CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Issues of the World Wide Web Instructor: Joseph DiVerdi, Ph.D., M.B.A.

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Landscape Privacy is Currently a Concern to –Private Citizens –Organizations –Governments Privacy Means Different Things –Personal Information –Intellectual Property –State Secrets Many, If Not Most, Citizens are poorly or misinformed About Privacy Issues

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Landscape Privacy is Certainly to Be a Growing Concern –As Internet-Based Communications & eCommerce Increase in Usage & Popularity Because of the Vast Amount of Data That Can be Collected Using the Internet Because of its Ubiquity –Private Citizens World-Wide Have Expressed Concerns Over Their Right to Privacy However, Many Do Not Understand the True Risks or How to Defend Against Them

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Landscape A shopper –Browsing through various stores –In a physical shopping mall –Stopping to glance at a specific item In a specific store –Does not have to worry that his or her every move is recorded

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Landscape Current Web-site & eCommerce Technology –Makes it Technologically Feasible –For Data to be Recorded About Every Item –Clicked-on by a Visitor –Browsing Through An Electronic Shopping Mall or Visiting a Web Site

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Privacy Landscape Designers & operators of web sites who disregard the privacy of their users do so at their own peril Users of web services who are not concerned with privacy may soon find they have none Users who feel that their privacy has been violated may avoid certain sites and may even avoid the Web

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Relevance to Webmaster Consider: –You are the Webmaster of a commercial site which generated gross annual revenues of $2 million until customers concluded that the site provided insufficient privacy of their personal information –You are a web development consultant who has responsibility for a $200,000 contract to develop a site (any site) which has received numerous privacy violation complaints

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Legislator Weighs In “Privacy is a basic American value, in the Information Age and in every age. It must be protected. We need an electronic bill of rights for this electronic age.”

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Legislator Weighs In “Privacy is a basic American value, in the Information Age and in every age. It must be protected. We need an electronic bill of rights for this electronic age.” –Vice-President Albert Gore, July 1998

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Web Privacy in Brief Web Security is a complex topic, encompassing: –Log files –Cookies –Personally Identifiable Information –Anonymizers –Unanticipated Disclosure –Data Encryption –Key Escrow (Agencies) –Key Recovery (Agencies)

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Federal Trade Commission 1998 Report to Congress Articulated Core Principles of privacy protection for Adults widely accepted in the USA, Canada, and Europe: –Notice –Choice –Access –Integrity & Security –Enforcement

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Core Principles Notice –Users should be made aware of an entity’s information practices before any personal information is gathered Choice –Users should be given the opportunity to consent or deny any secondary uses of information Other than the processing of the immediate transaction Including mailing notices or data transfer to third parties

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Core Principles (con’t) Access –Users should be able to access their personal data and review it without significant delays and should also be able to easily correct inaccurate personal information in a timely manner Integrity & Security –The data regarding users’ personal information should be processed in a fashion so that the data is accurate and that data needs to be kept confidential as it is transmitted, processed, & stored by the entity

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Core Principles (con’t) Enforcement –Users should have recourse if any of the above core principles are violated

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC FTC Report

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Personal Information address Postal address Telephone number Social Security Number Date of Birth or Age Gender Education Interests Hobbies

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC EU Directive of Oct 1998 Personal data on the Internet shall be: –Processed Fairly & Lawfully –Collected & Processed for Specified, Explicit, Legitimate Purposes –Accurate & Current –Kept No Longer Than Deemed Necessary to Fulfill the Stated Purpose

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC EU Directive of Oct 1998 Users have the following rights: –Access to Personal Information –Correction, Erasure, & Blocking of Information –Objection to Usage –Able to Oppose Automated Individual Decisions –Access to Judicial Remedy & Compensation

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC EU Directive of Oct 1998 This Directive Affects Many US Companies –All of Which Transact Business in the EU –Gives EU Member Countries a Global Reach With an Attached Liability for Non-Compliance –Requires Non-EU Companies Compliance to Conduct eCommerce in Europe

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Log Files Every time a Web browser views a site’s page, a record is kept in that site’s server’s log files Log files are under the control of the person or organization that controls the Web server –Webmaster? Log files are subject to subpoena

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Log Files (con’t) Each time a page is requested or CGI script run from a web server, the server records the following information in its log files: –Hostname or IP address of requesting computer –Time of day of the request –Requested URL –Time to transfer requested file –User name if HTTP authentication is used –Any errors which occurred –Requesting web browser identifier and OS –Previous web page accessed, i.e., referring link

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Access Log File Contents dnvr-dsl-gw8-c212.dnvr.uswest.net - - [20/Jul/2000:00:59: ] "GET /magnetometer/ HTTP/1.0" dnvr-dsl-gw8-c212.dnvr.uswest.net - - [20/Jul/2000:00:59: ] "GET /magnetometer/cgi/lister.pl HTTP/1.0" dnvr-dsl-gw8-c212.dnvr.uswest.net - - [20/Jul/2000:00:59: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/MacPerl.gif HTTP/1.0" dnvr-dsl-gw8-c212.dnvr.uswest.net - - [20/Jul/2000:00:59: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/top.gif HTTP/1.0" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET / HTTP/1.1" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET /jpeg/banner.jpeg HTTP/1.1" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET /magnetometer/cgi/lister.pl HTTP/1.1" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/MacPerl.gif HTTP/1.1" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/top.gif HTTP/1.1" freedu libertysurf.se - - [20/Jul/2000:04:04: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/sm_perl_id_313_wt.gif HTTP/1.1" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET / HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /jpeg/banner.jpeg HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /classes/index.html HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /magnetometer/gif/sm_perl_id_313_wt.gif HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /classes/DCE0791/index.html HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /classes/DCE0791/materials.html HTTP/1.0" otc18.otc.colostate.edu - - [20/Jul/2000:09:28: ] "GET /classes/DCE0791/materials/imaging_class.ppt HTTP/1.0" 206 1

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Referring Link When a URL is requested several pieces of information are supplied to the server with the request including the current URL, either –The currently viewed page –The word “bookmark” –Nothing, if the URL was typed into the “location” The HTTP specification declares that the sending of this information should be an option under the user’s control but no Web browser has implemented this control

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Referring Link Uses To gauge the efficacy of companies’ advertisements paid for on certain web sites –Click on an ad and the current URL is supplied to the ad’s server - cha-ching! To measure how customers move through a site By search engines to determine viewers’ predilections –Strong correlation exists between interests and viewed URLs

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Referring Link Problems Its presence represents a revelation of personal information –The URL that the user previously viewed Cryptographic protocols, e.g., SSL, are often used to embed personal information in URLs but the subsequent request may result in the passing of that information to another site and without encryption

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC (Infamous) Cookies Introduced by Netscape in Navigator v2.0 Original purpose was to enable a server to track a browser through multiple HTTP requests –Necessary for applications, e.g., shopping cart –Allows storage of a user’s preferences in cookie Intended to improve privacy –Removed the requirement for the server to request and store personal information in a central data bank

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Cookie Issues Rule of unintended consequences Initial implementation allowed any site to request all cookies from a browser thereby revealing (lots of) personal information Quick change to browser to permit delivery of cookies to a particular server (identified by domain) that were issued by that server

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC More Cookie Issues Web developers (webmasters?) soon realized that cookies could be “attached” to files other than HTML, e.g., GIF. Combining this capability with the delivery of banner images from advertising companies allowed those advertisers continued access to detailed tracking information Advertisers claim that such tracking permits interested-targeted delivery and reduction of repetitious display There is an opportunity for abuse

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Cookie File Structure DomainExpirePathSecureExpirationVendor Specific Fields hotwired.lycos.comFALSE/webmonkey/99/09FALSE Lycos_WebographicsSampled

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Controlling Cookie Use It is possible for users to control the actual use of cookies in a browser Open Navigator or Communicator Go to Edit->Preferences->Advanced

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Anonymizers A server designed to act as a certain type of proxy –Browser sends requested URL to anonymizer with anonymizer’s URL –Anonymizer processes request and makes request to requested URL using its own address information –Information from destination site is returned to anonymizer –Anonymizer passes information back to original browser

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Anonymizers (con’t) Vary in sophistication and capabilities Some can’t handle forms Many have problems with active content Hinder personalization Fairly simple to implement Reasons for use: –Personal Values - “…should be able to surf anonymously…” –Advertising on the anonymizer –Monitor use and users of anonymizer - fraudulent and/or oxymoronic

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Moral High Ground Simple but workable policy: –Do not require users to register in order to use site –Allow users to register using their address if they wish to receive information –Do not share a user’s address with any other entity without that user’s explicit permission or as lawfully required –Whenever an message is sent to a user, explain how the address was obtained, and how it can be removed from the mailing list

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Moral High Ground (con’t) Do not make log files publicly accessible Delete log files when no longer needed If log files must be retained online for extended periods of time, remove personally identifiable information Encrypt log files if possible Do not distribute personal information about users Discipline or terminate employees who violate privacy policy

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Moral High Ground (con’t) State site’s Privacy Policy on home page Allow site to be audited by impartial external professionals if questions regarding policies arise

CSU - DCE Webmaster Privacy Class - Fort Collins, CO Copyright © XTR Systems, LLC Quick Survey Change your browser’s preferences to require warning when a cookie is requested Take a look right now at some sites (fewer than one dozen) using a browser to determine whether they state the site’s privacy policy Make some notes for discussion When you are done restore the previous cookie preferences