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Ch2 Privacy

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Aspects of Privacy

Freedom from intrusion.

Control of information about ones self.

Freedom from surveillance.

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"Who's Spying on You?"Popular Mechanics (01/05) Vol. 182, No. 1, P. 56; Cooper, Simon

“New technologies that enhance safety and convenience for users are costing them their privacy. Critics are concerned that this trend might lead to a society where people's job opportunities and other aspects of their livelihood could be determined by massive repositories of data collected by monitoring systems.”

Federally mandated (GPS)-enabling cell phones“turns the phones into tracking devices”.

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"Who's Spying on You?"Popular Mechanics (01/05) Vol. 182, No. 1, P. 56; Cooper, Simon

The National Transportation Safety Board's desire toinstall event data recorders (EDRs) in all new vehicles has sparked fears among privacy proponents that lawyers could use EDR data as evidence in civil suits,while insurance companies could use them to justify premium hikes or cancellations. Private "data aggregators" keep files on most Americans in vast databases, and the federal government appears to be these aggregators' biggest client.

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“Small Print”From the Prof’s user manual on his 2006 van:“Some information is stored during normal operation.”In a crash event the data recorded might include enginespeed, break application, throttle position, vehicle speed, safety belt usage, airbag readiness, airbagperformance, and the severity of the crash.Information concerning a crash will not be shared withothers except if it is “in response to an official request of police or similar government office, required by law, or as part of GM’s defense.”

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Radio-frequency identificationAn RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Chipless technology now allows for tags to beprinted directly on products. Wikipedia

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Radio-frequency identificationSo in the brave new future you walk into Walmart (currently using RFID technology) where you are greeted by a robot that calls you by name (because it can read your ID from either your verichip or the credit cards in your wallet) and informs you that the underwear you have on needs replacing (RFID tag again) and offers directions to that section of the store.

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SkypeEstablished in 2003, this Luxenborg based company, provides free computer to computer “telephone service” and makes its money by charging for computer to landline or cell phone links around the world. Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country.

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SkypeResearchers have discovered a Chinese Gov.surveillance operation (estimated 30,000 employees) that is monitoring voice and text messages looking for offensive words. The Chinese servers retain personal information about the users who send such messages, and record chat conversations between local andSkype users from outside China. The system also recorded text messages and Skype caller identification. (Surveillance of Skype Messages Found in China

New York Times (10/02/08) P. C1; Markoff, John)

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Privacy Issues for Both the Private and Public Sectors

What methods are used to gather data? How is the data stored?How is the data secured?How is the data validated?Who has access to the data?How is the data analyzed?How is information distributed?How is the data used?

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Privacy Balancing Act (Alan Westin)

(1) Safeguarding personal and group privacy, in order to protect individuality and freedom against unjustified intrusions by authorities.

(2) Collecting relevant personal information essential for rational decision-making in social, commercial, and government life; and

(3) Conducting the constitutionally limited government surveillance of people and activities necessary to protect public order and safety.

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Privacy and the Constitution

While the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly use the word "privacy," several of its provisions protect different aspects of this fundamental right. The strongest protections arise from the Fourth Amendment, which safeguards individuals in their persons, homes, papers, and effects, from unreasonable searches and seizures.

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Privacy and the Constitution

The First Amendment's freedom of expression and association clause, protects information about those with whom we associate (e.g.,political groups and social organizations), and offers protections for the materials that we create, read, view, etc., in the privacy of our homes.

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Privacy and the Constitution

The Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination, protects the autonomy of our bodies, thoughts and beliefs.

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Code of Fair Information Practices(Gov Advisory Cmt 1973)

There should be no systems whose existence is secret.

There should be a way for a person to find out what data about him or her are in the system and how they are used.

Information obtained for one purpose should not be used for another purpose without the person's consent.

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Code of Fair Information Practices(Gov Advisory Cmt 1973)

There should be a way for a person to correct errors in his or her files.

Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or distributing personal data is responsible for the reliability and security of the data.

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Code of Fair Information Practices(Gov Advisory Cmt 1973)

This set of five principles has formed the basisof privacy-related laws in the US.

They have been put as part of national dataprotection laws in many industrial countrieswith the US being a major exception.

They influenced the 1974 Privacy Act

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In Detroit reporters were able to trace the various factions of a major crime family by recording auto license plates of autos parked around the home of a reputed mobster.

Motor vehicle data sells for about $5 per name.

On the web you can find folks that will look up tags for you.

Auto Tags

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According to the the US Bureau of Transit Statistics for 2006 there were 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles in the US and over 200 million licensed drivers.

There is information on where you live, what you drive, your height, weight, any physical handicaps, birth date, etc. We now have the ability (not my idea) to write an article on the ten heaviest women in the state.

Auto Tags

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Motor Vehicle Data

It would be nice if we could say the data we give about ourselves in order to get a drivers license can be used only for making that decision but States are currently passing laws that make that impossible.Wisconsin: a drivers license can be suspended for failure to pay a fine (such as a library fine).Kentucky: A student can lose a license if he/she cuts class or fails classes.

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Deadbeat Parents

More than 300,000 parents in 42 states have lost their drivers license because of latechild support payments.

In Maine it can cost you a chance at a licenseto shoot a moose.

Every state has some type of license suspension program.

In at least 26 states deadbeat parents have lost professional licenses (beauticians in MS).

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In Los Angeles, a man spotted an actress driving her car, hired a private investigator to look the plate number up in a data base which then gave him a home address. He then shot and killed her when she opened her front door.

The death to actress Rebecca Schaeffer by a stalker led to the passage of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994. Drivers were given the right to “Opt-out”of having their personal data sold.

Auto Tags

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25 June 1999: DMV Info at Stake in Senate LegislationA transportation-funding bill in the Senate contains a provision that state motor vehicle agencies may not sell their drivers license data-bases. Direct marketing firms are lobbying hard against the bill, while the ACLU and privacy advocates are offering their support. http://www.wired.com/news/print_version/politics/story/20435.html?wnpg=all

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-- 13 January 2000 Supreme Court Rules in

Favor of Drivers' Data

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the 1994 Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), which restricts states from selling drivers license data without the drivers' consent.

http://www.gcn.com/breaking-news/000113124350.html

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The Rest of the StoryThe reason the Supreme court was reviewing the law was because South Carolina was making good money selling drivers license data and photographs without consent of the drivers and the 1999 modifications (Oct 1999) to the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 was changing an opt-out option to one where specific permission (opt-in) had to be given before data could be sold. The Oct 1999 change had a problem in that when it eliminated the sale of information for marketing it also eliminated the sale of information to investigators for specified lawful purposes. This was corrected.

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IRSHas scanned vehicle registrations for people who own expensive boats or cars.

Examined (1993) cash transactions on two million taxpayers.

Clearly has the data on everyone who hasreported contributions to charitable organizations that have been alleged to support terrorism.

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Government Files

In 1982 it was estimated there were approximately 2000 federal databases containing 3.5 billion personnel files.

Used to detect fraud and to recover bad debts.

Serious threat to personal privacy.

What about government access to bank records?

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Data Base Privacy

In the 1990’s health insurance company for Commonwealth of Massachusetts released data for research that was stripped of individualidentifiers but kept date of birth, gender, and ZIP code in the records.

That is enough information to uniquely identify TWO-THIRDS of the population.

Greengard, “Privacy Matters” CACM, 09/08, Vol. 51, no 9, p17-18.

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Survey Privacy USM

Faculty asked to give an anonymous evaluationof the administration. For statistical studies they were asked to provide information on theirgender, the college they were members of, the number of years in college teaching, and the number of years at they had worked at USM.

Anonymous?

How do you respond?

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Matching/profilingComputer Matching means combining and comparing information from different databases. (Usually using SS#s to extract information on an individual from various sources.)

Computer Profiling means using data in computer files to determine characteristics of people most likely to engage in certain behavior.

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Profiling 1/28/09In an investigative report on ABC’s Good Morning America, It was reported that at least American Express was monitoringwhere you shop to determine your credit limits. The argument being that people whoshop at certain locations have a lower instance of staying current, so, if you do, your more ofa risk. Lower limit yields higher balance/limitratio yields higher rate. Don’t use card to paymarriage counselor.

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Linkage Attack

A linkage attack is one in which informationfrom a database is used to compromise privacy in a different database.

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Netflix Linkage AttackNetflix published dataset: More than 100,000,000 ratings, from 480,000 randomly-chosen anonymous customers on 18,000movie titles. Privacy was protected by removing all personal information and by then replacing customer IDs with randomly-assigned IDs. Each movie rating contained the date of the rating and the title and year of release of the movie.

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Netflix Linkage AttackResearchers from Univ of Texas Austinwere able to identify individuals in the Netflix data base by using public reviews published in the Internet Movie Database.

Eight ratings with dates provided enough information for the identifications tohave 99% accuracy.

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On being a Professional

The Netflix breach of privacy was probablya surprise because it did look like they had taken reasonable precaution.

The latest advance, (2006) “differential privacy” introduces random noise and assures that the database behaves the sameindependent of any individual or smallgroup being either included or excluded.

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Selective Service

Bought the birthday list from a major ice cream parlor chain to find 18 year olds who had not registered.

No Selective Service registration, no student aid.

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FBI(2000)National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

Criminal histories on 17 million people.

24 million records on wanted felons, missing property, etc.

Can legally obtain credit reports without a court order.

Database links to other databases being expanded.

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IssuesWhat about Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable search and seizure"?

Requires "probable cause" for search and seizure.

We can now find a suspect and look for a crime.

Problem with starting with a presumption of guilt.

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Census Bureau

Mandated census every ten years.

Information collected is supposed to be confidential.

Marketing information collected.

Information used to catch draft dodgers.

Race information gathering is more complicated now because of changing attitudes and the tie to government benefits.

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SS NumbersExtension of the Social Security Number to the status of an ID card was rejected in 1971 by the Social Security Administration task force on the SSN.

1991 report to congress "60% based on unverified information"

Privacy and security experts recommend that people not give their SS# without first determining if it is legally required or that there is a valid reason for requesting it.

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Credit BureausThe Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 restricted the distribution of information to only those who needed it for legitimate business purposes.

In 1993, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that the use of credit information to generate marketing lists violates law and ordered TRW (now Experian) and TransUnion to stop. Equifax the other major credit reporting firm, had stopped the practice in 1991.

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Annualcreditreport.comIn 2003 legislation was passed that required that the credit reporting agencies provide, upon request, a free credit report every twelve months to every consumer. The goal was to allow consumers a way to ensure their credit information is correct and to guard against identity theft. (Wikipedia)

It also allows the consumer to see how he looks in an enquiry.

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Annualcreditreport.comThe three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion created a joint venture company to oversee their compliance with the legislation.

This action led to annualcreditreport.com.

A common strategy is to request a report every 4 months. (Good idea)

Wikipedia

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Annualcreditreport.comAnnualcreditreport.com is the only federally mandated and authorized source for obtaining a free credit report.

Note: You don’t find free if you make your selection of reporting agencies on first page of annualcreditreport.com

Your credit score will cost you $7.95 and you will be given lots of chances to buy it.

Wikipedia

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Feds Drop Privacy PushWASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Trade Commission chairman Timothy J. Muris is to announce Thursday that his agency will not seek stronger consumer privacy laws. His position is a reversal of Clinton-era policy that said consumer privacy laws were needed to protect personal data on the Internet.  The decision carries more weight after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, many companies have been sharing their consumer data with law enforcement agencies and each other in an attempt to look for suspicious coincidences.  

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National ID cards

National ID cards have long been advocated as a means to enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants. Also proposed in debates on gun control, national health care, and Social Security reform. They are in use in many countries around the world including most European countries, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

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History of rejection for National ID cards

1971 Social Security Administration task force.1973 Health Education and Welfare advisory ctm.1976 Federal advisory ctm. on False Identification.1977 Carter Administration “no” on SSN use.1981 Regan Administration “explicitly opposed” Clinton Administration “opposed”*1999 Congress repeals provision of Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.9/11/01+ White House “not even considering.”

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National ID card debate after 9/11/2001

Larry Ellison, chairman and CEO of Oracle“We need a national ID card with our photograph and thumbprint digitized and imbedded in the ID card” and I’ll “provide the software for this absolutely free.”

Bush Administration saying “not an option” butsome members of Congress clearly tempted.

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What’s new in National ID card proposals?

Technology options are more varied and more sophisticated. In addition to the massive net-worked databases and the unbelievable computing power which is available for searching/matching we now have digital fingerprinting, handprint scans, facial recognition technologies, voice authentication devices, and retinal scans. More on chip implants later.

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Fake ID cards

Any estimate of the number of teenagers that have obtained “good enough” false ID to getby the “age” police? How difficult would it be with the support of a well financed terroristorganization or country to get a quality falseID? Does the estimated 750,000 cases of stolen identity in 2001 give some feel for how easythis might be?

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The Dutch and ID cardsIn 2003, all Dutch citizens with European Union (EU) identification cards will have unique biometric data stored in a chip. These cards are travel documents for use within the EU only. Passports will also get a chip, but a date has yet to be set, Van Beers said. The biometric information will not be centrally stored in a database, only on the chip, he stressed. The trials are conducted with immigrants because they have to report to the police regularly. http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/

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Could an ID card decrease security?

It is not the card that security folks will be relying on but on the integrity of the process that produced the card. Cards can be forged,or obtained improperly and any over reliance on their validity will provide a false sense of security that can result in major breaches of security.[We will make a similar argument concerningthe use of passwords and how they can providea false sense of security that leads to problems.]

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Google (2/8/09)

An upgraded mapping system will enable people to use mobile phones and other wireless devices to share their location with “family and friends.”

About privacy concerns: Each user can easily turn the tracking software on or off and can limit access. Google promises to store only the last position read on its computers.

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Microsoft, Google, Yahoo (2/8/09)

A record is made of every search you do online including the words and sites you search for, and the time and date.

Records are kept:

Microsoft: 18 months Google: 9 monthsYahoo: 3 months

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America Online (AOL)In 2006 AOL shared roughly 20 million search records from 658,000 users on their new AOL Research site. The data included a number assigned to the anonymous user, the search term, the date and time of the search, and the website visited as a result of the search. The data revealed possible illegal drug use, murder, suicide, medical information, names, addresses and social security numbers. AOL closed the site.

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The Government and Internet Search Records

The AOL incident reported in the previous slide occurred just months after the government had requested requested all the search result conducted over a one week period from all the major search engines including AOL, Yahoo, and Google. Google was the only search engine that did not give in to the request. They took their case to court and eventually won.

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Protecting Privacy in the Future

Baker predicts the emergence of a market in which "all kinds of companies are going to sell us software that helps us keep control of our data, furnish our data to those who will use it responsibly, and keep it from those who won't.”Numerati

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History Snapshot (What does this have to do with privacy?)

David Gelernter took a bachelor's degree in religious studies and a master's in Hebrew literature from Yale. He went on to collect a PhD in computer science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, but joined Yale as faculty in 1982. He made a name for himself by developing a computer language named "Linda”.