A few articles highlight just how important their customers' privacy really is. First, in an article that represents a certain level of vindication, Ameritrade is settling a class action lawsuit over their multi-year customer data leak.
In other news, there was another article on the pros and cons of LifeLock, the service with annoying, boastful commercials about protecting your identify from theft. While the author speaks to the LifeLock service, the broader point made is again how little the institutions actually care about protecting privacy relative to profits.