member states will now need to get explicit opt-in permissions to collect data on users and will need to comply with users requests to have that data purged.  Additionally, companies [...]

SCOTUS decision on warrantless GPS surveillance produces an unexpected friend of privacy

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 3:00 pm, January 25, 2012

Read the news long enough and you will find yourself agreeing with people you never thought you could like. Such as Sonia Sotomayor. Earlier this week, in U.S. v. Jones, the nine wise souls of Washington ruled – and unanimously at that – that planting a wireless GPS on a man’s car constitutes a search. [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief still doesn’t get foreigners

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 12:00 pm, January 25, 2012

One must suppose any state with a functioning hereditary monarchy has let obsession with the rich and famous get out of hand.  Here in the states, we got rid of royalty and replaced it with Hollywood, the U.S. Senate, and drunk Kennedys.  These individuals support a rip-roaring pulp journalism industry, which those of us with degrees pretend not to [...]

You didn’t want your Fifth Amendment rights, anyway, did you?

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:00 am, January 25, 2012

Monday afternoon, a federal judge in Denver ordered a criminal defendant to turn over a decrypted version of her entire hard drive. Yes, that alone should have you sweating bullets. Worse yet, the woman, Ramona Fricosu, has only been immunized for the act of producing the material, not for anything that might be found.  The [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief does not accept insincere apologies.

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 1:42 pm, January 18, 2012

Effective security is more about judgment than thoughtlessly enforcing a set of Byzantine rules.  However, an organization that abides religiously by published rules, even if those rules are asinine, is a step above my favorite whipping boys, the TSA. (UPDATE: The TSOs at Dallas Fort-Worth apparently don’t recognize a .38 handgun, as they let one [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief declines to disclose her uterine contents to the state

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 10:00 am, January 13, 2012

What a horrifying headline.  Yet, it would not be there to sicken you without a reason.  I am not, quite, that cruel.  Brazil, which is the land of the future and shall always be, is now officially compelling women to register their pregnancies with the state. The official reason is benign.  They always are.  PM [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief is cryptic

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:00 am, January 13, 2012

Privacy could be greatly enhanced (or not) right here in Colorado. Can Uncle Sam compel you to turn over a passphrase to an encrypted computer, or compel you to decrypt a device for them, in spite of the Fifth Amendment? The facts, briefly, are these. A woman’s laptop was confiscated pursuant to a warrant by police as [...]

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