Applied Miscellany

I thought it was particularly interesting to read the first paragraph and then the last paragraph of today’s AP article (as seen in the New York Times) reporting of the security breach of TJX Cos, the owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s stores. First paragraph:
Information from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards […]

The CNNMoney.com article “e-Passports: Ready or not here they come” reports on the security and personal safety risks associated with the RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that will be embedded in U.S. passports by August 2006. These tags are meant to be read via radio waves from a “short” distance by a passport reader; […]

The Guaridan reports that with just a discarded British Airways boarding-pass stub that was found in a dustbin, the journalist and his computer expert was able to access personal details:
We logged on to the BA website, bought a ticket in [the passenger’s] name and then, using the frequent flyer number on his boarding pass stub, […]

It is becoming increasingly difficult to protect one’s personal data these days. The threat, of course, is that the more complete a profile someone has on you, the greater chance that the information can be used against you for everything from unwanted solicitations to identity theft. Computers are very good at combining information […]

The BBC reports that a passer-by discovered hotel registration cards in a skip (dumpster) from the Grand Hotel, Brighton, UK. The cards contained signatures, credit card numbers, and contact information. This news item caught my eye as I happened to be there at last October’s SOSP’05 conference. Fortunately for me, I stayed in the hotel […]