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In This Edition"Street View" -- Illegal Or Annoying? Privacy Issues Raised as Health Records Go Online Businesses Not Prepared For Disaster, Says Study
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"Street View" -- Illegal Or Annoying?Google's Street View stunned many with its photos of the unsuspecting, from a man climbing a front gate to another walking out of a strip club, but it's hardly the first time the company has compiled a massive database of material that some would want to remain private -- and that raises security issues. Street View is a map that allows users to zoom down to street level, viewing 360-degree panoramic photos and they stroll through town one mouse click at a time. Like so many technologies, it began as something useful for military purposes before people saw a more general use -- or potential abuse, say in the case of a criminal that might use it to choose a possible target. But now with Google serving up images from the sky with Google Earth, creating street-level images with Street View and tracking customer behavior in cyberspace, some are starting to ask: how much is enough? Privacy Issues Raised as Health Records Go OnlineAetna and several other large health insurance firms hope to allow customers and physicians to interact over the Web with regard to online personal health records. Privacy advocates are concerned that the medical records will be exposed to hackers and other criminals or used inappropriately to discriminate against workers. However, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and other insurers claim to use the same protections found in online banking formats. Aetna CEO Ronald Williams stated the firm uses member logins and online registration with secured sign-ons to protect data in the medical records; also, customers are allowed to restrict certain elements of their records from being shared among practitioners. With chronic ailments accounting for the bulk of medical costs, insurers, customers, and employers are seeking ways to reduce those costs, and many are hopeful that electronic medical records will improve care and reduce costs. Doctors, patients, and insurers can track preventative and medicinal care through the online records; patients are able to add family history information and over-the-counter medications as well. Source: Hartford Courant (CT) (06/12/07) ; Singer, Stephen REAL NightmareAlthough states are not bound to follow the 2005 REAL ID Act, a federal law that aims to fight terrorism by improving security for state driver's licenses, some have nonetheless been very vocal about what they say are problems with the legislation. One of the biggest complaints among the states is the high cost of following the REAL ID Act's recommendations, which include verifying drivers' original identity documents--such as birth certificates and Social Security cards--when they show up at DMV offices to get a new license or renew their old one. According to the National Governors Association, states are likely to spend at least $11 billion of their own money over the next five years to get REAL ID up and running. The biggest factor contributing to this expense is the more than 2.1 million hours of computer programming states will need to adapt their systems for new requirements for things such as eligibility verification and database design. Another concern is that REAL ID needs to be supported by a variety of databases containing citizens' personal information if the program is to work nationwide, a big worry for some states and civil liberties groups. Though states can always opt out of REAL ID, as Montana and Washington have already done, doing so could create major inconveniences to their residents because they would not be able to use their driver's licenses to board airplanes or enter secure federal facilities. Although the legislation may be burdensome to states, it is nonetheless important that states implement its recommendations because they address the known vulnerability with state-issued drivers licenses: The ability of criminals, such as terrorists, to use identity documents to obtain a fraudulent drivers license, said the Department of Homeland Security's Russ Knocke. Source: Governing (06/07) Vol. 20, No. 9, P. 24 ; Perlman, Ellen Businesses Not Prepared For Disaster, Says StudyDespite another year filled with hard-lessons learned from tornadoes, floods and fires, 30 percent of businesses across the country are still not prepared for the worst-case scenario, according to AT&T's annual study on business continuity and disaster recovery preparedness for U.S. businesses in the private sector. Of the 10 cities surveyed this year, businesses in New York ranked first in terms of being the most prepared for natural and man-made disasters, and businesses in Cleveland came in last. |
