E-Commerce ALERTS - Archive 2004

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TOP 5 PRIVACY ISSUES FOR 2005

Emerging trends from our research suggest that individuals view their right to privacy as increasingly important and worry about how organizations collect, use and share their personal information. Other concerns include cybercrime, abusive marketing and loss of civil liberties — MORE

RFID BECOMES THE LATEST PRIVACY BATTLEGROUND

RFID is becoming the latest battleground over privacy issues because it's possible the technology could allow products to be tracked to customers' homes and beyond. Privacy advocates worry that the tags will link to personal information about the purchasers and enable retailers to track everything consumers buy without their knowledge — MORE

TRAVEL SECURITY: DO YOU KNOW THESE 7 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR DATA?

The emerging issues of identity theft and spyware are elevating the threat of data loss for travelers. Two Toronto firms are raising the issue of the threat to user information at airport Internet access points, Internet cafes and in hotels — MORE

.CA DOMAIN HOLDERS: IMPORTANT SECURITY ADVISORY

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is advising dot-ca domain registrants (holders of dot-ca domain names) NOT TO RESPOND OR REPLY TO ANY EMAILS requesting verification of CIRA User Account Numbers and Passwords — MORE

5 POPULAR HOLIDAY SHOPPING SCAMS

While you are looking for the perfect gifts, con artists will be looking for the perfect target. This holiday season, don't get taken by these popular scams — MORE

PET SHOP'S DATA SECURITY BREACHED OWN PRIVACY POLICY

Petco Animal Supplies has settled charges brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over security flaws in its web site that exposed customer data, including credit card numbers, despite assuring users that their details would be protected — MORE

APPLE LAUNCHES iTUNES MUSIC STORE IN CANADA

Apple launched its revolutionary iTunes Music Store in Canada, giving music fans in Canada the same innovative features and breakthrough price of $0.99 CDN per song that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world — MORE

LIES, DAMN LIES AND COMPUTER SECURITY

During a break in a series of discussions on the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance for Canadian healthcare players, one of the attendees regaled the group with a long brag about how his company's techies had defeated a phishing attack — MORE

IDENTITY THEFT AND THE BIOMETRIC SOLUTION

The more information we give out, or have on file, the easier it is for us to go about our business. At the same time it also makes it easier for our identities to be stolen. Precautionary methods have been taken by individuals and various government programs, but it has done little to combat the problem — MORE

THE ESSENTIAL HOLIDAY SEASON WEB-STORE MAKEOVER

As Web-goers gear up for their Christmas shopping sprees, there are things you can do quickly and easily to inspire confidence. Here are some surefire ways to turn browsers into buyers and buyers into regular customers — MORE

THE RISK OF AT-WORK SURFERS

Network security is a high priority for every business, yet most employees are unaware of the potential security hazards of surfing the Web during office hours, a recent survey said — MORE

ONLINE SHOPPING 5 TIPS: MAKING ONLINE SHOPPING WORK FOR YOU

In the next six years, online sales will grow at a 15 percent compound annual growth rate, says Forrester Research. In the next six years, online sales will more than double from $144 billion in 2004 to $331 billion in 2010. Thirteen percent of all retail sales will be online — MORE

GUESS WHO IS READING YOUR E-MAIL?

PCWorld.com reporter Daniel Tynan warns that work space is not private space. "In fact, if you think you have any real privacy on the job, you're laboring under a delusion," he writes — MORE

ONLINE SHOPPERS LESS DETERRED BY FRAUD

Consumers aren't letting concerns about Internet fraud deter them from shopping online, according to new findings by ACNielsen International Research — MORE

CONSUMERS REMAIN VULNERABLE TO IDENTITY THEFT

American consumers continue to surrender too much personal information over the phone or the Internet, leaving themselves vulnerable to identity theft, according to the 2004 Identity Management Survey — MORE

THEY CLICK IN, BUT ALL TOO FEW OF THEM CHECK OUT

More online shoppers abandoned their carts without completing a purchase in the third quarter despite retailers' best efforts, a recent study from DoubleClick Inc. found — MORE

GLOBALIZATION, PRIVACY AND ORGANIZED CRIME TO DRIVE SECURITY

Organized crime is pouring massive amounts of resources into phishing, online extortion and other malicious activities by exploiting a U.S. weakness - the lack of federal research and law enforcement investment in cybercrime, warned one of the nation's most influential infosecurity leaders — MORE

PRIVACY EXPERT ADVISES BUSINESS ON HOW TO ATTRACT AND KEEP CUSTOMERS WITH GOOD PRIVACY POLICIES

Sixty-five percent of U.S. adult consumers online - representing over 94 million Internet users - have decided not to register at a website or shop there because they believe the privacy policy is too complicated or unclear, according to a recent survey — MORE

SMALL ENTERPRISES IGNORE E-COMMERCE GROUP'S CALL

In Net Impact Study Canada: Strategies for Increasing SME Engagement in the e-Economy, the private sector-lead Canadian E-Business Initiative (CeBI) recommends the government create a central Web site for small and medium enterprises to find "trusted partners" that could help them with Internet-related projects — MORE

PRIVACY CHIEF TO E-COMMERCE FIRMS: DON'T BLAME PIPEDA

The best way for e-businesses to rebuild the public's waning trust of online transactions is to comply with Canada's new privacy rules, says Jennifer Stoddart, privacy commissioner of Canada — MORE

NEW SURVEY TRACKS DRAMATIC RISE IN CONSUMER PRIVACY ACTIVISM

Consumers taking privacy-assertive actions are up almost 30% since 1999, according to the latest Consumer Privacy Activism Survey commissioned by Privacy & American Business — MORE

HALF OF U.S. SHOPPERS USE ONLINE PRODUCT INFORMATION

Nearly half of all U.S. consumers consider online product information before making a purchase. According to a study from Dieringer Research Group, Inc. — MORE

EMPLOYEES ON THE INTERNET: WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Employees who access Web sites unrelated to their work during office hours have long frustrated employers, but a Canadian software developer is working with both public and private sector organizations to tackle so-called cyber-slacking — MORE

INTERNET PENETRATION LEVELING OFF

Regular use of the Internet by U.S. adults is leveling off, standing at 63 percent of the population, according to new research by Mediamark Research Inc. — MORE

BUILD PRIVACY INTO THE PRODUCTS

Although the new federal law governing the commercial use of consumer data in the country has been in full effect since January, Ontario's privacy commissioner said many businesses still fail to understand the differences between security and privacy — MORE

U.S., CANADIAN FIRMS WORLDS APART ON PRIVACY

Canadian and U.S. companies have vastly different attitudes and motivations when it comes to protecting the privacy of their customers, according to a cross-national study to be released this week — MORE

E-BIZ STRIKES AGAIN!

Net companies have survived their nuclear winter, and throughout the economy, big companies are again under assault. Again, the Web is threatening to force down the prices charged by traditional players, squeeze their margins, and even put some out of business — MORE

A RECIPE FOR BATTLING SPAM IN CANADA

Despite developing anti-spam technological tools, promoting greater consumer awareness, and the introduction of anti-spam legislation in many countries, the spam problem continues unabated — MORE

WEAK ENFORCEMENT UNDERMINES PRIVACY LAWS

While Canada has opted for an ombud-type approach that is designed to resolve outstanding privacy complaints rather than encourage increased litigation, it may be time to consider how we can instill a greater commitment to privacy within our chosen approach — MORE

NEW PRIVACY LAW SPROUTS FOREST OF COMPLAINTS

Canada's privacy watchdog says a "communications gap" forming between businesses and consumers may be partly to blame for an increase in complaints since new federal privacy legislation went into full force on Jan. 1 — MORE

PIPEDA CONFUSION SETS IN

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which became official on Jan. 1 of this year, is a minefield for companies that don't understand the difference between the confidentially of personal data and the collection of that data — MORE

IDENTITY THEFT FEARED AFTER CANADIAN CREDIT INFORMATION STOLEN

Criminals have gained access to the detailed, personal credit files of about 1,400 people, in a security breach that raises fears of a major identity theft. The security breach was confirmed Monday by Equifax Canada Inc., a major national consumer-credit reporting agency — MORE

HOW SAFE IS YOUR IDENTITY?

Identity theft is the latest trend in consumer fraud. PhoneBusters, an anti-fraud group set up by the Ontario Provincial Police, says there have been about 8,817 reporter incidents of identity theft across the country in 2003, up from 8,178 for all of 2002 — MORE

WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORKING IS GREAT, RIGHT? YES, BUT BEWARE

Wireless networking is now affordable for everyone, and as a result, thousands of consumers have recently or will soon set up a wireless network. But there is a dark side to this convenience, one that could cost you money, time and reputation — MORE

ADVICE ON SECURING A WIRELESS NETWORK

This is a brief list of a few basic tips the home user can easily check. It is NOT intended to be comprehensive — MORE

IDENTITY THEFT: WHAT, ME WORRY?

It's no wonder that identity theft is growing at such a phenomenal rate. According to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey, one in eight respondents (12.7 percent) were victims of ID theft in the past five years. This equates to about 27 million Americans — MORE

PRIVACY EXPOSED

Cybersecurity experts say an increasing number of private or secret documents are being kept online in out-of-the-way corners of computers around the world, leaving governments, individuals and companies vulnerable to security breaches — MORE

PERCEPTIONS OF TRUST

Just over half of surveyed consumers discontinued doing business with a company because they were uncomfortable with their privacy protection, a report from Accenture found — MORE

CANADIAN PRIVACY COMMISSIONERS WORKING TOGETHER ON PRIVACY COMPLAINTS

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia, and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta announced that they will be working cooperatively to develop a harmonized approach to dealing with privacy complaints in the private sector — MORE

IDENTITY THEFT SOARED IN 2003, EXPECTED TO CONTINUE

The Federal Trade Commission released a new report citing alarming statistics about the growth of identity theft over the past year, in particular facilitated by the use of the Internet — MORE

CANADIAN BUSINESSES SEE OPPORTUNITIES IN COMPLYING WITH PRIVACY LEGISLATION

Some Canadian business people see complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) as an opportunity for branding and marketing — MORE

E-COMMERCE GROWTH SPURRED BY MATURATION

As consumers' level of comfort with online functions such as e-mail and research continues to increase, so too will their level of participation in e-commerce. The next five years will see large growth in e-commerce — MORE

LIFE OF PI

Canadian companies are growing confused and irritated over some of the grey areas in the federal privacy law around data collection over the Internet, according to the lawyers who counsel them — MORE

LAST PHASE OF CANADIAN PRIVACY LAW NOW IN EFFECT

Businesses that collect and use personal information for commercial activities must now comply with a new federal privacy law, whose third and final phase goes into force January 1, 2004 — MORE

PRIVACY NEWSFLASH: ONTARIO INTRODUCES HEALTH PRIVACY LEGISLATION

OnĘDecember 17th, 2003 the McGuinty government introduced the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA). This bill is intended to establish consistent and comprehensive rules, safeguards and legal protections, governing the collection, use and sharing of health information — MORE

ADDITIONAL NEWS ARTICLES IN 2003 ARCHIVE

E-Commerce Alerts are issued by Bennett Gold LLP, Chartered Accountants as situations develop. Bookmark this site and check back often.