In the United States, the number of hospitals that are adopting electronic medical records is continuously increasing. In a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, a surge in patient data breaches because of insufficient funding has also been posted. From 2010 to 2011 alone, there was a recorded 32% increase in data breach incidents. To ensure patient privacy, hospitals say that enough funding should be approved by the agency concerned.

The health care industry translates the cost of lost records to an estimated $6.5 billion in just the span of 1 year. Almost one-half of health organizations that were surveyed attributed these incidents to lost or stolen devices. There were 72 hospitals and health care providers that were surveyed, but the organizations were not named.

Smart phone owners have to deal with one of the newest security threats that are creating diverse reactions. Trevor Eckhart, a security researcher, posted a 17-minute video which gave details of some installed hidden software. The video showed that the software is able to log numerous details about most of the user’s activities. Particularly, the software known as Carrier IQ, logs all text messages, Google searches and phone numbers that are typed in by the user. After gathering this information, it is then reported to the mobile phone carrier. In addition to this, the software is able to log the web addresses of websites searched by the phone owner, even if he or she uses “https” URLs for encrypted data.

Most mobile devices today that operate on Android OS come with the software installed by default. Eckhart said that the user is not aware that it runs in the background and doing what it is programmed to do. But even if the user is aware of it, he or she can do nothing to stop it, added the researcher. He called the software a “rootkit”, one that can be found in malware.

Additional information was found about Carrier IQ when the researcher was able to get hold of the training materials posted on the software company’s website. He was thinking then that the company might take the files offline, so he copied the training materials. He was right because the files became unavailable right after he posted his analysis.

The world seems to be closing in on everyone’s privacy. Different privacy issues emerge here and there, and people are likely to lose this one important aspect of their lives. It is not only online privacy that has cried out for the attention of privacy advocates. This time, shopping cards have been included on the list of items that pose privacy risks.

It has been said that supermarkets are collecting a wealth of data via electronic shopper cards, or e-cards. This collected information could then be linked with some other biometric technology, and with additional technology, a person’s in-depth personal database could be formed. To make matters worse, this may happen without the permission or knowledge of the person concerned.

How did shopping cards get onto the list of items that pose privacy risks? Researches were conducted to get a picture of how stores lure people into using them. Card experts say that there is nothing special about e-cards even though they are advertised as giving savings benefits to shoppers. There are no real savings since the prices of the items that are included in the “deals” are actually inflated.

Faster web browsing speed is one of the capabilities that users most want, and look for in a browser. With lots of information waiting to be accessed, innovations and improvements in web browsing technology are always on the move. One after another, products are introduced, promising better online experiences and improved features. Amazon has just set the date of November 15, 2011 for the release of its newest tablet, Kindle Fire. Amazon foresees that this will be the closest competitor of the iPad.

The product is a full-color, 8GB, 7-inch multi-touch tablet and uses Silk as its browser. Among its many improved capabilities, Silk boasts of a faster surfing speed and increased battery life as its major advantages. Amazon will use its Elastic Compute Cloud, or EC2, in order to route all web connections from the Kindle Fire to the web page. From this process, it is clear that “everything” between the users and the internet passes through Amazon’s EC2.

Privacy concerns were once again triggered by the aforementioned fact. One blogger wrote that all of the user’s web surfing habits will have to pass through Amazon’s Cloud. He added that there is no doubt that Amazon will have every opportunity to track everything that you do online. In fact, Amazon has stated this fact in its Terms and Conditions for using Silk. It specifically acknowledged that URLs and certain identifiers will stay in its server for 30 days.

Facebook is considered a giant in the field of social networking. It does not stop making improvements and changes in its features that are aimed at improving user experience. Always considering the privacy of its users, Facebook is constantly ahead, thinking of new ways to please millions of people. The company has had its share of criticisms, but it never gives up resolving every issue. Many times it has received disapproval from people because of the way it builds a large group of online friends. However, it has tried even harder to venture into new user experiences, and it is succeeding.

A newly introduced feature allows users to create their own “vanity”, or customized URL. This time, it is made more accessible because now users can register their pages more easily. Before, Facebook required that the newly created page should have at least 25 “Likes” before it could be registered. The reason for this is that the page should be liked in order to guarantee its acceptability by other users.

The vanity URL is an alternative offered to users who want to build a new page, but who also want to get a unique URL that is not difficult to remember. This was once the concern of those who wanted to endorse a cause or a brand. This better option will now allow the user to select a username that is not only unique, but is also shorter and easier to remember.

Reports from Internetnews.com state that NebuAd, creators of the very controversial behavioral targeting technology, recently announced they will stop their ad-targeting campaign. This comes shortly after many of their clients (such as CableOne) dropped NebuAd over privacy concerns and a Congressional hearing. In a statement made by NebuAd, they stated, “plans for wide spread deployment via the Internet service provider channel are delayed to allow time for Congress to spend additional time addressing the privacy issues and policies associated with online behavioral advertising.” Along with the project being halted and ISPs canceling their contracts, CEO and co-founder Bob Dykes resigned.

NebuAd’s behavioral targeting campaign was supposed to keep information anonymous and only collect and store pertinent information so that online advertisements could reflect an individuals tastes and offer products that they are more likely to want to purchase. The above mentioned ISP was one of the many multiple service operators that had contracts with NebuAd for their state-of-the-art services. ISPs have been tracking and recording their users’ information and selling it to the highest bidder, which in many cases was NebuAd. While this concept seemed like a good idea, privacy advocates and security experts called it “browser high jacking,” and made it clear that an ISP could be breaking federal wiretapping laws by using NebuAd.

NebuAd required the ISPs they contracted with to inform their users of the ad-tracking campaign. ISPs did inform their users, but in many cases did not allow them to opt-out of having their Internet privacy jeopardized. Also, many of the ISPs did not specifically tell their users what was happening, but just made small modifications to their privacy policies. Embarq, for example, stated in their privacy policy: “The Web sites that you visit or online searches that you conduct” may be used to “deliver or facilitate the delivery of targeted advertisements.” On a side note–only 15 Embarq users opted out. Who should be blamed then? Is NebuAd at fault for developing the eavesdropping software, or is it the fault of the ISPs who don’t tell their users they are being spied on and then sell the information? The next step is for Congress to introduce legislation requiring explicit consent from users that way they know and willingly allow their information to be collected.

As an avid reader with more than a casual interest in privacy, I tend to find interesting sites on the topic of privacy. Today I found Protecting Personal and Financial Privacy, a blog by Mike Valentine. Not only does he write well, I found the articles thoughtful.

His latest post discusses AOL and behavioral targeting. He points out that people are careless with their personal information. This is the point we’ve been making on this blog since we started it. Privacy starts with personal responsibility. If you give up your personal information too easily, you forfeit your right to privacy.

GovGab is an important tool for staying up to date on government legislation and resources. The blog posts vary by many different topics, with some of the newer ones focusing on keeping your food from spoiling during a power outage or discovering disabilityinfo.gov. The blog also breaks down into different categories so you can search for the things you are interested in.

The part of the blog I would like to focus on is one of their more recent posts. It is focused on privacy protection. The most important part of the posts points us to a list of privacy resources aimed at helping us maintain privacy. The resource page is set up with government and non-government sponsored websites that are all focused on helping us keep our privacy.

The resource page has just about any topic you could need to know about. It does have a lot of articles and resources for protecting children online, which is always a major concern. Other areas include financial information, identity theft protection, medical records privacy and Internet privacy. The resources site has a lot to offer and can keep you busy for a long time. Along with privacy resources, the resources site allows you to locate local officials, find information on a business, and get resources for teachers and consumers.

Ultimately the blog is a great source of information from our government. It does a great job of keeping the postings entertaining and not just focused on politics and policies.

Privacy International has been around for almost 20 years and works hard day-in and day-out to protect our personal privacy from corporations and governments. They are the oldest privacy advocacy group and the first of its kind international resource for privacy protection. Headquartered in London, with a U.S. headquarters in Washington D.C., they describe themselves as a chameleon-like group that advocates privacy but can also be a troublemaker. Privacy International’s advisory group is not afraid to dive into a controversial campaign in order to protect privacy. Privacy International is a very involved privacy advocate group that uses the power of the pen to conduct studies and write reports that will benefit privacy for all.

Privacy International’s website is very easy to use and navigate. It contains a listing of “Top News” articles that they are directly involved in, continues with a Key Resources section, followed by News and Developments and lastly a Reports/Studies/Campaigns section. The website also offers specific subject areas that offer more in depth coverage and information in such areas as: data protection and privacy laws, financial surveillance, and national ID cards. You can also search issues by specific privacy related keywords.