CARS.gov Site Accused of Government Takeover of PC's

Where is the "Privacy Czar"?

The US Federal Government's Cars.gov site, which facilitates the Cash for Clunkers program, lets the government take over the using dealer's PC and everything in it. The dealer actually has to deem his PC government property, and assign its content. Does the consumer know his info has been turned over to the Treasury?

Few would take seriously anything reported by Glen Beck or Fox News, but they broke the story. Beck tries to make it seem like this applies to consumer use of the site, which it does not, but if you are a dealer, you are in danger for two reasons.

First, the feds have control of your computer and all of its content. Files, passwords, downloads, emails, web site surfed - theirs.

Second, the consumer surely isn't noticed that they are turning over all info given to the dealer - credit, references, income, deposits, etc. - to the feds. This will surely lead to privacy violation lawsuits from the consumers against the car dealers.

Here's Beck's story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy8wgS69xjI

US Rates Poorly in Corruption Index

Transparency.org has issued its latest Corruption Barometer, whereby citizens polled rate various categories of corruption in their countries.

In the categories of Political Parties, Legislature, and Private Sector the US rated worse then Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia, among others.

See the entire report at:

http://media.transparency.org/fbooks/reports/gcb_2009/

Feds at DefCon Alarmed After RFID’s Scanned | Threat Level | Wired.com

Those following the privacyauthority.org entry http://privacy-pimp.blogspot.com/2009/07/chips-in-official-ids-raise-privacy.html will be interested to in this update.

Feds get a taste of their own Medicine in Las Vegas annual hacker summit.

Feds at DefCon Alarmed After RFID’s Scanned Threat Level : Wired.com

The security risks of RFID use have been visited on the very federal agent proponents of such devices. Fortunately for the feds, this surprise took place in the somewhat safer environment of the DefCon hacker convention in Las Vegas.

The amiable individuals who scanned the feds were nice enough to destroy the data in front of the feds, causing heartbeats to resume their regular rythm.

Another lesson in Las Vegas.

Bill Gates Demostrates Lack of Privacy Comprehension

Quotes from Gates make one wonder if the Microsoft founder comprehends the security problems posed by over-tracking of individuals. Indeed, he does not seem to grasp the basic problem of everyone around you knowing your name and health history before you even introduce yourself:

Gates Faults U.S. Policy on Data Privacy and Immigration - NYTimes.com

It is little wonder that privacy advocates shy away from Microsoft. It will be interesting to see how they are able to compete with this inablity to comprehend the need for privacy or to act with best practices.

Privacy comprehension and practice have become a proving ground of international business, on which the US is, at least for now, failing miserably.

BACKLASH TO US FOREIGN BANKING INFORMATION GRAB

In the end, banking customers make the choice. For now, it seems that Europe's more individualist and consumer-friendly approach to privacy regulation has gained the upper hand. The US has a long way to go to regain its reputation as a defender of privacy rights.

The story is also that of the US losing its bid to house the massive, job-producing data center of SWIFT, by which virtually all banks transfer funds across borders. This loss is due entirely to the fact that the US is no longer a credible location for data, due to warrantless searches, seizures, spying, insider deals and a host of related accusations. Integrity and transparency have suffered in the wake of the implementation of the USA Patriot Act, standards of practice and other regulations put into place since 9/11/2001.

The US also lost the bid for storage and management of the ID data held by identify.nu, the passport ID storage and delivery facility of the Consular Chamber of Commerce. This data was moved to Denmark for the privacy protection offered by the more comprehensive and transparent EU and Denmark regulation.

US Snooping Rights in Europe: Criticism Grows over Banking Data Deal - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

The EU is about to enter talks with the US on giving it access to banking data in its fight against terrorism. German politicians from across the political spectrum are up in arms, and members of the European Parliament say they will try to scupper any deal that violates data privacy.

Israeli Biometric ID - Israel National News

Israelis voice concern over biometric identification gathering by the Israeli government, including facial and fingerprint collection:

Opponents of Biometric Law: 'It's a Step to a True Police State' - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Ethiopia Goes to Biometric Tax ID

Ethiopians are concerned about privacy in the face of required fingerprinting by the Country's national taxing authority:

Ethiopian Revenue and Custom Authority Collecting Fingerprints