Privacy and Information

1. Privacy and Information Week 5

2. Computers and Government • Thousands of government offices and departments exist • All use computers in some manner

3. Most common uses • Data collection and maintenance • Research • Code breaking • Defense • and?...

4. Big Brother • More than 2000 government databases exist • We leave many data trails to facilitate the collection of information • Government pushes their rights to protect ours

5. Law Enforcement • National Crime Information Center • Help law-enforcement agencies share info to catch criminals • Benefits • any agency can access records • lots of info available • criminal histories • info on existing warrants • easy for intrastate usage

6. Law Enforcement • Problems • lack of control of entry • lack of control of usage • ease of access by employees • Abuse of power • Invasion of privacy • Inaccuracy

7. National ID Cards • Multi-purpose cards • Smart card - microprocessor and memory • used when interacting with governments and banks, medical

8. Benefits • Need to actual card to verify identity • Harder to forge • Carry only one card • Reduces fraud • Prevents illegal work

9. Civilian applications of government technologies • Economic espionage • Sharing of technology between law enforcement and other agencies • Military surveillance technology used in civilian applications

10. Threats to Privacy • Government has • wide scope of activities • large amount a data available • power to require us to provide information • ability to use and misuse databases

11. Computers have facilitated.... • the collection of data • analysis of data • storage of data • access of data • distribution of data • Reasons - speed and anonymity • Internet has broadened access to information

12. Database • Program to help you store, manage, and analyze your data • records • fields

13. Employee ID scanners Prescription drugs Bank machines Cellular phone calls Browsing on Net - cookies Sweepstakes Satellites Credit cards Supermarket scanners Electronic tolls Mail-order transactions E-mail Other Databases

14. DMV Voter registration Birth and death certificates Marriage certificates Property records Court records Divorce records Arrest records Postal address records Public records

15. Social welfare information Tax information School records Public library records Criminal history Health records Confidential Records

16. Internet and data collection • Cookies • Search engines - quicker more available info • open ended nature of net - no rules to define what is personal info • newsgroup, chat rooms, e-mail remains available for years

17. Purposes of Record Systems • Help agencies perform their functions efficiently • Determine eligibility for government job • Determine eligibility for benefits programs • Detect fraud • Recover payments of delinquent debt

18. Acquisition of Data • Census • Surveillance • Identification • Networking

19. Methods Used • Computer matching • Combining and comparing information from different databases • Computer profiling • using data in computer files to determine characteristics of people most likely to engage in a certain behavior

20. Data Mining • Analyze to perform data profiles • Create from customer files than matches are made • Businesses and governments keep records and sell them

21. Data Mining Results • Analysis of data for relationships that have not been discovered • Associations • one event can be correlated to another • Sequences • One event leads to another • Classification • Recognition of patterns resulting in new organizations

22. Data Mining Results Continued • Clustering • Finding and visualizing groups of facts not previously known • Forcasting • Discovering patterns in the data that can lead to predictions about the future

23. Data Mining Uses • Target customers • Advertise to current customers • Manipulate markets • Select, monitor, and control employees

24. Most common tool Social security number

25. Social Security Number • Major use for identification • Linked to • banking data • credit report • driving record • earnings history • work history • .......

26. Credit Bureaus • Provide a central storehouse of information used to evaluate applicants for credit • data supplied by banks, stores, and other businesses • Public records - lawsuits, liens, bankruptcies

27. Regulation of Credit Bureaus • Regulated by federal government • Fair Credit Reporting Act • can give information to employers, government, and insurance companies, and those who need it for legitimate purposes involving customer • VAGUE?

28. Changes • Legal right to get a copy of their own report for free, and a list of those who have requested it • Prohibit employers from obtaining reports without person’s permission • or at all except for special kinds of jobs

29. Medical Records • Data is personal and sensitive • Used for marketing purposes • Hard to restrict due to varying laws in different states • Insurance benefits require that we tell all

30. Technical and Management Protections • Each authorized user has unique ID code and password • Restrict operations of different users in areas where they do not need to go • Use audit trail to track usage by workers • Computer records reduce handling and potential reading

31. Risks due to databases • Unauthorized use by people who maintain them • Access from intruders • Mishandling • Errors and potential problems • Intentional uses

32. Creep Phenomenon If information is collected, it will probably be used for many purposes that were not intended when the project started

33. Biometrics • Verification through unique physical characteristics • little fraud • fingerprints • DNA • hand geometry • facial recognition • facial thermography