Ski Resort Data Breach

Hackers have compromised a computer system at a ski resort and thousands of credit card files may have been exposed. Okemo Mountain Resort is reporting the security breach:

“…The ski resort said Monday that hackers broke into its computer network and potentially gained access to credit card data from 28,168 transactions between Feb. 7 and Feb. 22 and 18,401 credit cards between January and March 2006.”

link: Okemo Mountain Resort target of credit card breach

For an identity thief, this is a lucrative data base. The ski resort customers would be a data base which would have significant spending activity. As such, there may be frequent activity on these credit cards and additional activity on these cards would not arouse suspicion. This data breach is reported as covering an extended period of time. It would be prudent for anyone who has been at this resort to take the necessary identity theft precautions.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]data breach, privacy, security, identity theft, okemo mountain resort, credit cards, hackers[/tag]

MySpace, A Lawsuit, and Personal Responsibility

A lawsuit against MySpace may go forward. A judgment is pending in an Appeals Court. It is a horrid crime. However, the onus of responsibility is debatable:

“NEW ORLEANS - The family of a teenage girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on MySpace.com asked a federal appeals court Monday to revive their lawsuit against the social networking Web site.”

link: Family seeks to revive MySpace-assault lawsuit

An analogous situation may be that one buys an automobile from Toyota. In using the vehicle, the person does not lock the doors and takes the car into a dangerous neighbourhood. A crime ensues. It does not seem that Toyota is responsible for your safety. It would appear that it is one’s own personal responsibility.

There are thousands upon thousands of media stories about the perils of social networking. Privacy and security are stressed. It is not that these internet sites have minimized the dangers. The lawsuit seems to place the onus of responsibility on the website; in this case, MySpace. As horrendous as the crime is, it seems that the responsibility is misplaced to sue MySpace for errors in judgment and placing oneself in jeopardy.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Doing Backups With a Virtual Hard Drive

Doing backups is a weekly routine for me. I do backups of the desktop hard drive more frequently if there are some important changes on the files that I have used. Because external hard drives are so small and are plug and play on most systems, I also cart along an external hard drive with my laptop. To some, this might be excessive but a calamity on any of the machines would cost me time that I cannot afford. In addition, some of the data are irreplaceable. Therefore, I am a regular purchaser of hard drives that I use in the external enclosures.

For the sake of not carting about so much equipment, some tech people have encouraged me to look at backing up via a virtual hard drive:

“…Enter the online backup service. Some provide space on a web-connected storage server so you can manually upload files, while others provide automated backup software that trawls your hard disk, backing up the contents of folders that you have selected for safekeeping to a ‘virtual hard disk’.

The software runs unobtrusively in the background and every time you add a new file or make changes to an existing file, the backup tool ensures that the changes are made to the stored copy.”

link: How to back up online

The aforementioned article by Andrew Zarkesh is a very good introduction to doing backups online. I have yet to try it. The system that I used has worked for me and I am a bit reluctant to change. I am sure that much of that is superstitious behaviour on my part. However, in the very near future, I will be carrying about additional equipment from place to place. Therefore, I am about to venture into online storage. As a precursor, I am trying to learn as much about the positives and negative attribute of saving data in this manner. I am cautious and I keep in mind that DIY can mean… “destroy it yourself”.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]backup, security, virtual hard drive, storage, andrew zarkesh[/tag]

Audio Book for Kids - A Perspective

It seems that a company is filling a possible consumer niche. If the parents are too busy to read to the kids, there is now the possibility to download audio books for the children:

“…Audible Inc. on Monday launched a Web site where families can choose from over 3,500 children’s listenable books that can be purchased and downloaded.”

link: Audiblekids.com launches a new Web site for children’s books

It seems the time reading and interacting with a child can be replaced with purchased downloads. There may be a market for such a service. However, it seems that it replaces precious time with the child. The interaction is important. Seeing the child develop, being part of that and offering parental input are significant. It seems that this is somewhat disingenuous to tout the service as helping “to develop critical literacy skills”. Where is the data to support that contention?

It seems that the critical factor is ‘people’ - and not purchased downloads.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Sasha Vujacic: A Shooter’s Mentality

Sasha Vujacic is a shooting guard for the L.A. Lakers. In a March 28th game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Sasha Vujacic and Kobe Bryant showed what can be called a ’shooter’s mentality’. It is the unshakeable belief that the next shot will be good.

On that night, the Lakers took forty five three point shots. Kobe Bryant took seventeen of those three point attempts. He made nine of them. Sasha Vujacic had fourteen three point attempts. He made four of those attempts:

link: Grizzlies / Lakers Box Score

One would think that Sasha would try something else if the shots were not successful. Perhaps he could have tried to make a lay-up or take a couple of dribbles to be closer to the hoop. However, the ’shooter’s mentality’ prevents that. Some may see the continuous attempts at three point shots to be hubris, a form of arrogance. Another viewpoint is that it is the confidence that these players have in their abilities. The next shot will find the netting. There is no doubt.

Catherine

Dith Pran: 1942 - 2008

Dith Pran was a Cambodian journalist, a first witness to a dark time in his native land. He survived the atrocities of Cambodia:

“…Schanberg helped Dith’s family get out but was forced to leave his friend behind after the capital fell; they were not reunited until Dith escaped four and a half years later. Eventually, Dith resettled in the United States and went to work as a photographer for the Times.”

link: ‘Killing Fields’ Survivor Dith Pran Dies

Dith Pran found a second home land in the United States, a country that he dearly loved - unabashedly.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]dith pran, cambodia, reporter, photographer, patriot[/tag]

Antioch University: June 2007 Data Breach Made Public in March 2008

There is another data breach at an educational institution:

“YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio—A computer system at Antioch University that contained personal information on about 70,000 people was breached by an unauthorized intruder three times last year, the school said Friday.”

link: Computer breach hits Antioch University

The data breach involves all that is necessary for identity theft. Names and social securities numbers were compromised. What is confusing is that these “breaches occurred on June 9, June 10 and Oct. 11″. These incidents are made public today, March 28, 2008.

The delay is baffling.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]data breach, privacy, security, identity theft, antioch university, notification, delay[/tag]

An Isaac Asimov Quote

“I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.”

Isaac Asimov

[tag]isaac asimov, quote, speed[/tag]

An Isaac Asimov Quote

“I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.”

Isaac Asimov

Andrew Bynum: Conditioning, Rehabilitation and Practicing Three Point Shots

How far the L.A. Lakers advance in this year’s post season play may rest with the recovery made by the injured players. One player that Lakers fans hope to see back soon is Andrew Bynum. Here is a video of some of the rehabilitation regime:

link: Inside Andrew Bynum’s Rehab

It is questionable whether practicing three point shots is part of the therapeutic process. Nevertheless, inside some seven foot centers, there beats the heart of a point guard wanting to dribble up to the three point line and take a long jump shot…

Catherine