The Information Warfare Monitor, a joint project of the Advanced Network Research Group, part of the Cambridge Security Programme, The SecDev Group and the Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto,…
Category: Issues
On the “Anonymity” of the Facebook Dataset (Updated)
(Updated below with responses to comments by Jason Kaufman, one of the lead researchers on this project) (Another update: I'm pretty sure the "anonymous, Northeastern university" from where this dataset was derived is Harvard College. Details here) A group of…
Read More On the “Anonymity” of the Facebook Dataset (Updated)
Banned Books Week 2008
Banned Books Week 2008 is being celebrated September 27 - October 4, and is the 27th annual celebration of the freedom to choose what we read, as well as to select from a full array of possibilities. According to the…
Poll Reveals Amercians are Concerned about Online Privacy, but Grossly Misinformed
On the heels of the recent Pew study concerning cloud computing and privacy, Consume Reports has released a poll revealing that most Americans are very concerned about what is being done with their personal information online. Some highlights: 72% are…
Read More Poll Reveals Amercians are Concerned about Online Privacy, but Grossly Misinformed
Facebook *Really* Wants You to Use Beacon (Updated)
Remember Beacon? That a pervasive tool Facebook created for tracking, collecting, and publishing user purchasing habits across the Web? After enough uproar, Facebook was kind enough to offer users a way to opt-out of this surveillance assemblage. Well, I was…
Read More Facebook *Really* Wants You to Use Beacon (Updated)
Banned Book Week is Coming…Even in Wasilla
As Banned Books Week near (September 27-October 4), Nancy Kranich, past president of the American Library Association, reminds us of the many attempts to restrict our right to read, including an example from Wasilla, Alaska: This year's banned book focal…
Use of cloud computing increasing, despite privacy concerns
Pew Internet and American Life project released a new study revealing that 69% of online Americans rely on "cloud computing" for many of their communication and productivity needs, including web-based email, online data storage and file sharing, or software programs…
Read More Use of cloud computing increasing, despite privacy concerns
Technologies of Obfuscation and Resistance
During my studies in privacy and surveillance theory, I've gained an interest in technologies of obfuscation and resistance. Especially simple ones that nearly any average citizen can implement. TrackMeNot is a great example: a simple Firefox extension that periodically issues…
Catching Up – Link Dump
I’ve been ridiculously busy lately, and need to quickly catch up on some recent items of note: Scientific American has a nice special issue dedicated to "the future of privacy." Nothing new here for most privacy scholars, but it is…
Further Update on Local Library SSN Practices – Divulgence is Voluntary
This week I received a formal reply to my July 2 letter to the Shorewood, Wisconsin Public Library regarding its requiring I provide my social security number to obtain a library card, that confirms the anecdotal evidence that the library…
Read More Further Update on Local Library SSN Practices – Divulgence is Voluntary
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