In the News

• Managing Facebook Privacy Settings

Facebook does give you the tools to manage the security of your profile. Users have to take responsibility for taking care of their own data, especially on a site when the data is all about you.

• Halloween's Coming: Trick or Tweet from the FTC

Just in time for Halloween: The Federal Trade Commission has 12 Tweets about protecting yourself, your kids, and your computer when online.

• Police warn of scammer claiming to be from Water Department

Kansas City Police are warning residents to be wary of a scam in which suspects claiming to be with the Kansas City, Mo., Water Services Department call victims and ask for account numbers.

• Dorm room can be prime spot for identity theft

I never would have thought of adding a safe to my dorm-room shopping list 30 years ago, but these days, it's a sign of the times.

• Hacker to Plead Guilty in Major Identity Theft Case

A computer hacker accused of masterminding one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history agreed Friday to plead guilty and serve up to 25 years in federal prison.

• The Perils of Oversharing on Facebook

Over-sharing on Twitter and Facebook has always been annoying, but in recent months over-sharing has been in the news for getting people fired from their jobs.

• Good Privacy Things Come In Small Mobile Packages

Yahoo is now offering a new feature that lets users opt out of interest-based advertising from Yahoo right from their mobile device, making privacy choices even more accessible to users.

• Obama's Remarks on Cyber-Security

Following is the text of President Obama's remarks on Friday on a new White House cybersecurity office, as released by the White House.

• Sensitive data missing from National Archives

The National Archives lost a computer hard drive containing massive amounts of sensitive data from the Clinton administration, including Social Security numbers, addresses, and Secret Service and White House operating procedures.

• Phishers harvest Facebook passwords for profit

Identity thieves that hit Facebook last week with a new round of phishing attacks are harvesting passwords for profit, a security researcher said today.

• Fordham Law Class Collects Personal Info About Scalia; Supreme Ct. Justice Is Steamed

Last year, when law professor Joel Reidenberg wanted to show his Fordham University class how readily private information is available on the Internet, he assigned a group project.

• It's Data Privacy Day: Do You Know Where Your Data Is?

Today is Data Privacy Day, during which we're encouraged to reflect on the state of our data and bolster security where we can--so let's take a closer look at our favorite data privacy tips.

• University of Oregon Laptop Containing Personal Information Stolen

The University of Oregon announced that an employee's laptop containing Youth Transition Program (YTP) participant information was stolen. The laptop contained the names and Social Security numbers of YTP participants from 2004 to 2007.

• Tennessee State Univ. Loses 9,000 Students' Social Security Numbers

A flash drive containing financial information and Social Security numbers of more than 9,000 students was reported missing from the Tennessee State University campus recently.

• Banking customers' personal details sold on eBay

A computer containing banking security details of more than 1 million people has been sold on eBay, bank officials said Tuesday - the latest in a series of losses of personal data in the U.K.

• Student Files Are Exposed on Web Site

The Princeton Review, the test-preparatory firm, accidentally published the personal data and standardized test scores of tens of thousands of Florida students on its Web site, where they were available for seven weeks.

• Justice Breyer Is Among Victims in Data Breach Caused by File Sharing

An employee of a McLean investment firm decided to trade some music, or maybe a movie, with like-minded users of the online file-sharing network LimeWire while using a company computer. In doing so, he inadvertently opened the private files of his firm.

• No Fail-Safe Identity Protection

Plenty of products promise to help consumers avoid identity theft, but none of them is foolproof.

• The impostor in the ER

Could a stranger get care in your name? The scary new crime that threatens your health.

• Keeping data safe

Handhelds pose security challenges for businesses

• Identity Theft Gets Personal

It had been a pleasant Saturday afternoon until I got the dreadful cellphone call. The woman on the other end said she was from Bank of America. I immediately thought she was going to offer me another credit card. I told her I was busy.

• Theft of personal data more than triples this year

Thieves are systematically pilfering sensitive personal data from companies, government agencies, colleges and hospitals like never before

• KU announces findings of investigation into inappropriate disposal of documents

The University of Kansas has completed its investigation into the inappropriate disposal of documents containing personal information from the Department of Mathematics and has been contacting affected parties by phone or mail, officials said today.

• KU launches investigation into release of personal data

The University of Kansas today launched an investigation into the unauthorized release of personal information and records to area media and is pledging to take all necessary steps to protect the private information of students, faculty and staff.

• FERPA Allows More Than You May Realize

Recent campus incidents have highlighted the importance of effective communication among administrators, faculty, and staff, as well as between campus representatives and students, families, and surrounding communities.

• University-owned laptop with student data stolen

Elizabeth Beaumont and the political science department recently got a taste of technology's paradox: Convenience sometimes complicates matters.

• HIPAA audit: The 42 questions HHS might ask

They cover everything from security to employee status to Internet use

• Professor loses student data

A flash drive holding information on about 8,000 current and former Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students was lost by a mathematics professor while on vacation in Madagascar, university officials said Friday.