four individuals and a hand holding a mobile phone, illustration - Credit: DesignPrax

Coalition of the Willing Takes Aim at COVID-19

Though privacy concerns limit the quantity of information they will be able to use, as the pandemic gradually clears, researchers will have data from the most closely tracked outbreak of its kind to gauge the effectiveness of the many strategies countries have used to tackle Covid-19. But the pandemic has reinforced the notion that there are limits to what data science can achieve, despite the clear cost-savings and efficiency that technology promises.

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shopper with shopping cart standing in a target, illustration - Credit: TC Group Solutions

Tracking Shoppers

Most people are aware that if they use the Internet, social media sites, or electronic payment systems, their activity is tracked, thereby creating a digital footprint and roadmap that can reveal a significant amount of personal data and activity patterns. Online retailers and marketers are leveraging (some may say exploiting) this treasure trove of data, helping them craft advertisements and marketing messages that specifically target consumers in the hopes of driving sales, or creating a deeper level of engagement with customers.

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NYTimes - The Privacy Project

The Privacy Project

The boundaries of privacy are in dispute, and its future is in doubt. Citizens, politicians and business leaders are asking if societies are making the wisest tradeoffs. The Times is embarking on this monthslong project to explore the technology and where it’s taking us, and to convene debate about how it can best help realize human potential.

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Schneier on Security - Masthead

Schneier on Security – “Crypto-Gram” Newsletter

I am a public-interest technologist, working at the intersection of security, technology, and people. I’ve been writing about security issues on my blog since 2004, and in my monthly newsletter since 1998. I’m a Special Advisor to IBM Security, a fellow and lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and a board member of EFF. This personal website expresses the opinions of none of those organizations.

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CyberLaw Podcast Logo

CyberLaw Podcast

The Cyberlaw Podcast is a weekly interview series and discussion on the latest events in technology, security, privacy, and government. The podcast is hosted by Steptoe & Johnson LLP partner Stewart Baker, who is joined by a wide variety of guests including academics, politicians, authors, and reporters. You can subscribe to the podcast here. It is also available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

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Book Cover: Permanent Record

Permanent Record

Permanent Record
By Edward Snowden
Published by Metropolitan Books, September 17, 2019

“Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.”

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Mark Zuckerberg walks down aisle of theater full of people wearing Oculus augmented reality headsets. (It's a new wilderness)

The New Wilderness

Idle Words
By Maciej Cegłowski

“For the purposes of this essay, I’ll call it “ambient privacy” – the understanding that there is value in having our everyday interactions with one another remain outside the reach of monitoring, and that the small details of our daily lives should pass by unremembered. What we do at home, work, church, school, or in our leisure time does not belong in a permanent record. Not every conversation needs to be a deposition.”

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