Privacy News for July 30, 2021

July 30, 2021 By Eric Stroshane 5 Comments

Privacy and the Pandemic

How the HIPAA Law Works and Why People Get It Wrong | The New York Times

LA Patient Privacy Incident Discloses COVID-19 Vaccine Status | Health IT Security

Students’ and Minors’ Privacy

Students are facing facial recognition watchlists in Texas schools | Reclaim the Net

Police surveillance is the wrong approach to student safety | Boston Globe

Why schools need to abandon facial recognition, not double down on it | Fast Company

Government Surveillance

Hesperia [California] to buy more license plate reading cameras; residents voice concern about ‘Big Brother’ | Victorville Daily Press

Scale of secretive cyber surveillance ‘an international human rights crisis’ in which NSO Group is complicit | Amnesty International

Spwyare for sale: The booming trade in surveillance tech | The Times of Israel

The Pegasus Project: Sale of Surveillance to Autocratic Governments Must Stop | International Federation for Human Rights

Laws, Legislation, and Regulations

Connecticut Enacts Safe Harbor From Punitive Damages In Data Breach Cases | JDSupra

GOP Bill Attempts to Inject Life Into Stalled Internet Privacy Talks | The Wall Street Journal

House’s Resolve to Curb Surveillance State Faces Biggest Test Since Trump Presidency | The Intercept

Biometric Privacy

Want your unemployment benefits? You may have to submit to facial recognition first | CNN

TikTok Captures Your Face | Pursuit

Surveillance Capitalism

QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow. | The New York Times

Is Apple really a White Knight of Privacy – Apple’s New App Tracking Policy – Enhancing Competition or Abusing Dominance? [pdf] | Lexology

Encryption

What the Pegasus Spyware Leak Means for Surveillance, Smartphones & Encryption Backdoors | Privacy News Online

[Windscribe] VPN servers seized by Ukrainian authorities weren’t encrypted | ArsTechnica

Privacy Tools and Techniques

How to Defend Yourself Against the Powerful New NSO Spyware Attacks Discovered Around the World | The Intercept

This Week in Data Breaches and Leaks

Saudi Aramco confirms data leak after $50 million cyber ransom demand | ArsTechnica

Fashion retailer Guess discloses data breach after ransomware attack | BleepingComputer

UC San Diego Health announces data breach | San Diego Union-Tribune

Filed Under: News and Updates

5 replies to Privacy News for July 30, 2021

Comments are closed.

Guidelines for Private Online Searching & Browsing Julie Oborny
There are few options for searching without being tracked. To search anonymously from home requires tech-savvy and money. This is something many people do not have. Libraries should help any user access information anonymously. Guidelines A group of library privacy experts created the following guidelines. Use them to bolster your efforts. Starting a Computer or Wi-Fi Session Offer Guest User Options: Allow users to log in to public computers and Wi-Fi without using their personal library card. This can be facilitated through the use of guest passes. Do not require identification or keep logs of users who check out a guest pass or sign in as a guest. Avoid Paper Sign-up Sheets: Do NOT have paper sign-up sheets for the computers. If there is no other option, practice the following: Staff should always be in control of these paper sign-up sheets Only require the minimum amount of data needed for reserving a computer. Shred paper sheets at the end of the day. Filtering Software No Logging: Filtering software should not log user activity. Ensure and verify that this is not happening on filtered computers. Guest Passes: If disabling logging is not possible, offer a guest pass at no charge. Age Data: Do not capture proof of age when removing filters. Just verify. Erasing Computer Sessions Public Computers: Set public computers to load a fresh computer image after each user session. Software example: Deep Freeze. End sessions automatically if the user forgets to log out at the end of a session. Circulated/Loaned Devices: Reset or reimage borrowed devices at point of check-in. Examples of devices: laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices. Session Logs: Do not store logs of users’ computer or Wi-Fi sessions for longer than 24 hours. Delete computer reservation and Wi-Fi session logs that contain personal information. Include this practice as a closing activity. Do not collect information about user activity during a public computer or Wi-Fi session. Activity examples: applications used and web browser activity. Printers: Clear the print queue for the print management system daily. Physical Protections Physical Space: Arrange the physical library space for privacy. People should be able to use personal technology without observation. If security cameras are required inside the buildings, optimize for privacy. Check to make sure they are not pointed toward screens or other places where they may record library use. Privacy Screens: Provide easily accessible privacy screens. These screens should be available for any user who needs one. If possible, install privacy screens on all public computers. Shredding: Shred print-outs left at the printer. Provide access to shredders for users. Browsers & Search Tools Default Search: Set DuckDuckGo as the default search for all browsers. Default Browsers: Set the default browser on computers to Brave or Firefox. Anonymous Search with Tor: Install the Tor browser on all public access computers. Provide guides for users about how to use Tor for anonymous searching. Training For Users Guides: Provide guides to users who wish to remain anonymous online. Examples: Personal Accounts: Do not log in to any personal accounts during the entire session. Examples: Google Amazon Facebook Learning Management Systems Private vs. Public: Treat school or work cloud-document services as public record. Don’t use these services to keep track of sensitive information. Search Tools: Use a privacy-focused search engine, such as DuckDuckGo. Mobile Browsers: Download privacy-focused browsers on mobile devices. Examples: Firefox Focus Brave Tor DuckDuckGo Tech Help: Assist users in installing encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal. Programs: Device Settings: Teach users how to turn off the following on their devices: Personalized advertising or ad tracking (iOS and Android) Location sharing Unused and unnecessary app permissions VPNs: Teach users about virtual private networks (VPNs): How to pick one. Refer to https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/choosing-vpn-thats-right-you How to install one. This depends on the VPN. How to use one. This depends on the VPN. Attendance: Allow people to attend these training programs anonymously. Alternatives: Provide digital and physical resources for those who are unable or unwilling to attend in person. Example: https://sec.eff.org/ For Staff New Hires: Include privacy training as part of new-hire onboarding. Ongoing: Have regular privacy training for library workers. State Laws: Review state laws on confidentiality of library use data. Do this with all library workers. Communication: Share updates on changes in privacy issues. Do this especially for state and national laws.
Data Privacy Week – January 24-28, 2022 Stacy Tomaszewski
This year, the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) has expanded its Data Privacy Day to a week! Data Privacy Day started in 2008 as a North American complement to Data Protection Day in Europe. The purpose of Data Privacy Week is to help “spread awareness about online privacy and [educate] citizens on how to manage their personal information and keep it secure” and to “ [encourage] businesses to respect data and be more transparent about how they collect and use customer data.”
Book review of ‘Cyber Privacy: Who Has Your Data and Why You Should Care’ Virginia Dressler
“Data, I’ve found, is becoming like the weather; it’s something that almost anyone can talk about.” Cyber Privacy by April Falcon Doss is a timely title on so many key issues around data privacy in the online world– And Doss is well-positioned to write on this topic, with her thirteen years working at the NSA and later working in a private sector practice focusing on cyber-security and privacy issues. I found this title to be a thoughtful and well-written perspective, primarily centered on the U.S.