Friday news and notes

As I write:

*SGT Mark's Australian shepherd is running around the yard with a flower pot on his head. He does this quite often. Pictures to follow this weekend.

*I am having very minor surgery this morning that should produce a major change in our lives. By sticking a permanent tube in my right ear, I should be able to hear everything that Gayle says to me...for the first time in 25 years. Not sure that's a good thing :)

*Weather has broken here. Windows are open and dogs are coming and going as they please into the back yard. Hope it holds for a while.

*From today's Washington Post:

Soldiers' Data Still Being Downloaded Overseas, Firm Says
Sensitive Information Found by Using 'Peer to Peer' File-Sharing Software

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 2, 2009

The personal data of tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers -- including those in the Special Forces -- continue to be downloaded by unauthorized computer users in countries such as China and Pakistan, despite Army assurances that it would try to fix the problem, according to a private firm that monitors cybersecurity.

Tiversa, which scours the Internet for sensitive data, discovered the data breaches while conducting research for private clients. The company found, as recently as this week, documents containing Social Security numbers, blood types, cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses, and the names of soldiers' spouses and children.

The availability of such data, security experts say, exacerbates the threat of identity theft and retaliation against troops on sensitive missions. In addition to using the information to drain financial accounts, hackers could pose as soldiers in an effort to ferret out sensitive data, including passwords to government systems.

Such disclosures represent a "major security risk" to the service members and the military, said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which was informed of the data breach by Tiversa.

The rest of the story can be found here.