Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 15:42:25 EST
Errors-To: Comp-privacy Error Handler <comp-privacy-request@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
From: Computer Privacy Digest Moderator <comp-privacy@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
To: Comp-privacy@PICA.ARMY.MIL
Subject: Computer Privacy Digest V1#072
Computer Privacy Digest Sat, 22 Aug 92 Volume 1 : Issue: 072
Today's Topics: Moderator: Dennis G. Rears
Administrivia
Re: Computer Privacy Digest V1#071
Auto Alarm vs Privacy
Feds seek customer records on "Grow-lamps"
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the
effect of technology on privacy. The digest is moderated and
gatewayed into the USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy
(Moderated). Submissions should be sent to
comp-privacy@pica.army.mil and administrative requests to
comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil.
Back issues are available via anonymous ftp on ftp.pica.army.mil
[129.139.160.200].
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Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 15:41:40 EDT
From: Computer Privacy List Moderator <comp-privacy@pica.army.mil>
Subject: Administrivia
Good Afternoon. This is the first digest in over a week. The primary
reason for the slow down is a lack of submissions. Some people have
mentioned to me that the existence of this forum is not well known. If
possible spread the news. Hopefully submissions will pick up.
Dennis
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Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 13:20:09 EDT
From: uunet!Camex.COM!kent@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Re: Computer Privacy Digest V1#071
In Volume 1 : Issue: 071 someone asked about a book. Here are the
details:
By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer
Victor Ostrovsky and Clair Hoy
ISBN 0-312-92614-6 Published by St. Martins (at least in the US)
I enjoyed it, but it made me more paranoid about encrypting personal
communications.
--
Kent Borg kent@camex.com or kentborg@aol.com
H:(617) 776-6899 W:(617) 426-3577
As always, things look better when some costs are left out.
-Economist 3-28-92 p. 94
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Date: 16 Aug 92 18:56:01 EDT
From: Gordon Meyer <72307.1502@compuserve.com>
Subject: Auto Alarm vs Privacy
To: Privacy Digest >INTERNET:comp-privacy@pica.army.mil
The text of a recent magazine advertisement from Pac*Tel extols the virtues
of having their "Teletrac" car alarm, but fails to mention the privacy
issues...of course. The text of the ad follows...[my comments in brackets]
Headline: 24-HOUR MONITORING FOR YOUR CAR.
IT'S PROTECTION JUST LIKE HOME.
Copy:
Now you can protect your vehicle the same way you would protect your
home - with 24-hour monitoring.
With PacTel Teletrac(tm) vehicle security monitoring, one of the Telesis(r)
Services, your car's protected around the clock - 365 days a year. Should
your car be hot-wired (stolen without the key), our Control Center
operators automatically get a signal - then they locate and track your car
on computerized maps until it's recovered by the police.
We're so confident in our 24-hour service, that if your car is stolen and
isn't recovered, we'll pay the difference - up to $50,000 - between what
your insurance company pays and what it costs to replace it with a brand
new one of the same make and model.
If you're serious about car security, call 1-800-XXX-XXXX. Or see an
authorized PacTel Teletrac dealer and drive home the peace of mind you
need.
Fine Print: [blah blah blah] [guarantee valid two years from date of
purchase. No cash value.] [blah blah blah]
END OF COPY
The photos in the ad show the front fender/tire of a red sports car, but
not enough to identify it. The reflection in the hub cap is of a
Plantation-Style home. Obviously appealing to an upscale market. They
also show a drawing of a "radar" type screen with city streets and little
blip with a circle around it. Presumably your car being driven away by
thieves. Finally, they show two men and one woman, staring intently at a
bank of monitors, while wearing some sort of headsets.
In addition to the technical details of how this works, I'm interested in
how the alarm is triggered, and how mad the first person will be that gets
pulled over by police after a malfunction. Finally, can this thing be
activated remotely? How accurate is the tracking mechanism?
Gordon R. Meyer
CIS: 72307,1502 Internet: 72307.1502@compuserve.com GEnie: GRMEYER
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From: Dan Veditz <daniel@borland.com>
Subject: Feds seek customer records on "Grow-lamps"
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 11:56:00 PDT
An AP story in today's paper (21 Aug 1992) date-lined
San Francisco states that Federal prosecutors sought court
orders yesterday to force three local businesses to turn over
their customer lists, sales receipts and shipping records
for indoor "Growing lights" since the start of 1990. They
also want copies of any correspondence mentioning marijuana.
The three companies--Diamond Lights, General Hydroponics,
and Berkeley Indoor Garden Center--refused to turn over the
documents without a court order and are now fighting the
court order on the grounds that the request was too broad
and would violate customer privacy.
From their names I'd guess these businesses sell lots
of "grow-lamps"; with the increasing use of sales-registers
that record customer identification along with each sale how
long until the government starts investigating people who
innocently buy a few of these lamps from the local K-mart,
or any other item that might just possibly be used in some
sort of illegal activity?
-Dan Veditz
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End of Computer Privacy Digest V1 #072
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