NewsScan Daily: July 8, 2003
"SAFE & SOUND IN THE CYBER AGE WITH CHEY & STEPHEN COBB
This week, security consultants Chey and Stephen Cobb devote their NewsScan Daily column to the question: 'Guess Who's Got To Do Better?'
*
Does your company Web site contain statements that assure consumers any personal information they impart to you will be secure and protected? Do you visit Web sites that offer such assurances? Well, those assurances had better be more than mere words, otherwise the Federal Trade Commission may come knocking. Which is good news for consumers, on whose behalf the FTC has become an Internet security watchdog with teeth.
And it's also good news for companies that go the extra mile to get security right. The FTC has now established, very firmly, that it is not only unfair for competitors to gain an edge by skimping on the security budget, it is also illegal. The FTC accomplished this with three landmark settlements, the third of which was handed down last month, although the decision was somewhat eclipsed by excitement over the commission's Do Not Call list.
The first of these settlements was with Eli Lilly (see NewsScan, December 12, 2002) and we should point out that Stephen and his colleagues at ePrivacy Group assisted the FTC in that case, helping to assess the problem and determine what form the settlement should take. That case involved the inadvertent disclosure of PII or personally identifiable information (specifically the email addresses of persons who had expressed and interest in Prozac). The second of the three cases was Microsoft, which was not accused of exposing PII, but"
"SAFE & SOUND IN THE CYBER AGE WITH CHEY & STEPHEN COBB
This week, security consultants Chey and Stephen Cobb devote their NewsScan Daily column to the question: 'Guess Who's Got To Do Better?'
*
Does your company Web site contain statements that assure consumers any personal information they impart to you will be secure and protected? Do you visit Web sites that offer such assurances? Well, those assurances had better be more than mere words, otherwise the Federal Trade Commission may come knocking. Which is good news for consumers, on whose behalf the FTC has become an Internet security watchdog with teeth.
And it's also good news for companies that go the extra mile to get security right. The FTC has now established, very firmly, that it is not only unfair for competitors to gain an edge by skimping on the security budget, it is also illegal. The FTC accomplished this with three landmark settlements, the third of which was handed down last month, although the decision was somewhat eclipsed by excitement over the commission's Do Not Call list.
The first of these settlements was with Eli Lilly (see NewsScan, December 12, 2002) and we should point out that Stephen and his colleagues at ePrivacy Group assisted the FTC in that case, helping to assess the problem and determine what form the settlement should take. That case involved the inadvertent disclosure of PII or personally identifiable information (specifically the email addresses of persons who had expressed and interest in Prozac). The second of the three cases was Microsoft, which was not accused of exposing PII, but"