** UPDATE: Scope of Credit Card Security Breach Expands ** House Moves on Spyware Legislation; Modern Protection for Traditional Secrecy; Retailer Knew Last Fall about Security Breach

Scope of Credit Card Security Breach Expands

Add Discover Financial Services Inc. to the list of companies affected by a security breach involving a point of sale system at Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. Computerworld reports that Discover announced today that company has been informing affected cardholders, however, spokeswoman Jennifer Kang did not specify how many cardholders were affected nor when the company began notifying these individuals. Both Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International announced Thursday that their cardholders may have been affected by the breach.

For more details, read the full article in Computerworld

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House Moves on Spyware Legislation

The House could approve an anti-spyware bill next week, but final legislation won’t be sent to the White House until disagreements over what qualifies as “spyware” can be settled. According to a story in the Washington Post, a bill sponsored by Mary Bono (R-Calif.) is the most popular of the three anti-spyware bills (two in the House, one in the Senate) proposed this year. “The consumer should have the right to know what’s going on with their computer. It’s their property and they should know what’s happening. The bottom line is that people cannot install something on your computer and track you and eat up all the processing power on your computer without your consent,” Bono said.

For more details, read the full story in the Washington Post.

Modern Protection for Traditional Secrecy

The Vatican is going to great lengths to protect the secrecy of the election of a new pope, including sweeping the Sistine Chapel for high-tech listening devices. According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, pagers, cellphones, laptop computers and other gadgets will be banned. The Italian national police, which provide security for the Vatican and share those duties with the pope’s Swiss Guard and the paramilitary Carabinieri, are expert bugsweepers thanks to decades of fighting the Mafia and terrorists, the Times reports. The Vatican is also mindful of low-tech threats as well, and is screening waiters, bus drivers, cleaners and other support personnel that will have limited access to the conclave.

(Registration required.)

For more details, read the full article in the Los Angeles Times.

Retailer Knew Last Fall about Security Breach

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. knew about a computer security breach for months, but announced it just yesterday. According to the Boston Globe, Polo said in a statement that its credit card system is secure. On Capitol Hill, two prominent Democrats proposed the Safeguarding Americans From Exporting Identification Data Act, or SAFE-ID Act. The bill would require American companies to inform customers when they send personal information to third-party firms overseas. The Federal Trade Commission would also be required to grade the information privacy policies of foreign countries.

For more details, read the full article in the Boston Globe

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