Category «Privacy»

The Complicated Role of the Modern Public Library

Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities: “There aren’t many truly public places left in America. Most of our shared spaces require money or a certain social status to access. Malls exist to sell people things. Museums discourage loiterers. Coffee shops expect patrons to purchase a drink or snack if they want to enjoy the …

Subjects: Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries, Privacy, Wireless Web

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 26, 2019

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 26, 2019 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, ID Theft, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries, Privacy

They Know What You Watched Last Night

The New York Times – “…While viewers stream their favorite shows, companies are gathering their personal data to sell it to advertisers — and privacy experts are alarmed. … Recent deals involving the media conglomerate AT&T, the streaming device seller … the Walt Disney Company and AT&T’s WarnerMedia will start streaming..”

Subjects: E-Commerce, Internet, Privacy

Experts Optimistic About the Next 50 Years of Digital Life

“Heading into the network’s 50th anniversary, Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center asked hundreds of technology experts, including Kleinrock and fellow internet pioneers, how individuals’ lives might be affected by the evolution of the internet over the next 50 years. Overall, 530 technology pioneers, innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Education, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Medicine, Privacy

$35B class action case against Facebook on use of facial recognition data

Courthouse News Service: “Rejecting arguments that Facebook users suffered no “concrete harm” by having their facial data mapped and stored, the Ninth Circuit advanced a $35 billion class action against the social media giant Thursday. Facebook sought to swat down the lawsuit last year after U.S. District Judge James Donato ordered it to alert users …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

BBC News launches ‘dark web’ Tor mirror

BBC News: “The BBC has made its international news website available via Tor, in a bid to thwart censorship attempts. Tor is a privacy-focused web browser used to access pages on the dark web. The browser can obscure who is using it and what data is being accessed, which can help people avoid government surveillance …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids

UK Guardian: “Bark and similar tech companies are now monitoring the emails and documents of millions of American students, across thousands of school districts, looking for signs of suicidal thoughts, bullying or plans for a school shooting. The new school surveillance technology doesn’t turn off when the school day is over: anything students type in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Legal Research, Privacy

Alexa and Google Home abused to eavesdrop and phish passwords

ars technica – Amazon- and Google-approved apps turned both voice-controlled devices into “smart spies”. – “By now, the privacy threats posed by Amazon Alexa and Google Home are common knowledge. Workers for both companies routinely listen to audio of users—recordings of which can be kept forever—and the sounds the devices capture can be used in criminal …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Equifax used ‘admin’ as username and password for sensitive data: lawsuit

Yahoo Finance: “Equifax used the word “admin” as both password and username for a portal that contained sensitive information, according to a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia. The ongoing lawsuit, filed after the breach, went viral on Twitter Friday after Buzzfeed reporter Jane Lytvynenko came across the detail. “Equifax …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

NYT Opinion – The Chinese Threat to American Speech

American companies have an obligation to defend the freedom of expression, even at the risk of angering China. “China’s assertive campaign to police discourse about its policies, even outside of its borders, and the acquiescence of American companies eager to make money in China, pose a dangerous and growing threat to one of this nation’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Financial System, Internet, Privacy

Census Bureau asks states for driver’s license records to produce citizenship data

WHYY – “The Census Bureau is asking states to voluntarily share driver’s license records as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to produce detailed data about the U.S. citizenship status of every person living in the country. According to a statement the bureau released Tuesday, the requests are in response to an executive order President …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy