Digital Privacy Please
Regardless of whether or not you are a digital visitor or resident, it is incredibly easy to leave a digital footprint. However, most people (including myself) do not realize that when you aren’t actively protecting your digital privacy, your digital footprint may get you hacked or worse. Hacking is the largest potential consequence of our digital footprint and activity. There is a variety of ways that your information can be used against you. Spyware, Pharming, Phishing, and Malware are just a few of the tactics used to obtain personal and private information. However, there are also other ways to invade personal privacy through technology. Personally, it is even scarier to me that hackers have the potential to steal your information and also watch you through the cameras on your devices. As a college student who is constantly using my computer for schoolwork, it is scary to know that hackers could potentially hack the computer camera and watch without your knowledge. This can also be expanded to any technology with a camera, such as the popular Ring cameras or high-tech baby monitors. This tactic has been coined the term “Camfecting”. The article below is just one example of camfecting that I found when researching the topic (and pushed me to order a webcam slide cover from Amazon).
The articles from this week’s module further displayed the importance of protecting your digital privacy. One way to protect your privacy is by reading the dreaded terms of service. One experiment highlighted the importance of reading the terms and conditions, and what could happen if you don’t. In the study conducted by Jonathan Obar and Anne Oledorf-Hirsch, they asked volunteers to sign up for a new social networking platform called Name Drop (not knowing it was fictitious for study purposes). When signing the terms of service that their information would be shared with the NSA, 98% didn’t realize they had agreed to give up their first-born child as payment due to not reading the terms. While this is an extreme and fictitious example, it highlights how easy it is for someone to unknowingly agree to terms that could risk their digital privacy and security.
Another surprising but unnerving fact I learned was from the article How to Protect Your Digital Privacy in the Era of Public Shaming. Something as little as not updating your software on your devices can actually put you at risk for hacking. Hackers can install ransomware when there are bugs or holes in old software and request ransom (aka payment) to have your personal data back. Especially in these unprecedented times, when everything from work to schooling has been transferred to the digital platform, it is more important than ever to protect your digital privacy!
