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Abortion has long been a misguided litmus test for the Supreme Court - but privacy rights?

Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor's views on abortion and privacy rights are coming into the spotlight as attention turns to her confirmation. NARAL Pro-Choice America is urging senators to make sure Sotomayor is questioned on Roe v. Wade and privacy rights during her confirmation hearings. President Barack Obama is pro-choice, but Sotomayor's views are not known. The White House was asked yesterday if the president asked Sotomayor about abortion or privacy rights. A spokesman says the president did not specifically ask that question. The discussion comes as supporters and opponents of Sotomayor's nomination are taking their message to the airwaves. A coalition of liberal groups has unveiled a television advertisement in favor of Sotomayor's confirmation touting her extensive resume, while a conservative group calling itself the Judicial Confirmation Network has put out its own ad, charging Sotomayor will push a liberal agenda based on her gender and racial background. The White House is hoping Sotomayor will get the green light before the Senate goes on recess in August. Republicans are signaling they will not delay Sotomayor's confirmation, but will scrutinize her legal philosophy and some of her past decisions as a judge.

Beyond PCI: Other Regulations to Look For in 2009 Just a few days ago, the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration announced the enactment of comprehensive new rules regarding card practices. These rules, which will not take effect until July 1, 2010, impose restrictions on a number of controversial issuer practices, including interest rate increases, late fees and double-cycle billing. Many industry observers predict that the rules will result in less credit being made available, and on stricter terms, than has been the case over the last several years. These rules may not be the end of the matter. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who in 2008 introduced the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008 (which sought to regulate many of the same practices as the then-proposed Fed rules), stated that she was disappointed in the delayed effectiveness of the Fed rules and promised to revive the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights in 2009 to, as she put it, "bridge the gap" between now and the effective date of the Fed rules.

"A New York computer technician has been charged with stealing the identities of more than 150 Bank of New York Mellon employees and using them to orchestrate a scheme that netted him more than $1.1 million, prosecutors said this week. Adeniyi Adeyemi, 27, of Brooklyn was indicted Wednesday on charges of grand larceny, identity theft and money laundering for crimes allegedly committed between Nov. 1, 2001 and April 30, 2009, according to a news release from Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. According to prosecutors, Adeyemi, who was employed as a computer technician working at the headquarters of Bank of New York, stole the personal information of dozens of bank employees, primarily from individuals in the information technology department. He then used the identities to open bank and brokerage accounts, which served as "dummy accounts" to receive stolen funds. Adeyemi then stole money from the bank accounts of numerous charities and nonprofit organizations, and transferred the funds into the dummy accounts, which he later withdrew or transferred to other accounts, prosecutors said."

A Port Washington medical practice was defrauded of nearly $250,000 by a former employee who for four years paid her credit card bills with automatic debits from a doctor's checking account, Nassau police said. Debra Camilo, 42, of 110 Malba Dr., Whitestone, began the transfers in the spring of 2004 and even though she was fired a year later -- for reasons unrelated to the fraud -- she continued until July 2008, police said. All told, the former office manager made more than 80 unauthorized debit transfers to her Visa credit card amounting to $241,341, police said. Crimes against property bureau detectives arrested Camilo Thursday afternoon in Manhasset and charged her with grand larceny, identity theft and fraud. She was scheduled for arraignment Friday in First District Court, Hempstead.

Two Bronx men were accused Wednesday of masterminding a brazen bank fraud scheme in which they ripped off churches, hospitals and charities by recruiting 950 "soldiers" to cash bogus checks.

In a 4-to-3 ruling, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the State Police violated a criminal suspect's rights under the State Constitution when it placed a GPS tracking device inside the bumper of his van without obtaining a warrant. The police had used the device to monitor the movements of the suspect, Scott C. Weaver, for more than two months. But the court ordered the evidence gathered from the device suppressed and ordered a new trial for Mr. Weaver. In three written opinions, the judges on the court debated the constitutional issues raised by the growing use of global positioning system technology as a tool of surveillance. The case could set an important precedent for state and local police agencies.

A former IT analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and his brother were arrested Friday on charges that they took out loans using stolen information, including sensitive information belonging to federal employees at the bank. Prosecutors allege that Curtis Wiltshire, 34, took out student loans totalling US$73,000 using the stolen information. His brother, Kenneth Wiltshire, 40, is charged with using the identities of two federal employees to try and obtain a loan for a 2006 Sea Ray 340 Sundancer speedboat. The charges (pdf) come two months after federal investigators found two 2006 student loan applications on a thumb drive attached to the work computer of Curtis Wiltshire, who had worked at the Reserve Bank for nearly eight years as an information and technical analyst. According to court documents, that investigation was unrelated to the fraud charges. Wiltshire was dismissed soon after the drive was found on around Feb. 15, prosecutors said. The charges were filed in the federal court in Manhattan. The two men could not be reached for comment Friday and the names of their lawyers were not included in the court documents. Curtis Wiltshire had "access to computer files containing information about employees of the [federal bank], including their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and photographs," U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Cordel James said in an affidavit filed in the case. Curtis Wiltshire was charged with bank fraud and identity theft and faces more than 30 years in prison if convicted. His brother was charged with mail fraud and identity theft and faces a maximum of 22 years in prison.

They may be after the phone, but what about the data? How much of your life is on your mobile device? Some misguided companies let employees use personal devices for work. I wonder what an auditor would say about due diligence and due care when data is leaked through such ignorance. Think, before you set a lax password, or none at all. Karl Thieves are increasingly going after iPhones and other smartphones but victims now can fight back with technology. One device allows a user to remotely activate a loud siren designed to rattle the thief. Another application, designed for iPhones, can reveal the phone's location. Police statistics show petty crime is down in New York but anecdotal evidence and recent headlines about street muggings targeting costly and coveted devices like Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's Sidekick have disturbed smartphone users concerned about protecting access to e-mail, passwords and other data.

Thieves are increasingly going after iPhones and other smartphones but victims now can fight back with technology. One device allows a user to remotely activate a loud siren designed to rattle the thief. Another application, designed for iPhones, can reveal the phone's location. Police statistics show petty crime is down in New York but anecdotal evidence and recent headlines about street muggings targeting costly and coveted devices like Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's Sidekick have disturbed smartphone users concerned about protecting access to e-mail, passwords and other data.