Little Toy Robot

Minor news, but interesting nonetheless.

New York-based online bookseller Barnes & Noble.com has been slapped with a $60,000 fine after a flaw exposed sensitive customer data on its Web site.

Ironically, their use of “cookie-less” shopping, which was probably done to appease the privacy concerns of users, led to the security leak. Sensitive information, which can include names, addresses, and credit card numbers, was actually passed along in the brower’s URL, and that’s weak sauce.

New York State Attorney Eliot Spitzer was the hero behind this investigation, yet again. It’s a matter of routine for him.

What I also find interesting is that, after implementing iBistro, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library now offers a “Buy this item now” link on every search results page that takes the searcher to bn.com. I don’t have a problem with the commerce of it; after all, ask a librarian where you can buy a book, and they’ll tell you where a bookstore is or point you to the yellow pages.

But I don’t like the fact that it’s obviously a paid placement by Barnes &amp Noble that promotes themselves in an area where all major (at least) retailers should be represented, not to mention local stores and used book outlets.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2004 at 2:02 pm and is filed under books.