![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
News Archive: June 2008
The views represented in these articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, the Privacy Act Program, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 
THE SCOOP for June 25, 2008
-
Appeals court limits release of text messages
San Francisco Chronicle - June 19, 2008
"A federal appeals court strengthened privacy rights Wednesday for workers who send text messages from devices supplied by their employer, ruling that the companies transmitting those messages can't disclose their contents without the recipient's consent." -
Bush leads biometric push
Federal Computer Week - June 16, 2008
"A new presidential directive requiring agencies to share biometric information underscores the government's increasing reliance on fingerprints, iris scans and facial-recognition software for identifying perceived national security threats." -
E-Mail Archives And Litigation: Here's How To Get It Right
InformationWeek - June 21, 2008
"Failure to manage e-mail can cost millions in court. A popular framework and an archiving system can help get your house in order - and pay dividends in the legal realm and beyond." -
Flooded Firms Reassess Disaster Recovery Plans
ComputerWorld - June 23, 2008
"As historic floodwaters start to recede along the Mississippi and other Midwestern rivers, local businesses in affected communities like Cedar Falls, Iowa, are busy assessing the impact on IT equipment and whether disaster recovery plans stood the test." Hill told privacy laws must be updated to protect the public
NextGov - June 18, 2008
"The federal government needs to update laws and technologies to better protect the public's privacy and to avoid new forms of identity theft...Among the actions recommended was amending the 1974 Privacy Act to limit agencies' use of the public's personal information stored in databases."More coverage:
U.S. Privacy Act outdated, hasn't kept up with technology, experts say
ComputerWorld - June 18, 2008
"Updates to a 34-year-old privacy law are needed to better protect personal information held by the U.S. government, privacy experts told a Senate panel today."Information in e-mails easily uncovered
Houston Chronicle - June 20, 2008
"Messages allegedly sent by two former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers indicted for fraud show even sophisticated professionals disregard the dangers of putting sensitive information in e-mails, ex-prosecutors said."The Next Big Data Breach
NextGov - June 18, 2008
"Peter Swire, who served as the Clinton administration's chief counselor for privacy in the Office of Management and Budget for two years, had a dire warning today for the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee: Biometric data, namely fingerprints, is the next security breach waiting to happen."Protect yourself from identity theft on vacation
Market Watch - June 19, 2008
"Identity theft can happen anywhere, but when you're far from home, you can be particularly vulnerable to someone stealing your information. It's important to stay aware of your surroundings, said Adam Levin, chairman of Identity Theft 911, which makes products to help protect against identity theft."-
Wanted: ECM the easy way
GCN Government Computer News - June 23, 2008
"Enterprise content management systems remain too difficult for most office workers to use, which is hampering full use of their data, according to a recent report issued by the information technology analysis firm Forrester Research."
THE SCOOP for June 18, 2008
-
COOP makes a telework connection
Federal Computer Week - June 13, 2008
"Thomas Barrett, deputy secretary of the Transportation Department, encapsulates the human dimension of continuity-of-operations planning in simple terms: 'We have to be able to do our job under any circumstances.' On a tactical level, making sure that employees get their day-to-day work done in a crisis situation is a significant human capital issue." Disaster recovery paramount now that hurricane season is here
Network World - June 11, 2008
"With hurricane season starting this month, businesses need to establish and test plans for how they will protect network data and gear, and recover from outages...Proper staffing is essential. Institutions should set up emergency operations centers (EOC) and assign employees who will staff it."Health IT office awards contract to fight medical identity theft
NextGov - June 12, 2008
"The federal office overseeing the development of a national system of electronic medical records awarded a $450,000 contract on Wednesday to Booz Allen Hamilton to evaluate the scope of medical identity theft in the United States."How To Handle E-Mail Deluge
Forbes - June 14, 2008
"Worldwide, the amount of e-mail is staggering. And it just keeps growing: IDC estimates the volume has increased from 9.7 billion in 2000 to 97 billion in 2007. That's per day, by the way."Judge: White House doesn't have to turn over e-mail records
Computerworld - June 16, 2008
"The U.S. Executive Office of the President doesn't have to turn over information on an alleged 10 million missing e-mail messages to a government watchdog group seeking information on how the e-mails were lost, a judge ruled Monday."More coverage:
White House wins round in e-mail fight
Federal Computer News - June 16, 2008Keeping employees in COOP loop
Federal Computer Week - June 13, 2008
"For employees during a crisis, remote access to their agencies' systems is paramount. That means the network has to be up and running around the clock...'Many agencies don't have a robust enough IT infrastructure to keep everybody working from home...'"Most ID theft still occurs the old-fashioned way
Government Computer News - June 13, 2008
"The theft or exposure of personally identifiable information through hacking of IT systems receives a lot of attention, but a recent study of identity theft victims showed that, in 2007, most identity thieves still relied on the tried-and-true methods of stealing data."Online medical records offer convenience, may limit privacy
USA Today - June 11, 2008
"A variety of companies -- from private health-care providers and insurance companies to big technology firms such as Microsoft and Google -- are developing and launching sites, most of them free, that allow patients to keep personal health records."Sprehe: Keeping it digital
Federal Computer World - June 16, 2008
"In response to the revelations about White House e-mail practices, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have introduced the Electronic Communications Preservation Act...I applaud the intent of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and the committee to remove the print option, but the measure does not go far enough. It is also somewhat misguided in its conception."An Update on Knowledge Management in the Federal Government
B-EYE-Network - June 10, 2008
"This year's Knowledge Management Conference was held, as it has been since the year 2000, in April at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. As we have done at all these events, we surveyed the attendees in relation to their agencies' knowledge management (KM) initiatives...While the survey clearly is not a scientifically representative sample of the public sector, the results do enable us to understand a bit better what the current state of knowledge management is within the federal government."
THE SCOOP for June 11, 2008
Data breaches found to worry managers
Federal Computer Week - June 4, 2008
"Data breaches are the primary concern of information technology managers at the federal, state and local government levels and in the private sector, according to a recent survey of 600 IT executives."Digital Dividing: We'll do Some, They'll do Some
Federal News Radio - June 10, 2008
"We told you in our last report about the National Archives and Records Administration's 'Strategy for Digitizing Archival Materials for Public Access, 2007-2016.' That report detailed the 'hows' of what NARA intends to accomplish -- and for your agency to accomplish -- between now and 2016."More coverage:
What are You Doing for the Next Eight Years?
Federal News Radio - June 5, 2008E-discovery blunder leads to loss of attorney-client privilege
Computerworld - June 9, 2008
"A federal judge in Maryland ruled late last month that a company being sued for copyright infringement waived attorney-client privilege for 165 documents accidentally disclosed to opposing counsel during the e-discovery process."Electronic Discovery: Are You Really Ready?
CIO - June 4, 2008
"IT executives are overconfident about their ability to respond to litigation events due to recent infrastructure investments to address new e-discovery rules, according to a new research report by IDC (a sister company to CIO.com's publisher).EPA: Tell us how to share information
Federal Computer Week - June 10, 2008
"Environmental Protection Agency officials want the public to tell them how to share information. The agency's Environmental Information Office has asked the public as well as federal, state, local and tribal agencies to suggest best practices, tools and ideas on how the EPA can improve access to enviromental information. To do so, EPA launched a blog on the office's Web site."How safe is instant messaging? A security and privacy survey
CNET News - June 9, 2008
"The number of interested parties eager to listen in on your online conversations, including what you type through instant messaging, has never been higher...The need, in other words, for secure IM communication has never been greater."Keeping Up With Data Management, Data Governance, Data Stewardship and Information Management
B-EYE-Network - June 3, 2008
"...organizations use multiple labels when referring to the activities associated with the governance of information assets...The good news is that we don't necessarily have to learn four different things by different names. The bad news is that governance related to managing information assets, in either an operational or strategic context, is difficult to do and a relatively immature process."The kings of content
What PC? - June 4, 2008
"The last few months in the enterprise content management (ECM) and enterprise search space have been something of a settling-down period. Acquisition fever has abated and the key suppliers are looking to put clear blue water between themselves and their rivals. But buyer confusion, supplier hype and a lack of best practice guidance still prevent many businesses from getting the most value out of their investments in these key areas, according to experts."Lawmaker seeks to set standards for DHS handling of sensitive unclassified info
Government Executive - June 6, 2008
"House Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee Chairwoman Jane Harman, D-Calif., Thursday introduced legislation that would set parameters for the Homeland Security Department's 'controlled unclassified information' designation."Opinion: Top 5 mistakes of privacy awareness programs
Computerworld - June 6, 2008
"HIPAA requires it. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requires it. The ISO 27001 standard requires it. In fact, every regulation that mandates that reasonable measures be taken to protect information implicitly requires that companies maintain a program to regularly inform employees on what those measures are."Presidential transition guide offers advice
Federal Computer Week - June 9, 2008
"The guide also has other useful legal information for incoming transition teams. It identifies how officials must deal with lobbyists during the transition, how departing employees must leave official records in the custody of the agency they are leaving,..."Report: Data Breach Disclosure Laws Don't Slow Down Identity Theft
Consumer Affairs - June 8, 2008
"... a new research report claims that data breach disclosure laws have no measurable effect on cases of identity theft, due to the many factors that hinder accurate reporting of cases of identity theft and connecting them to known breaches.""Stating" a New Records Management System
Federal News Radio - June 2, 2008
"As you and your Federal records managers are staring at a growing stack of data to store, and the potentially growing stack of regulation we've been telling you about in this space, your peers at the state level are dealing with the same challenges."Stolen laptop teaches Stanford a lesson on need for encryption
Computerworld - June 9, 2008
"From the 'Why aren't these systems encrypted already?' department comes yet another story of a laptop theft resulting in the potential compromise of personal data belonging to a large number of people. This time, the victim is Stanford University..."What ever happened to our privacy?
CNET News - June 5, 2008
"A new study from Northeastern University secretly tracked the locations of 100,000 people outside the United States by monitoring their cell phone use and found that most people rarely travel more than a few miles from their home."More coverage:
Cellphone Tracking Study Shows We're Creatures of Habit
The New York Times - June 5, 2008
THE SCOOP for June 5, 2008
Employee Monitoring: It's Not Paranoia -- You Really Are Being Watched!
PC Magazine - May 26, 2008
"It's possible that someone has been reading your e-mails, listening to your phone calls, and tracking your Internet use. No, it's not a foreign spy. It's not even your ex -- it's your employer. And she doesn't even need to tell you she's doing it."Explosion has data center scrambling, users venting
Computerworld - June 2, 2008
"The Planet.com Internet Services Inc. hopes to have all 9,000 of its servers in its Houston data center back online later tonight following a blast that shut down the facility on Saturday afternoon...Although the data center says it has power systems that 'are designed to run uninterrupted' and a 'fully redundant network operations center' with diesel generators, the electrical problem exposed an apparent Achilles' heel in its business continuity planning."Four Tips for Crafting a Document Retention Policy
CIO - May 23, 2008
"The 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley regulations served as a wake-up call for CIOs to formalize document retention policies to meet compliance requirements. But regulatory demands -- and the number of documents produced daily -- continue to grow. So a solid document management process is a necessity."IBM, Iron Mountain Unite on Record Management
Internet News - May 28, 2008
"Despite technology's promise of creating a paperless office environment, enterprises still struggle with growing piles of digital records...But two storage titans are collaborating to ease those management pains. IBM (NYSE: IBM) is combining its FileNet Records Manager with Iron Mountain's (NYSE: IRM) Accutrac software to create a tool to manage both paper and digital records."More details required for FOIA reports
Federal Computer Week - May 28, 2008
"The Justice Department is requiring that agencies provide greater detail on how Freedom of Information Act requests are processed and the request backlog as part of their annual FOIA reports."National Archives reticent about broadening mission
NextGov - June 2, 2008
"Chafing at Bush administration secrecy, congressional Democrats are handing the National Archives and Records Administration new jobs promoting government transparency. Officials at the records agency appear to be balking at taking on unfunded mandates beyond their traditional role. If Congress wants the Archives to become open-government cops, archivists may prefer to remain librarians."Out with the Old, in With the New
Federal News Radio - May 29, 2008
"We've told you about HR 5811, a bill pending in the House of Representatives that would dramatically change the way your agency collects and stores electronic records. Now we're learning more about the bill from Paul Wester, Modern Records Program Director at the National Archives and Records Administration."Smart phones 'bigger security risk' than laptops
Computerworld - June 2, 2008
"Some 94% of senior IT staff fear PDAs present a security risk, just above the 88% who highlighted mobile storage devices as a worry...The results come from a survey of 300 senior IT staff..."Update: Lost backup tapes prompt IT changes at NY bank
Computerworld - June 2, 2008
"Bank of New York Mellon Corp. late last week said it has launched a new policy to encrypt data held on storage devices and to limit the amount of confidential client data stored on tape drives. The policy was launched after unencrypted data tapes were lost twice by third-party couriers this year."Walter Reed says patient data may be compromised
Government Executive - June 2, 2008
"Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an investigation by the Army."When to Dump Stale Electronic Data
Law Technology News - May 28, 2008
"Corporate counsel, IT officers and records managers all have an interest in controlling and expiring stale information -- data that no longer serves a business purpose, or is not subject to a regulatory or legal hold obligation to preserve."