Obama’s Mobile Phone Records Breached
Posted in Public Affairs, Technology, Announcement, wordpress, Politics, News Media, disclosure, ethics, oversight, Law, Justice, telecom, obama, Opinion, Business on November 24th, 2008 by Stanford MatthewsThe reports on unauthorized access of ‘an inactive personal account’ of Barack Obama’s at Verizon Wireless is a good reminder of several issues. Everywhere you turn there are stories of identity theft and database breaches of personal information as well as one company after another offering protection from such problems. First, why should anyone trust a company offering the protection. Second, little is discussed in terms of what happens to those who commit the crimes or allow the crimes to occur through lax attention to security. Third, it would not be totally outrageous to agree that there will always be risks like these now that we are well into the digital realm. But that shouldn’t stop or slow the progress of effective solutions and response to the threats.
Whether before, during or after the election the people responsible for unauthorized access to personal accounts, active or inactive, should face more than disciplinary action from their employer. The consequences for choosing to perform these actions on any level should carry adequate punishment to present a disincentive severe enough to dissuade the tempted even if serious crooks are not convinced. But consequences for the serious professional or full time criminals need to be adequate to the task also.
Prevention is of course the preferred solution although illusive and we cannot simply avoid it because it is difficult. Those employing state of the art defenses should be shown some leniency when the efforts fail and those who neglect their responsibility should face penalties equivalent to that of the perps. If we are to continue on the path through ever increasing sophistication of technology our efforts to protect ourselves from the result of misuse must also be sophisticated. And based on stories of security breaches in recent years the problem seems more of doing nothing to protect rather than a failure of systems put in place.
Remember the laptops that mysteriously disappeared from the White House that were later determined to be taken home by government employees against restrictions or similar laptop problems within secure national labs? There are other stories as well as many related to espionage on one extreme to the current story about Obama ’s ‘non-issue’ inactive account from Verizon on the other. That of course assumes the report is accurate. What are the odds both Verizon and the President-elect, et al, would like to play this one down?
Malicious hacking and other unauthorized access to information of others should carry some serious penalties and periodic review of outcomes in all cases prosecuted and those which fell through the cracks for any reason. We need to get real good at defeating this type of activity. One problem is we need to be good at hacking people like terrorists and similar targets yet we need to keep ourselves from being victim to the very technology we need. Quite the dilemma wouldn’t you say?
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
November 2008 |
A U.S. mobile phone company says some of its employees gained unauthorized access and viewed an inactive personal account of President-elect Barack Obama.
In a statement, Verizon Wireless President and Chief Executive Lowell McAdam apologized to Mr. Obama. He said the device in question was a simple voice phone that did not have email capabilities.
Mr. Obama’s aides also said the president-elect’s voicemail messages and emails were not accessed.
McAdam said all employees who had access to the president-elect’s account have been put on immediate leave with pay. He promised the company will soon impose disciplinary action against those who viewed the account improperly.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
Following the content listed in most popular news on Google and Yahoo has been a regular occurence here. At first it was disappointing that so much of what made it to the listing were stories with topics that probably shouldn’t rank as high as they did. But that just seemed to indicate a sad trend that ‘clickers’ at these venues concentrated on items that really do not matter. The tabloid type of content was getting the lion’s share of the most popular ratings by click. Again, sad that important issues were being neglected by whatever the demographic was. If one assumed that the readers were a representative slice of the general public the bulk of what they were reading was an even more dismal trend.
The central argument in the NYT piece seems to be that McCain’s VP selection gives ammunition to Obama while diminishing McCain’s criticism that Obama is not ready to lead due to inexperience. Right out of the blocks, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has executive experience and a resume’s considerably more accomplished than Senator Obama’s. No one said you cannot take on the VP slot as it does not lend itself to on the job training. And as for the ability to step in to the Presidency if disaster would strike, how many former VP’s would have been ideal for that contingency? If Palin ends up spending four years as VP she will likely be quite prepared for the Office of President in 2012. Even with the unlikelihood that she would have to take over as President, by then the McCain Adminstration would be in place and the typical resources used by each President would be available to Palin for executing the office. In contrast, nothing about Barack Obama equals that assessment.
When the iPhone first came out this blog dubbed it the ‘i’ in iPhone is for idiot. There is no problem with adding all sorts of bells and whistles to a device with some core functionality that provides utility for the user. And since caveat emptor is still a mainstay in successful transactions in the world of capitalism, overblown claims and slick marketing promotions are not foul either. One must do their due diligence before making purchases or suffer the consequences. That is the main reason for the idiot distinction.
The iPhone still sux. But that does not mean Apple is the only culprit. They are just one of the usual suspects. Every vendor out there sells basically the same thing and the primary functional utility and price are being overlooked by the consumer. As if the mfr’s could hear the typical customer saying, ‘ I just buy what’s out there, man, it’s cool’. No, it certainly is not.
Las Vegas is known for big shows and the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which just ended, is one of the biggest. In a space the equivalent of 35 football fields, 2700 exhibitors are displaying thousands of high-tech devices and services they will be marketing in the coming year. As Faiza Elmasry reports, the world’s largest consumer electronics show does not just showcase tomorrow’s advanced technologies, it also helps them move into the mainstream.
Technology trend expert Brian Cooley says the novelties at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show are no less revolutionary than those of previous years. They include a car that drives itself, an intelligent bed that uses vibration to stop insomnia, a bathroom mirror that allows you to watch TV while brushing your teeth, and a smart automobile navigation system.
There is a new refrigerator from Whirlpool that’s equipped with a multi-port docking station for charging gadgets like iPods and computers, a home surveillance robot made by WowWee that can be controlled via the internet through a mobile phone, cell phones that function more and more like computers, and, of course, new ways to watch TV.
“It’s a frameless television set,” he says. “There is a smooth and clean edge around their HDTV (High Definition TV). No speakers anywhere to be seen. It’s all coming from the sides and the back of the television set.”
What’s so significant about the annual Consumer Electronics Show, Krasny says, is it provides a formal, large-scale launch pad to introduce products that incorporate new technologies. As an example, he points to Lenovo’s latest laptop computer, which uses facial recognition technology.
The Democratically controlled U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday passed legislation on a 227 - 189 vote to restrict the government’s power to eavesdrop on foreign terrorism suspects. VOA’s Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.
government requests for surveillance. The measure would require that intelligence agencies get a court order to monitor communications between suspected terrorists overseas and people in the United States.
In a written statement, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the legislation would dangerously weaken the US ability to protect the nation from foreign threats.
……Air America is bringing an atheist flavor to the People’s Republic of Madison (the state capitol and home of the liberal fringe in my home state). Some time back the fate of Air America was in question as reports of its demise were apparently premature or wishful thinking. Which raises another question about the Fairness Doctrine debate earlier this year about Conservative Talk Radio and the liberals being all concerned about right wing dominatino of the airwaves. A question that will not be taken up in the current post. But here’s the news from CNS that describes the liberal air in my home state…..
…and to top it off, someone referred to as the editorial cartoonist for the Salt Lake Tribune offered an account of Mitt Romney’s genealogy alleging his Mexican roots. So as a cartoonist is this supposed to be funny or were they really hard up for content to fill the pages whether in print or cyberspace? Being a Romney fan, all the stories about Mormon religion and ‘dissin’ Mitt Romney’s success, abilities and philosophy is getting a bit old. But then this is campaign season and such things must be expected. But one should be able to expect limits of some sort. Ah, what the hell, it gives me the freedom to pound Hillary Rodham Clinton on a regular basis without feeling guilty about those with opposing viewpoints being offended. Because you know liberals are totally, completely and continuously offended by any thought or action that disagrees with their viewpoints. No, I am not kidding.
In the article below from MarketWatch, Apple’s stock price dropped over six percent in the Wednesday/Thursday trading. Steve Jobs may have a winner on his hands and there were obviously enough idiots wanting idiot phones. But for a guy who has pulled off some incredible achievements, he also appears to possess the ability to shoot himself in the foot. Maybe the early wars between Gates and him still haunt.
Remember when telephones had wires. Remember life before cell phones or built-in cameras or wireless internet or GPS tracking or traceless, disposable models? That is when the cost and quality of telephone service were the major complaints. When the phone was a phone the cost and quality of service were the big issues. Now wireless phones are the weapon of choice. Guess what the problem is? The cost and quality of service for making a damn telephone call.