Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Senate Introduces Strong Privacy Bill

Posted by samzenpus on from the protect-yourself-at-all-times dept.

amigoro writes "US Senators introduced a bill that better protects the privacy of citizens' personal information in the face of data security breaches across the country. Key features of the bipartisan legislation include increasing criminal penalties for identity theft involving electronic personal data and making it a crime to intentionally or willfully conceal a security breach involving personal data."

13 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. A little late isn't it? by AltGrendel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I thought that horse was already out of the barn.

    --
    The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination

    - Douglas Adams

    1. Re:A little late isn't it? by mr_matticus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A few horses are out of the barn, but that doesn't mean someone shouldn't close the gate to keep the rest in.

    2. Re:A little late isn't it? by TheMeuge · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I am just wondering when there will be a bipartisan legislative effort to institute mandatory minimums for violation of the constitution by congress or the executive.

  2. Fix it the right way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why isn't it fixed the right way? If the use of Social Security numbers by non-government agencies was ended then much of this would fix itself. Each company would likely pick a different number/id for each individual and it would partition the information. Then, stealing a single number wouldn't give you access to an entire individual.

    1. Re:Fix it the right way by mwilliamson · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The SSN should be only considered as a gov't assigned userid. The government should now issue everyone in the USA a password and provide a government sponsored pluggable authentication system anyone could use for their company. Those using this system to authenticate customers would fund it. Password reset would be available at SSN offices only with verified photo ID. Lets end this bullshit once and for all and empower the end user to protect their identify credentials via at least a password, maybe even a RSA dongle.

    2. Re:Fix it the right way by Silver+Sloth · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Err... We Brits have exactly that. If you hack one of my bank accounts you haven't hacked them all. There is no reason for any one of my credit cards to know, or have anything in common, with any of my other credit cards. It works fine for us, we're not confused, credit report agencies work as well here as they do anywhere, and tax avoidance isn't a particular problem

      I am not a number, I am a free man!

      And long may it remain that way.

      --
      init 11 - for when you need that edge.
    3. Re:Fix it the right way by nasor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A much better solution would be for companies to simply stop pretending that knowing a social security number somehow magically proves that you are who you claim to be.

  3. So what are the implications by o'reor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    concerning whistleblowers who want to draw attention on possible security breaches inside a company, and who've been hit on hard both by corporations and justice every time it happened so far ?

    --
    In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
  4. Would not pass. by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The bill would increase oversight of government programs to collect personal information on citizens. I wouldn't expect this bill to move anywhere right now, with the 2008 presidential candidates starting to gear up. Nobody wants to vote for a bill that would "Let the terrorists win."

  5. Enforcement, not new laws by imag0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I happen to deal with a lot of regulated information (PHI with HIPPA, PCI in some environments as well). One thing that always astonishes me is not that security breaches happen (we're human, things happen), but that there is little to no reported repercussions from those losses.

    It's one thing to have a security breach, but it's another one just to announce it, issue new cards to everyone and keep on working like nothing happened.

    I think the best thing would be that the gov steps up to the plate and actually *enforce* the current laws and not spend our time and taxpayer money to create a new raft of laws that will end up never getting enforced in the first place.

    Cheers,

    imag0

  6. Just an empty gesture by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nothing will come out of Senate to increase privacy. Remember CAN-SPAM act and how it stamped out all the spam emails? This bill will protect privacy exactly the same way. If you think this bill will improve privacy, contact me. I have 22 million dollars stuck in a bank in Nigeria. Help me get it out I will give you 33% of it. Please dont be greedy and steal all that 22 million dollars from me. OK?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  7. Re:wait a minute, I'm confused by gbulmash · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't this the Republicans domain, increasing privacy?

    Are you being sarcastic?

    The Republicans have always positioned themselves as champions of law and order, and their favorite tool for it is intelligence gathering. Things like the Patriot Act as well as the warrantless wiretapping controversy just prove that out.

    Both parties like to pick and choose which civil liberties they defend and which ones they attack in the name of fighting crime. While the Republicans are big on intelligence gathering at the expense of our right to privacy, the Democrats are big on gun control at the expense of our right to bear arms.

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
  8. Re:That's a myth. by homer_ca · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The myth of social mobility in the US is the relief valve that prevents violent revolution. We know rags to riches stories happen, but it's so rare that it very probably won't happen to you. Still, we see stories all the time, whether it's entertainers, athletes, lottery winners, or someone who got lucky with a small time business deal. As long as people think there's a chance for themselves, that the game isn't rigged, they won't turn against the system. I've seen my share of rags to riches stories since I went to some good schools growing up. There were a lot of smart kids from poor or ordinary families who got a chance from financial aid and merit scholarships to join the elites. There were even more smart kids from upper middle class and rich families who were already elite.

    So next time someone points to a rags to riches story to show that hard work pays, get ready to call bullshit. If you're smart, talented and hard-working, you'll probably end up a little better than an average guy, but you won't get rich without a lot of luck. We may not have a rigid caste system or a formal system of hereditary nobles, but don't pretend that privilege doesn't exist.