Chapter 10

Privacy and
Other Social Issues
What Is Privacy?
 Freedom from observation, intrusion, or
attention of others
 Society’s needs sometimes trump individual
privacy
 Privacy rights are not absolute
 Balance needed
 Individual rights
 Society’s need
 Privacy and “due process”

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Privacy and the Law
 No constitutional right to privacy
 The word “privacy” is not in the Constitution
 Congress has passed numerous laws
 Not particularly effective
 Issue is pace of change
 Privacy is a function of culture
 Privacy means different things in different
countries and regions
 Serious problem on global Internet

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Figure 10.1 Some U.S. privacy laws.
Title
Year Intent

1970 Fair Credit Reporting Limits the distribution of credit reports to those who
Act need to know.

1974 Privacy Act Establishes the right to be informed about personal

information on government databases.

1978 Right to Financial Prohibits the federal government from examining

Privacy Act personal financial accounts without due cause.

1986 Electronic Prohibits the federal government from monitoring

Communications personal e-mail without a subpoena.
Privacy Act

1988 Video Privacy Prohibits disclosing video rental records without

Protection Act customer consent or a court order.

2001 Patriot Act Streamlines federal surveillance guidelines to simplify

tracking possible terrorists.

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Collecting Personal Information
(e.g., your email address => email spam)
 Notice/awareness
 You must be told when and why
 Choice/consent
 Opt-in or opt-out
 Access/participation
 You can access and suggest corrections
 Integrity/security
 Collecting party is responsible
 Enforcement/redress
 You can seek legal remedies
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Figure 10. 3 Amazon.com’s privacy policy.

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 Figure 10.4 Dell displays the BBB seal.

 Seal of approval
 BBB
 TRUSTe
 WebTrust
 Enhances Web
site’s credibility

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Collecting Personal Information
 Often voluntary
 Filling out a form
 Registering for a prize
 Supermarket “Rewards” cards
 Legal, involuntary sources
 Demographics
 Change of address
 Various directories
 Government records

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Figure 10.5 Online personal information.

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Completing the Picture
 Aggregation
 Combining data from multiple sources
 Complete dossier
 Demographics
 Finding missing pieces
 Browser supplied data – TCP/IP
 Public forums – monitoring
 Samurai

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Capturing Clickstream Data
 Record of individual’s Internet activity
 Web sites and newsgroups visited
 Incoming and outgoing e-mail addresses
 Tracking
 Secretly collecting clickstream data
 ISP in perfect position to track you
 All transactions go through ISP
 Using cookies
 Using Web bugs

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 Figure 10.6 Tracking with cookies.
Cookies Web page

Client requests
Gotcha's Gotcha's
 cookies <IMG>
Acme page
 Acme returns
page 1 Request page
Client Acme's
 Client requests browser Return page 2 Web server
embedded 3
banner from Request banner Return banner
Gotcha Return cookies Return another cookie
4
 Gotcha returns
Gotcha's Gotcha's
banner and Web server database
cookie
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Tracking with Web “pixel spyware”
 Web pixel spyware – single-pixel clear GIF
 Image reference buried in HTML
 Browser requests image
 Server returns bug plus cookie
 Request provides clickstream data
 Difficult to spot a Web pixel spyware
 Web pixel spyware in HTML formatted e-mail
 Secret return receipt

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 Figure 10.8 A demonstration Web
spyware.

 This Web
bug is
designed
to be seen

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Figure 10.9 A Web pixel spyware buried in
an e-mail message.

Again, this one is designed to be seen

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Surveillance and Monitoring
 Surveillance
 Continual observation
 Tampa – facial scanning at Super Bowl
 Packet sniffing
 Monitoring
 The act of watching someone or something
 E-mail Web bugs
 Workplace monitoring is legal

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Surveillance and Monitoring Tools
 Spyware
 Sends collected data over back channel
 Snoopware
 Records target’s online activities
 Retrieved later
 Screen shots, logs, keystrokes
 Other surveillance/monitoring sources
 OnStar and GPS tracking
 E-ZPass systems
 Phone calls and credit card purchases
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Spam

 Electronic junk mail

 Spammers use anonymous remailers
 Mailing list sources
 Online personal information services
 Dictionary attack software
 Do not respond in any way!

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Anonymous Remailers

 Some good FAQs

 http://www.andrebacard.com/remail.html
 An example
 http://www.anonymizer.com
 What they know about you
 Not an endorsement

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 Figure 10.10 This banner ad mimics a
dialog box. Do not click “OK”.

 Fake banner ads like this one are very annoying

 Spawner – spawns its own pop-up ads
 Mouse-trapper
 Turns off browser’s Back button
 Disable pop-ups ad’s close button
 No way to close ad – must reboot
 Spam is a source of spawners and mouse-trappers
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Fraud

 The crime of obtaining money or some

other benefit by deliberate deception.
 Most common forms of IT fraud
 Identity theft
 Credit card fraud
 Scammers and con artists
 Financial swindles

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Protecting Your Online Privacy
 Implement appropriate security measures
 Get a copy of your credit report
 Use:
 Junk e-mail account
 Anonymous remailer
 Stealth surfing service
 Common sense
 Deal with recognized, trusted e-retailers
 Keep important numbers and passwords secret
 Use good passwords
 If your computer acts strangely, find out why
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