Societal Issues in Computing (COMP466) Chapter 4 COMPUTER PRIVACY Prepared by: Qasem Obeidat .

Ethics and Privacy Suppose you are a programmer for a medical organization, and while working, you see records about a celebrity. Is it ethical to describe the medical treatment to your friends?

Privacy Issues Anytime you submit information on the Internet, it is possible for it to be gathered by many individuals and used for various situations. Information can also be gathered from online data regarding: School Banking Hospitals Insurance Credit History, etc. If a company provides you with e-mail, the information you send is available to the company. The company can also monitor Internet logs to determine web sites that have been visited.

Computer security and data protection Do you store confidential information and records of negotiations with clients or business partners on your PC or laptop where they're easily accessible? How do you protect your company's financial data and personal computer privacy? Are there logs of your computer activity stored there, for example: site visit logs in the browser history, instant messenger history logs, incoming and outgoing email?

Computer security and data protection Your computer activity can be easily extracted when someone gains physical access to it if you don't use any computer security solutions. Competitors can steal your client database, criminals can read your personal identity or medical records, and your wife/husband/partner can take hold of your private correspondence. The list is endless, and there are many cases where our encryption software will save your money and definitely save your nerves.

Computer Privacy Demonstrates IT’s role in creating new opportunities for improved business performance Illustrates how technology can be a double-edged sword by providing benefits such as increased sales and security while compromising privacy. Computer data about you is bought, sold, and traded every day. More often than not, the exchange of data about you occurs without your knowledge.

Computer Privacy (Cont…) The front line of defense in protecting your personal privacy begins with you. All those forms, surveys, credit card transactions, etc. generate a vast amount of data about you.

Computer Invasion of Privacy Any person who uses a computer or computer network with the intention of examining any employment, medical, salary, credit, or any other financial or personal data relating to any other person with knowledge that such examination is without authority shall be guilty of the crime of computer invasion of privacy.

Privacy and Computer Technology Key Aspects of Privacy: Freedom from intrusion (being left alone) Control of information about oneself Freedom from surveillance (being tracked, followed, watched)

Privacy and Computer Technology (Cont…) New Technology, New Risks: Government and private databases Government agencies have very sophisticated tools for surveillance, watching us, collecting and analyzing data about us. Why? Vulnerability of data

Terminology Invisible information gathering - collection of personal information about someone without the person’s knowledge Secondary use - use of personal information for a purpose other than the one it was provided for Data mining - searching and analyzing masses of data to find patterns and develop new information or knowledge

Terminology (Cont…) Computer matching - combining and comparing information from different databases (using social security number, for example, to match records) Computer profiling - analyzing data in computer files to determine characteristics of people most likely to engage in certain behavior

Principles for Data Collection and Use: 1. Informed consent - How much they value there privacy? 2. Opt-in and opt-out policies - Opt-in: Organization can used information in a particular way. - Opt-out: Organization can’t used information in a particular way. 3. Fair Information Principles (or Practices) - very reasonable ethical guidelines and law. 4. Data retention

Diverse Privacy Topics 1. Marketing, Personalization and Consumer Dossiers: Targeted marketing Data mining Paying for consumer information Data firms and consumer profiles Credit records

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 2. Location Tracking: Global Positioning Systems (GPS) -computer or communication services that know exactly where a person is at a particular time Cell phones and other devices are used for location tracking Pros and cons

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 3. Stolen and Lost Data: Hackers Physical theft (laptops, thumb-drives, etc.) Requesting information under false pretenses Bribery of employees who have access

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 4. What We Do Ourselves : Personal information in blogs and online profiles Pictures of ourselves and our families File sharing and storing Is privacy old-fashioned? Young people put less value on privacy than previous generations May not understand the risks

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 5. Public Records: Access vs. Privacy: Public Records - records available to general public (bankruptcy, property, and arrest records, salaries of government employees, etc.) Identity theft can arise when public records are accessed How should we control access to sensitive public records?

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 6. National ID System: Social Security Numbers Too widely used Easy to falsify

Diverse Privacy Topics (Cont…) 7. Children: The Internet Not able to make decisions on when to provide information Vulnerable to online predators Parental monitoring Software to monitor Web usage Web cams to monitor children while parents are at work GPS tracking via cell phones or RFID

THE WAYS OF COMPUTER PRIVACY Password Encryption Email Privacy

PASSWORD Not just to protect the computer but to make sure that the computer issues by authorized worker or user only.

ENCRYPTION With public key encryption there are two keys, one public and the other private. The public key needs to be known. To send a message to a friend, you uses his public key to encrypt the message. Your friend then uses his private key to decode the message after receiving it.

EMAIL PRIVACY When u send a message by email, the message is broken into packets and the packets are sent out over the Internet. The number of packets depends on the size of message. Each message has the internet address of the recipient. This means there may be some places between the packets could be intercepted and examined.

Privacy Agility Fully Secure Non-Secure Security Full Disclosure Anonymous Privacy Public Opinion Solution Range

Privacy Laws Affecting Private Institutions Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 Privacy Protection Act of 1980 Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 Financial Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) of 1999 But, these laws apply only to govt. intrusion