 |
 |
| Top
Security News |
Microsoft
Rushes To Get IE Patch Ready
Microsoft is prepared to break with tradition in order to patch the latest flaw
in Internet Explorer. That's right - the company will release the patch before
Patch Tuesday - assuming it can get a patch ready in time.
Massive
Spam Campaign Amazes Researchers
A bunch of junk messages hawking a variety of pharmaceuticals made the rounds
on the Internet in April and May of 2006, and those were just the tip of a deep
and dark iceberg of online crime. Over 100 million messages flowed from a variety
of locations...
Ou
And Oli On The Wisdom Of Using AV Software
George Ou has an interesting stand on antivirus software: he thinks the stuff
is worthless. This morning, Ou made something of a supporting argument with a
blog entry titled "Proof that Antivirus software makes your PC crawl."
Cisco
and Lock Company to Make Networked Doors
Cisco has teamed up with physical security company ASSA ABLOY on a physical solution to be closely integrated with IP networks...
New
Internet Security Threat Report From Symantec
Symantec has released another Internet Security Threat Report, and the news isn't
good. Attacks and vulnerabilities are up almost across the board, with one notable
exception - the number of vulnerabilities discovered in the Opera Web Browser
is down.
Why
I Hacked My WEP Wireless Router
Part of securing your network must include looking at your wireless access points. Wireless access can be dangerous to your network.
Most people don't even know how easy it is to exploit wireless access points.
New
Strain of Stration Worm Targets VML Flaw
Sophos reports that a new version of the Stration worm, called the W32/Stratio-AN
worm, is "aggressively" spreading via email systems. The security company spotted the W32/Stratio-AN worm early Monday morning
Symantec,
Adobe Object To Microsoft's Plans
Symantec and Adobe have made what one source called their first "official complaints"
about Microsoft's plans to provide its own security for Vista. Adobe reportedly
"told the European Commission that Microsoft should be barred from building...
|
|
|
 |
|
The inevitable legal action against AOL for releasing details on the queries performed
by 658,000 of its users began with a suit seeking class action status filed in
a California court.
Three members of AOL have initiated the case in US District Court in Northern California and accused AOL of violating several privacy and consumer laws, in addition to the company's own privacy policies. 20 million queries with usernames removed were posted online by AOL Research and stayed up for several days before being removed.
That data has been obtained and redistributed online. A few websites launched and offered an easy way to search the data to see what searchers queried for over a three month period. Despite the lack of usernames, the New York Times was able to track down one user in Georgia as an example of how the data could be used this way.
WebProNews writer Jason Lee Miller also demonstrated three examples of how one could construct a profile of a given user based on searches associated to unique identifier numbers that replaced usernames in the data.
Examples like these probably made it inevitable that lawsuits against AOL would take place. Two of the three plaintiffs have requested anonymity in the suit and are identified as Doe #1 and Doe #2. Both anonymous plaintiffs reside in California.
"For AOL members who have been personally identified, their private, highly personal, sensitive and confidential information is there for public inquiry, obloquy, and ridicule," the lawsuit said of the existence of websites that made the AOL data searchable.
The litigants also make this complaint against AOL, among many issues cited in the 20-page document filed with the court (spacing added for clarity):
In particular, AOL has failed to block its own search engine from further disclosing the Member Search Data. A search query executed on AOL's search engine using terms contained in the Database will return results linking third-party websites that post copies of the Member Search Data.
Likewise, search queries using the names of AOL members whose identities have been revealed also return search results linking third-party websites posting copies of the Member Search Data.
To protect the privacy of those whose search records it improperly disclosed, AOL could program its search engine not to provide results linking to these websites. AOL, however, has not done so.
As noted on AOL's search site, its results are "enhanced" by Google. It may not be a matter of AOL making the change to its index, but Google instead.
The lawsuit asks for damages in the neighborhood of $2.6 billion, based on violations of federal law and laws specific to California residents. Evidently, California residents would be entitled to higher damages due to provisions in the state's Civil Code.
About
the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer with WebProNews.
|
|
,
Inc. 2549 Richmond Rd. Lexington KY, 40509
