INFORMATION
Beyond Print: IT Security
01/30/2012 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Commerce Department have asked for feedback on ways to create a “voluntary industry code of conduct” to combat botnets. Read the comments online.
Beyond Print: Investigations
01/30/2012 - A federal appeals court has ruled that authorities may take DNA samples from persons arrested but not yet been convicted. The justices wrote that the practice was reasonable given the arrestees’ diminished expectations of privacy and the legitimate interests in the collection of DNA from these individuals.
Beyond Print: Legal Issues
01/30/2012 - A student who created a MySpace page to ridicule another student is not protected by the First Amendment. A federal appeals court ruled that the school’s discipline of the student was permissible because “the student used the Internet to orchestrate a targeted attack on a classmate.” Other courts have ruled that students’ social media postings are protected so long as they do not cause disruptions and are created off school property.
Beyond Print: Research & Studies
01/30/2012 - The North American electrical power system could potentially collapse due to a giant geomagnetic storm. Congress has held hearings but critics say that not enough is being done. Read the testimony and judge for yourself.
Beyond Print: Personnel Protection
01/30/2012 - A subcontractor is responsible for the actions of an employee who accidentally ran over another worker on a job site. An appeals court found that the employee furthered the overall progress of the project and “the resulting risk of injury was inherent to the enterprise.”
Beyond Print: Privacy
01/30/2012 - A government employee may proceed with her invasion of privacy claim against her employer. The employee was filmed during a shower, and the images were posted on the computer network, available to all employees in the workplace.
Beyond Print: IT Security
01/30/2012 - This relatively inexpensive application can help track Apple and Android mobile devices and also offers a host of additional security features.
Beyond Print: Workplace Violence
01/30/2012 - The FBI released its annual gang threat assessment. The report found that numerous gangs have infiltrated the military.
Beyond Print: Legal Issues
01/30/2012 - New York’s high court has ruled that The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is immune from liability for the 1993 World Trade Center (WTC) bombing. According to the court, the port authority was acting in a “governmental capacity” at the time of the bombing and, thus, has legal immunity.
Schools: Legal Issues
12/20/2011 - A university did not violate a mortuary science student’s rights to free speech when it sanctioned her for writing that she wanted to “stab a certain someone in the throat” on her Facebook page. The court found that the student’s posts could be construed as serious threats and that the university had the right to address potentially threatening conduct.
Law Enforcement: Legal Issues
12/20/2011 - A federal appeals court has ruled that police officers in two separate incidents engaged in unreasonable force when discharging their Tasers. However, because case law was not established at the time of the incidents, the officers are protected from liability.
Legal Issues: Legal Issues
12/20/2011 - The New Jersey Supreme Court has handed down a list of new rules regarding the admission of eyewitness testimony in court. Read the full ruling online.
Legal Issues: Workplace Violence
12/20/2011 - A female neurosurgeon has been awarded $1.6 million in damages on a hostile work environment claim. The jury found that the surgeon was belittled by a male colleague, who called her “a little girl,” and asked whether she could really perform a “big operation.”