Privacy

Understanding risks & problems is a 1st step toward protecting privacy.

3 Key Aspects to Privacy (pg 45)

• Freedom from intrusion

• Control of info about oneself

• Freedom from surveillance

Privacy Threats (pg 46)

• International, institutional uses

• Unauthorized use or release by “insiders”

• Theft of info

• Inadvertent leakage of info through negligence or carelessness

• Our own actions (trade-offs or unaware)

New Technology = New Risks

• Speed, storage space, connectivity = collection, searching, analysis, storage, access & distribution of huge amounts of info & images much easier, cheaper & faster

Things We Do (pgs 47-48)

• Patients refill prescriptions and check results of medical tests on the Web

• Patients correspond with doctors by email• We store our photos & videos online• We fill out our tax returns on the Web • We store documents and financial

spreadsheets on the Web• Teenagers & college students put the facts of

their lives on social networking sites

Did you know… (pgs 49-50)

• Anything you do online is recorded• Huge amounts of data are saved• Leaks happen• A collection of many small items can give a fairly

detailed picture of a person’s life• Re-identification is easy• The government can get personal data• Information on public web sites will be seen• Data on the Internet lasts forever• Secondary uses• Some info about ourselves we cannot always

protect

Some Terminology

• Re-identification• Invisible information gathering• Cookies• Secondary uses• Data mining• Computer matching• Computer profiling• Opt-out & opt-in

Government Databases• Tax records

• Medical records

• Marriage and divorce records

• Property ownership

• Welfare records

• School records

• Motor vehicle records

• Voter registration records

• Books checked out of public libraries

• People with permits to carry firearms

• Applications for government grant and loan programs

• Professional and trade licenses

• Bankruptcy records

• Arrest records

Video Surveillance

• Super Bowl in Tampa, FL 2001

• Neighborhood in Tampa, FL

• Great Britain

How Your Name Gets On the Lists

• When you buy something (supermarket loyalty cards)

• Enter a contest or sweepstakes• Fill out a warranty or registration card• Change of address form at the Post Office• Phone books and reverse directories• Public records• Charities and non-profits Catalogues and mail

orders• Credit bureaus

Credit Records

• Experian, Equifax, Trans-Union

• And Innovis (if you own an home, or are selling or buying a home)

RFID

• Benefits & risks

• Veri-chip video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2udoNmQkR4

Location Tracking• providing information about nearby restaurants, nearest

ATM, hospital, or dry cleaners, based on the location of your cell phone or laptop

• navigation aids for blind people on foot• locating a stolen vehicle; navigation systems for cars (some

can check traffic reports and suggest alternate routes)• alerting you (by cell phone) if any of your friends are nearby• providing a person’s location immediately when 911 is

called• locating people after an earthquake or bombing• tracking children on a school outing at a park or museum

Lost & Stolen DataBy:• Hacking into computer systems• Stealing computers & disks• Pre-texting (example pg 89)• Bribing employees of companies that store data• Shady information brokers that sell data• Spyware

Figure 2.5 page 87 - long list of lost & stolen data - pretty scary how unprotected our data really is

Children

• Child molesters use the Web to find children; social networking sites popular

• MySpace transcript