ICS 131: Social Analysis of Computerization

1. ICS 131: Social Analysis of Computerization Lecture 15: Privacy

2. Quick Reminder • From the syllabus: • Please turn off all cell phones/pagers/etc. before the beginning of each class. Please do not use notebook computers during class for any purpose not directly relating to this class. Please do not instant message or check email during class.

3. Notes on Grading Review Policy • As sometimes there are cases where people feel that papers have been misgraded, you are welcome to bring them to the TA or to me so that we can take a look. • It’s like the NFL instant replay review system. Unless there is obvious evidence that an error has been made, the call made on the field stands. • The entire exam will be regraded, including both positive and negative corrections. • Grades become final two weeks after they are returned to you.

4. Credit Reports • Did anyone request one?

5. Key Ideas • Technology creates additional personal content that one might wish to keep private, creates additional ways to keep information private, and creates additional ways for other people to invade one’s privacy.

6. What things might a person want to keep private? • Age • Ethnicity • Income • Relationships • Writing • Others? • Why?

7. Technologically-created things one might want to keep private • Files • Email • Data on personal habits • Others? • Why?

8. Historical ways that people have kept things private • Locks • Not writing it down • Secretaries • Codes • Hiding places • Laws • Social Rules • Others?

9. Technological ways to keep things private • Passwords (historical too) • Cryptography • Withholding source code • Others?

10. Historical ways to invade a person’s privacy • Search their house • Interrogate them • Go through their trash • Look through their documents • Junk mail • Door-to-door solicitation • Others?

11. Technological ways to invade a person’s privacy • Hack into their computer • Sniff their packets • Data mining • Spam

12. Data Mining • What things can they gather about you? • Who are “they”? • What good can “they” do you? • What harm can “they” do you?

13. People give up personal data for relatively little return • How many people have one of those supermarket discount cards? • Raise your hand if you’d give someone your address for free. $1. $10. $20. $100. • How much is your other information worth?

14. Beatriz da Costa - Swipe • Information from driver’s license • Data calculator

15. What is the value of… • The data you have given away in the last week?

16. Kyllo vs. United States • “In an important declaration of the constitutional limits on new privacy-threatening technology, the Supreme Court ruled today that the use by the police of a thermal imaging device to detect patterns of heat coming from a private home is a search that requires a warrant.” -Linda Greenhouse, NYTimes, 6/12/01 • "reasonable expectation of privacy” - 4th amendment test • devices that are "not in general public use"

17. News article yesterday 2/22/06 • Personal Data of 26.5M Veterans Stolen • By HOPE YEN (AP) • Personal data, including Social Security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans, was stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee this month after he took the information home without authorization, the department said Monday.

18. A Challenge • Pick someone famous. • Without breaking the law, how much can we find out about them? • Enlist the aid of everyone with laptops. • If you don’t have a laptop, please discuss how you’d find out information about someone, while your classmates with laptops work. • 5 minutes

19. Front Screen • What happened up on screen?

20. Etherpeg • What is it? • Who had heard of it?

21. Etherpeg • Demoing Etherpeg in class (and next time I teach this class)… • Questions: • Should I use Etherpeg without announcing it first? • If something inappropriate appeared, who is at fault, and who could potentially be considered to be at fault? • What advance steps did I take (and could I take) to protect myself without ruining the surprise?

22. Results • What did we find on our famous person?

23. Discussion for the Day • There has been quite a bit of discussion in the news about warrantless surveillance activities by the Bush administration. • If there were a technology by which any person could listen in undetectably to any other person’s phone conversation, what privacy issues would arise? Should it be legal for everyone to use? Should it be legal for governmental use? (You may be asked to defend either side of the last two questions.) • Discuss for 5 minutes.

24. To discuss the topic of the day, please welcome... …come on down front!

25. P.S. Wired Magazine • Wired News yesterday released the “complete text of a set of documents from the EFF's primary witness in the case.” • http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70947-0.html?tw=wn_technology_1

26. Next class • Second paper drafts due.