Renewed concern over 'digital Pearl Harbor'
Posted: Tuesday, January 29 at 06:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
From the moment U.S. top cybercop Richard Clarke uttered the words "digital Pearl Harbor" in 2000, the technology world has been engaged in bitter debate: Could hackers really cause as much chaos with computers as terrorists armed with bombs and guns? Or are security experts simply spreading fear and trying to sell products when they talk about cyber attacks?
The discussion had died down until recently, owing to the fact that no digital Pearl Harbor ever occurred.
But then came reports late last year that Chinese nationals were actively attacking computers run by the U.S. government and private British companies, all of which were vehemently denied by the Chinese government.
Now security expert Alan Paller has fanned the flames, quoting a CIA agent as saying that hacker-profiteers had carried out the mother of all hack attacks -- taking power plants offline and extorting their owners for cash.
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Digital picture frames infected with virus
Posted: Wednesday, January 23 at 06:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Digital picture frames were one of the hit gifts this holiday season, but at least some consumers have ended up with an unwelcome extra present -- a computer virus.
Electronics retailer Best Buy acknowledged this weekend that some private label Insignia 10-inch digital frames it sold over the holiday season were contaminated with a unidentified virus. The frames have now been pulled from store shelves and the product discontinued, Best Buy said in a statement.
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The doctor will see your credit now
Posted: Friday, January 18 at 04:32 am CT by Bob Sullivan
The folks who invented the credit score for lenders are hard at work developing a similar tool for hospitals and other health care providers.
The project, dubbed “MedFICO” in some early press reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score. They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health care that patients receive.
Fair Issac Corp., developer of the FICO credit score, is one of several investors in Healthcare Analytics, the Massachusetts start-up that is developing the hospital risk tool. Another investor is Tenet Healthcare Corp, one of the nation's largest hospital operators. Stephen Farber, who resigned as chief financial officer of Tenet in 2004, is the CEO of Healthcare Analytics.
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How Red Tape became 'Gotcha Capitalism'
Posted: Tuesday, January 15 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
If you're like most Americans, you feel you're getting screwed all the time. When you open your monthly bills, rent a car or sign up for pay television service, you hear that tiny voice inside saying "Watch out!" You're not paranoid. You're merely paying attention. Hidden fees cost the average American consumer nearly $1,000 a year, $5 or $10 at a time, new research shows.
For the past two years, I've been writing about the kinds of 21st century headaches that lead to consumer paranoia and compiling them in the Red Tape Chronicles. In response, more than 50,000 of you have left comments on the blog. Sometimes you criticize me and my conclusions, sometimes you cheer me, but most of the time you come to share your complaints about unfair companies and government policies. In the past year I've heard from a father whose daughter ran up a $10,000 cell phone bill, a man who lost his entire $179,000 retirement fund to a hacker and countless others who paid hundreds of dollars in surprise bank overdraft charges.
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Sneaky fee alert: rental car 'top off'
Posted: Friday, January 11 at 07:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
You know all about rental car gas roulette: Either pay in advance for gas you'll never use, or bet that you'll have enough time to fill up the tank before you drop off the car. You might even know that some companies insist on a receipt as proof you've filled the tank if you take the second option.
But now, there’s a third possibility: Pay up regardless. Some rental car locations are charging an extra fee to consumers who return their cars with a full tank. This "top-off fee" is being charged even if consumers present evidence they have that the tank is full. In other words, you're dinged if you do and dinged if you don't.
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CES: But will these things work?
Posted: Tuesday, January 8 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
In a quiet, nearly empty conference room on the other side of the city from the 140,000 enthusiasts cramming the Las Vegas Convention Center, a roomful of wet blankets was discussing a dirty little secret of the high-tech industry, a small sacrilege during this annual celebration of all things geek.
Sure, all these gadgets are cool, but do they work? If past history is any indication, often, they often won't. Here's that dirty little secret, unearthed by the group of consultants from Accenture: Product returns cost the tech industry $14 billion each year, a huge chunk for a $200 billion business. The Accenture group will be releasing a study on gadget product returns later this week, but I got an early peek. Their main finding is this: Consumers often can't figure out how to use many of the gadgets they buy, and a sizable portion of those gadgets end up right back at the store.
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ATM crime wave limits access to cash
Posted: Friday, January 4 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Citibank is using the rather blunt instrument of lowering some customers’ daily ATM cash withdrawal limits to fight a recent spate of cash machine fraud. The company said Thursday that the change impacts "a small population of customers" in New York City, but would not provide additional details.
It's not clear how much daily withdrawal limits were lowered, but the New York Daily News spoke with one consumer who said her limit had been cut in half.
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