Techdirt:Why Is Boeing Storing Direct Deposit Info On A Laptop?

Techdirt:Why Is Boeing Storing Direct Deposit Info On A Laptop?: "Why Is Boeing Storing Direct Deposit Info On A Laptop?
Computers Contributed by Mike on Monday, November 21st, 2005 @ 02:37AM
from the seems-like-an-important-question dept.
Boeing has admitted that a laptop containing private info on 161,000 current and former employees was stolen recently. The data was basically all of the info necessary to do direct deposit of paychecks: names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and, yes, bank account info. The company points out that there's a good chance the thief just wanted the laptop to sell, and has no clue about the information on the machine. That's sort of missing the point, isn't it? The real question is why Boeing keeps such information, unencrypted, on an easily stolen laptop? The company also claims this isn't that worrisome because 'the computer did not have sensitive company information stored on it.' Of course, it would seem that the 161,000 people whose information is now at risk might disagree about just how 'sensitive' the information on the laptop really is. The company's stance seems to be that the sensitive info on its employees isn't the company's sensitive info -- but that seems to show a stunning disregard for the fact that these employees are what make the company valuable.

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Outrage forces review of exotic animal meat buffet - Yahoo! News

Outrage forces review of exotic animal meat buffet - Yahoo! News: "Outrage forces review of exotic animal meat buffet

Fri Nov 18,12:18 PM ET

BANGKOK (AFP) - Outraged wildlife conservationists have forced a top Thai minister to reconsider plans to put exotic animals on the menu of a restaurant in a northern Thailand zoo."

My Dinner With Google

My Dinner With Google: "My Dinner With Google
I Typed 'tofu oranges cauliflower,' And My Computer Concocted a Meal

By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 9, 2005; Page F01

For more than a year, a package of Cambodian tapioca sticks sat in my pantry unopened. Then one evening, I Googled my noodles and ate them.

Google, the almighty Web search engine, is my encyclopedia, dictionary, shopping mart, even private investigator. So it seemed natural to type in 'Cambodian tapioca noodles' and see what recipes Google could rustle up. And rustle it did."

New Scientist Breaking News - Meditation builds up the brain

New Scientist Breaking News - Meditation builds up the brain: "They found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula.

“You are exercising it while you meditate, and it gets bigger,” she says. The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant areas of the cortex. It is further evidence, says Lazar, that yogis “aren’t just sitting there doing nothing'.

The growth of the cortex is not due to the growth of new neurons, she points out, but results from wider blood vessels, more supporting structures such as glia and astrocytes, and increased branching and connections."

Wired News: Seventies Oatmeal Still Tastes OK

Wired News: Seventies Oatmeal Still Tastes OK: "Seventies Oatmeal Still Tastes OK

[Print story] [E-mail story] [Rants + Raves]
Page 1 of 1

By Joanna Glasner | Also by this reporter

02:00 AM Nov. 14, 2005 PT

Next time you feel compelled to clean out the pantry, don't feel bad about putting it off.

A lot of the old food that's gone beyond the manufacturer's expiration date could still be edible for years or decades longer."

Wired News: Boycott Sony

Wired News: Boycott Sony: "Boycott Sony

[Print story] [E-mail story] [Rants + Raves]
Page 1 of 2 next »

By Dan Goodin | Also by this reporter

02:00 AM Nov. 14, 2005 PT

After weeks of criticism, Sony has finally agreed to temporarily stand down on an abusive and likely illegal copy restriction practice. Hold the applause.

On Friday, the world's second-biggest record label pledged to temporarily stop making CDs that leave computers vulnerable to security breaches. This is a step in the right direction, but it does not go nearly far enough toward correcting a serious ethical lapse. In fact, it is proof positive that Sony is unworthy of our trust or our business."

Kevin Kelly -- Cool Tools

Kevin Kelly -- Cool Tools: "ProMash
Home-brewing software

promash.jpg

For the closet beer geek in all of us, ProMash allows a brewer to virtually brew a recipe before ever setting foot in the home or professional brewery. It frees the user from the tedious 'carry the 1' calculations that abound in the brewing process and helps you keep track of the history of a beer as it develops over time. Updates are provided yearly, free of charge to registered owners.

-- Drew Beechum"

CIA slipped bugs to Soviets - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

CIA slipped bugs to Soviets - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com: "CIA slipped bugs to Soviets
Memoir recounts Cold War technological sabotage"

In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official.

quote to savor

To write it, it took three months; to conceive it - three minutes; to collect the data in it - all my life - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Personal Tech Pipeline | 'NBC Nightly News' to Be Shown on Internet

Personal Tech Pipeline | 'NBC Nightly News' to Be Shown on Internet: "'NBC Nightly News' to Be Shown on Internet



By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC News said Monday that it would begin making its 'NBC Nightly News' broadcast available for free on the Internet starting next week.

Past broadcasts will also be archived at the http://www.nightlynews.msnbc.com Web site, the network said.

It's not necessarily news on demand, though. The newscast, aired at 6:30 p.m. on many NBC stations on the East Coast, won't be available on the Web until after 10 p.m. ET.

'Many of our viewers tell me they often miss the broadcast because they're not at home or tending to their busy lives and families,' anchor Brian Williams said. 'This new service reflects the fact that the pace of our lives has changed.'

The first newscast available o"