Category: Thought Leadership

Goodwill Data Breach: Even Charities Are Susceptible to Cyber Criminals

It’s believed that Goodwill stores in as many as 21 states may have been hacked for the credit card data of consumers who’ve shopped at the thrift stores. Some signs have led investigators to believe these cybercrimes may have begun as early as May of 2012. But what would make someone stoop so low as to attack a charity whose purpose is to restore a sense of pride in people who are in need, mostly by providing them with training and skills to find better jobs?

Will the FCC’s $2 Billion Plan for School WiFi Create More Problems Than It Solves?

WiFi in schools has been happening with much enthusiasm all over the country. So recent news that the Federal Communications Commission will spend $2 billion to boost wireless Internet connectivity in U.S. schools and libraries during the next two years should be a good thing, right?

While FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has called it a “watershed moment” to give wireless access to 10 million kids, give or take, privacy experts are raising a collective eyebrow.

Rethinking the Security of Health and Fitness Apps

It might be hard to envision life before the convenience of portable devices emerged on the market. Providing everything from instant connectivity and access to information, tablets and smartphones can feel like we’re carrying a portable personal assistant everywhere we go.

But one trend emerging in the mobile device market does have its critics raising the alarm for personal security, and that’s the high numbers of consumers who use health and fitness apps. These apps, which track our healthy habits and exercise information, seem like a great way to foster a healthy lifestyle, but the reality has industry experts a little concerned.

Facial Recognition: The Scariest Privacy Issue

No one doubts that biometric identification is a powerful tool with many possible applications. But there’s a downside to this technology: in essence, our faces can now be used for government tracking and surveillance that was not possible until now. And there are few safeguards currently in place to curb excessive use of this tool.

In Unanimous Opinion, SCOTUS Defends Cell Phone Privacy

In a landmark decision for digital privacy, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that warrantless searches of cell phones are not permitted by the Fourth Amendment. The Court looked at two cases to see if the warrantless searches of the defendants’ cell phones were reasonable and allowed under the Fourth Amendment. The Court ruled that they were not reasonable, but allowed for exemptions in emergency situations, such as preventing a terrorist act.

You’re Probably White and Middle Class If You Don’t Care about Government Surveillance

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, a group dedicated to defend and protect the right to free expression both in Canada and around the world, recently released a poll which is quite telling of how many of us view government surveillance.

The poll asked Canadian citizens what they would do if they found out that the government was spying on them. A whopping 60% said that they would do nothing.