The Modern Workplace

This week in three words: hacking, tracking, and attacking.

Hacking: as if worrying about having your cell phone or computer hacked wasn't enough, now recent research from Columbia University indicates that your office phone might also be at risk. The study discovered that at least 15 models of the Cisco Internet Protocol telephone have software that could enable a hacker to turn on a microphone, webcam, or other feature of the phone without the user's knowledge.

Tracking: a Texas school using Radio Frequency Identification chips to track its students may continue doing so after a district court rejected one student's attempt to enjoin the practice based on religious concerns.

Attacking: two New Jersey county workers have filed suit attacking their employer's social media policy, claiming that it violates their First Amendment rights. Also, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $50,000 for his Twitter "attack" of NBA officials after the Mavericks' 3-point loss last Saturday.

Technology and the Workplace
NJ County Workers Say Social Media Rules Curb Free Speech (Law 360)
The Right Way to Destroy Sensitive Data (Bloomberg)
Popular Office Phones Vulnerable to Eavesdropping Hack, Researchers Say (NBC)
Tweet Costs Mark Cuban $50k (CNN)
AP Sells First Sponsored Tweet to Samsung (CBS)

Technology and the Law
CA Suggests Mobile App Privacy Guidelines (NY Times)
Facebook Drunk Driving Confession Leads to Arrest (CBS)
Student Loses Lawsuit Challenging Texas RFID Tracking Program (Slate)
Anonymous Petitions U.S. to See DDoS Attacks as Legal Protests (CNET)
Library of Congress Digs into 170 Billion Tweets (CNN)

There's an App for That
"Drinking Mirror" App Aims to Show How Alcohol Ages You (CNN)
Dead Phone? Just Put It on Your Tablet to Charge (ABC)
App of the Week: Watermark Your Photos (Yahoo)
LED Ice Cubes Detect Alcohol, Tell You When to Stop Drinking (Huffington Post)
U.S. Franciscan Friars Accept Prayer Requests Via Text (CBS)