In today’s Quick Hits, more fallout for the Chicago teacher who made fun of one of the students online, insight into how a social engineering scam operates, and and news about California’s newly introduced Do Not Track legislation.

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Chicago Teacher Sued for Mocking Student on Facebook

Last week, I shared the story of a Chicago public school teacher who was suspended for posting a photo of a student online and mocking it with her friends. Now, the teacher is facing a lawsuit over the issue, with the student’s mother alleging that the incident caused the seven-year-old girl “emotional distress.” Chicago Public Schools is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Bank Employee Fired After Criticizing Boss on Facebook

A UK bank employee was recently fired after sharing a post on Facebook criticizing the amount of money the CEO of her bank earned compared to her salary. Despite the fact that the employee was fired only hours after the post, the bank has stated that the Facebook comment had nothing to do with the decision. According to an official statement, “the work she had been brought in to do was coming to an end and so she was given her notice. It was only after the notice was served that the comments she made on Facebook then came to light.”

The Story of a (Nearly) Successful Facebook Scam

In an engaging report for CBS News, Charles Cooper writes about how he nearly fell for a scam on Facebook. The story illustrates how cyber criminals are using sophisticated social engineering to craft persuasive scams by pretending to be a friend or loved one in need of help. Cooper was able to uncover the truth through some clever questioning, but not all Facebook users are that savvy. A particularly popular target for social engineering attacks are grandparents, who are tricked into believing that their grandchild is in trouble via a phony Facebook message.

How Companies Really Treat Your Personal Data

In a great article for Forbes, Erika Morphy offers an interpretation of a “Dear Customer” letter from one of the companies affected by the massive Epsilon data breach. Morphy’s sharply satiric letter shows how companies really feel about personal data and why they don’t take the appropriate actions to protect personal information (because it costs more money, because they’re not legally obligated to, and because they don’t really know how).

Do Not Track Law Introduced in California Senate

According to the Los Angeles Times, “California is putting itself in position to lead the fight for increased online privacy by trying to pass the country’s first so-called do-not-track law to keep personal data from being grabbed off the Internet. Legislation by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) would create a mechanism to allow users of smartphones, tablets, computers and any other device that accesses the Internet to tell website operators they don’t want their online habits monitored.” The Times article goes into the specifics of the bill and offers a strong analysis of the current state of affairs regarding do not track and Internet privacy legislation.