The Privacy Conundrum (Do we have secrets to hide?)

1. The Privacy Conundrum(Do we have secrets to hide?) Partha DasguptaArizona State UniversityTempe, AZ, USA

2. Overview • Privacy – what, why, and it’s important • Security is different • Privacy leaks via browsing • Advertising and the importance of targeting • Why we have no privacy even if we have security? • Smartphones and things to come

3. Privacy • The ability of an entity to seclude information about itself. • Types of privacy: • Personal, informational (financial, medical, political, Internet), organizational, spiritual. • Ability to control information flow, limit publicity, enforce the notion of “private information” • Privacy is rooted in cultural aspects. • Western cultures are more concerned with individual privacy. Urban cultures value privacy more than rural cultures • Right to privacy? • Internet privacy?

4. Why Hide? Why Privacy? • “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear” OR • “If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide” • Eric Schmidt, (CEO of Google): -- "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place, …” • Pitfalls: • Mistakes, misinterpretation, framing, false opinions, lack of due process • Discrimination based on personal opinions, politics, health, • Cardinal Richelieu (circa 1600): "If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged", • Bruce Schneier: "Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control.“ • Scott McNealy, “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” (1998)

5. Security (and privacy) • Security: Protect against attackers gaining access to property, systems, information and such. • Privacy: Protect against oneself disclosing information that could be harmful if disclosed. • Privacy subsumes security, but not vice versa. • Secure systems can protect privacy, but often do not. • Smartphones may be secure, but are terrible leakers of privacy. • Today, most privacy leaks happen without any security attacks. • People unknowingly leak private information on the internet

6. Simple Privacy Leaks • Browser • Search History • On cloud, or local (with Javascript tracking) • Google Maps (mobile)

7. Filter Bubble • Customized searches • Google (and others) provide search results based on what you searched/liked before • Customized for you • Customization leads to the “filter bubble” • you live in a bubble and see what you would like to see. • The user experience from an algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user. • Good  Food choices, lifestyle choices • Bad  Opinions, politics, news

8. “You are the Product” • The internet applications are free to users…. • Since you are not paying, you are not the consumer • You are the product being sold to their clients • Why are you valuable? • Advertising budget: > USD 100 billion (40b for US) • Advertising effectiveness increases dramatically when a product is advertised to a person, who wants it, or may be convinced they want it. • Targeted advertising • The victim has little chance • Serious money is involved, and the better the targeting, the better the results and hence the higher the cost-per-click.

9. Why track? • You are the product…targeted advertising is the goal • Profit! • The web is advertiser supported and advertisers want to know and control: • Who sees the ads – demographics, income, location, age, sex and so on. • What ad should be shown to whom, targeted specials have great success. • Build profiles – databases about humans who brows the web. • Even if browsing incognito (private modes)

10. Advertising Driven? • Google: Revenue, 2013: USD 60 billion Profits, 2013: USD 12 billion • Facebook too Who paid this?? Why? Google is free?

11. Marketing Maxims • You do not buy the product, you buy the brand • Perception of a good deal • Perception of higher quality • Power of marketing • “I do not care for advertisements” – not true. • Targeted advertising • Preys on peoples weaknesses, yearnings and FUD • FUD: Fear, uncertainty, doubt • “Good” deals too – it is musch better to mark up a $50 product to $100 and then prividing a 50% discount, than to price it at $50.

12. Complex Privacy Leaks • Targeting user need in-depth information about the users • Hence breaching users privacy is important • Tracking / Monitoring • Eavesdropping • Aggregation of information • Building profiles • Data Mining and other AI/Machine Learning techniques • Connection graph

13. Tracking – Monitoring - Eavesdropping • You know Your friends know  some people may know  One entity knows about everyone • Third party cookies • Javascript tracking http://www.forbes.com/ http://www.independent.co.uk/ http://www.businessinsider.com/ http://uk.reuters.com/ http://venturebeat.com/

14. Facebook-style tracking • Facebook icons and likes • Also many other sites • Click not needed • Even when logged off!! • “Sign in with Facebook”

15. Cloud Computing • Cloud computing: “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” • Storage on the cloud  All data is visible to service provider. • Nothing ever gets deleted • Cloud drives, cloud email, financial tracking, health monitoring, payment systems, calendaring, mapping and routing, call a cab, • Even crowdsourcing sites, social networking sites, photo sharing sites, and so on.

16. Aggregation of tracks • Cookies allow a website to see who is repeatedly visiting them • Each website manages its own data about users • Aggregation allows a third party to see the global picture • Tracking techniques make this possible • Resulting data in valuable to marketing people

17. Graphs and Mining • Relationship graphs reveal a lot about you • Who do you communicate with? • Who communicates with you? • Relationships based on friends, location, age, gender, political beliefs, religion, hobbies, interests • Building profiles • Data Mining • Machine learning

18. The Smartphone trap • The final frontier are smartphones • “There is a app for it” • As smartphone usage is rising, the tracking and monitoring opportunities are exploding • Smartphone penetration – “HIGH” • US: 50%, China: India: 13% • Growth rate is impressive • Downloaded apps are like viruses, they have too much power • Even though they disclose the “power” • Too many permissions?

19. Android Security and Privacy • Android has a “well designed, well thought out” security infrastructure • Android has legitimate ways of bypassing security with user permissions – get higher permissions • Users have to be knowledgeable • Want the app? You have to say yes to permissions. • Privacy controls are terrible • Apps can leak, aggregate, profile and even collude • “intents” is a backdoor method of inter-app communication

20. Google Maps Device & app history -- retrieve running apps Identity -- find accounts on the device -- add or remove accounts Contacts/Calendar -- read your contacts -- modify your contacts Location -- precise location (GPS and network-based) Phone -- write call log -- directly call phone numbers Photos/Media/Files -- test access to protected storage -- modify or delete the contents of your USB storage Camera/Microphone -- record audio Wi-Fi connection information -- view Wi-Fi connections Device ID & call information -- read phone status and identity Other -- view configured accounts -- receive data from Internet -- run at startup -- view network connections -- install shortcuts -- control Near Field Communication -- use accounts on the device -- disable your screen lock -- read Google service configuration -- full network access -- connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi -- control vibration

21. Facebook (edited) Identity -- find accounts on the device -- add or remove accounts -- read your own contact card Contacts/Calendar -- modify your contacts -- read calendar events plus confidential information -- add or modify calendar events and send email to guests without owners' knowledge Location -- precise location (GPS and network-based) SMS -- read your text messages (SMS or MMS) Phone -- write call log -- directly call phone numbers Photos/Media/Files Camera/Microphone -- take pictures and videos -- record audio Wi-Fi connection information -- view Wi-Fi connections Device ID & call information -- read phone status and identity Other -- download files without notification -- create accounts and set passwords -- view network connections -- install shortcuts -- read Google service configuration -- draw over other apps -- full network access -- change network connectivity -- set wallpaper -- send sticky broadcast -- reorder running apps -- connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi

22. Brightest Flashlight Device ID & call information -- read phone status and identity Other -- disable or modify status bar -- read Home settings and shortcuts -- control flashlight -- prevent device from sleeping -- view network connections -- full network access -- install shortcuts -- uninstall shortcuts Location -- approximate location (network-based) -- precise location (GPS and network-based) Photos/Media/Files -- modify or delete the contents of your USB storage -- test access to protected storage Camera/Microphone -- take pictures and videos Wi-Fi connection information -- view Wi-Fi connections

23. Smartphone Tracking Risks • What can a smartphone do? • Complex apps that gather a lot of information • An aggregation point of a large number of tracking possibilities • Location maps • Activity (physical) • Transactions (financial) • Communications with other people • Lifestyle choices • Health monitoring • Payment systems • “The Ecosystem” • Profile building that is significantly better than what is possible on computers

24. Payment Systems • Smartphone based banking and payment systems are being marketed heavily • NFC (Near Field Communication) based systems, as well as other methods • Credit card transactions • Wallet based transactions • Monitoring your spending profiles • Gather real information about what the user does and purchases and sees • Comparative shopping systems • Amazon does real market analysis via crowdsourcing

25. Health Monitoring Systems • Health sensors that interface to your smartphone • e.g. FITBIT • Sensors can find out a lot about you • Sleep • Sit, walk, run, climb • Vitals (heart rate, blood pressure, sugar levels) • Food and drink consumption • Data is uploaded to cloud servers • A lot of advantages • Get the ideas…..?

26. Life Scheduling • Things you should do, and when • Calendaring combined with …. • Location • To-do lists • Things to buy • Friends and connections • Managing time and activities • Yet another wonderful data mining source

27. Total Ecosystems • The smartphone based ecosystems are almost here • Use the smartphone to control your entire existence • Social • Personal • Professional • Entertainment • Hobbies • Aggregate all information and use it against the poor human • Google, Apple, Microsoft control all the apps you can get on the respective platforms • Much more to come, things we have not thought of yet • Today marketing, tomorrow worse…

28. Government Surveillance • Governments use surveillance for various reasons • Defeating terrorism? • Using backbone monitoring • Raw data, as well s other techniques • Get encryption keys via various methods • Not easily defeated, since they have powers of enforcement

29. Internet of Things • The future – every device will be connected to the Internet • Household devices, sensors, actuators, lights, appliances • IPv6 will make everything have a unique IP address • Security and privacy can be compromised in many ways • Unintended consequences • Not well thought through, just like most technologies • Very useful, but has severe downsides

30. Conclusions • Scott McNealy was right • (1998 was not when privacy leaks were common) • Since we have lost the right to privacy, we probably will never get it back • Corporate and government interests will win • The advantages of giving up privacy entices most people • Services for free • Quite useful applications • BUT we pay a high price for it….. • “Free is too expensive”