Eyeing more secure alternatives to Social Security numbers, lawmakers in the U.S. are looking abroad. Today, the Senate Commerce Committee questioned former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Verizon chief privacy officer Karen Zacharia and both the current and former CEOs of Equifax on how to protect consumers against major data breaches. The consensus was that Social Security numbers have got to go. Rounding out the panel, Entrust Datacard president and CEO Todd Wilkinson offered some context and insight about why the U.S. should indeed move away from Social Security numbers — a step that the witnesses…
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White House Wants To End Social Security Numbers As A National ID | Ars Technica
Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity czar, said on Tuesday that the government should end using the Social Security number as a national identification method. “I believe the Social Security number has outlived its usefulness,” said Joyce, while speaking at The Washington Post’s Cybersecurity Summit. “Every time we use the Social Security number, you put it at risk.” One problem with the Social Security number, he said, is that a victim of identity theft cannot get it changed after it has been stolen. Joyce’s comments come a month after the Equifax hack,…
Read MoreCanada’s NAFTA Negotiators Must Do More To Protect Canadians’ Data From U.S.: Privacy Experts – National | Globalnews.ca
OTTAWA – Concern is growing that federal negotiators aren’t doing enough to protect the personal information of Canadians from prying U.S. interests at the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Information technology companies and other digital economy insiders say federal negotiators appeared unprepared during this week’s third round of talks to counter an American proposal that would forbid the storage of sensitive data in computing facilities on Canadian soil. Some warned that Canada appeared soft on the issue and might concede to the American demands in the interest of horse-trading…
Read MoreGasoline Analyst Questions N.S.’s Regulated System After Price Swings – Nova Scotia – CBC News
Nova Scotians have had gas prices spike three times in the last two weeks, with the Utility and Review Board invoking the interrupter clause on Sept. 2 to raise the price. (The Associated Press) A petroleum analyst is questioning Nova Scotia’s practice of setting weekly gas prices after large recent swings in the cost of filling up. Dan McTeague with gasbuddy.com said the price of gasoline on global markets has been steadily going down since Hurricane Harvey caused it to spike, and dropped “dramatically so as early as late last week.” He’s criticizing the Nova…
Read MoreEquifax Faces Mounting Pressure After Data Breach As CAA Reveals 10,000 Clients Hit – Business – CBC News
Equifax Canada is facing intensifying calls for transparency on its massive cyberhack as the Canadian Automobile Association informs thousands of its members that their data may have been compromised and frustrated consumers ask questions about why they’re being treated worse than their U.S. counterparts. CAA said Thursday it partnered with Equifax on its identity protection program and is notifying the roughly 10,000 members who participated that they may have had sensitive data divulged in the security breach made public last week. The auto organization’s program required members to register their…
Read MoreAs Risky As It Sounds, A Hands-Off Approach To Driverless Vehicle Safety May Save Lives – Business – CBC News
The latest U.S. government guidelines hand a lot of the responsibility for the safety of autonomous vehicles over to the companies that make them, but a Canadian expert says that may be the best option, and ultimately the decision will save thousands of lives. “We’re [in between] a rock and a hard place.” says Paul Godsmark of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE), which provides consulting services, analysis and recommendations to government, public sector agencies and private industry on automated vehicle deployment. “It’s really a fascinating problem.” The Trump…
Read More‘U.S. Policy Is Not To Defend Canada’ From ICBMs, NORAD Deputy Commander Says | CTV News
OTTAWA – Current U.S. policy directs the American military not to defend Canada if it is targeted in a ballistic missile attack, says the top Canadian officer at the North American Aerospace Defence Command. “We’re being told in Colorado Springs that the extant U.S. policy is not to defend Canada,” said Lt.-Gen. Pierre St-Amand, deputy commander of Colorado-based Norad. “That is the policy that’s stated to us. So that’s the fact that I can bring to the table.” St-Amand delivered that revelation Thursday during an appearance before the House of…
Read MoreMany Canadians With Homes In Florida Likely Excluded From Insurance Requirements, Disaster Relief – National | Globalnews.ca
As Hurricane Irma barrels toward southern Florida, what do Canadians who own property in the state need to know? Florida is the U.S.’s most popular destination for Canadian homebuyers, according to a 2017 report by the National Association of Realtors. More than half a million Canadians own property there, according to a 2013 tally by the Bank of Montreal. Many of those homes might be on Irma’s path, but Canadians who don’t have U.S. citizenship, permanent residence or a U.S. work visa don’t qualify for federally-backed mortgages, which require flood insurance.…
Read MoreTaxpayer Deal Saves Cape Breton Rail Line For At Least One More Year | CTV Atlantic News
HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government has bought a further one-year reprieve for a money-losing section of railway in Cape Breton, paying $720,000 in a deal that will help keep the tracks from being ripped up by the line’s U.S.-based owner. Business Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan said Friday the one-year “preservation agreement” would cover expenses on the line formerly operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway. MacLellan said parent company Genesee and Wyoming has agreed not to apply to abandon a portion of the rail line…
Read MoreNova Scotia Gas Prices Jump As Weather Rages In Texas – Nova Scotia – CBC News
Storm weather in Texas may be miles away from Nova Scotia but it’s having an effect on the price of gas here. On Friday, regular gasoline in Nova Scotia jumped seven cents to $1.13 per litre; diesel is up two cents per litre at $0.99. Dan McTeague, a petroleum analyst with the website GasBuddy.com, said those spikes are just the start and there is “definitely more to come.” “The increases that we are paying today is about half of what we’ve seen in, say, other parts of eastern Canada,” McTeague…
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