Privacy and pervasive computing

With thanks to Bob Kummerfeld

2

Overview

Overview of privacy conceptsSummary of principles and lawsexamples

What is Privacy?

Textbook: “the right to control who knows certain aspects about you, your communications, and your activities”

Privacy is not the same as confidentiality or secrecyPrivate information relates to a person or

entity

3

What is Privacy?

Textbook: “the right to control who knows certain aspects about you, your communications, and your activities”

Privacy is not the same as confidentiality or secrecyPrivate information relates to a person or entity

Over to you:What is Privacy?

4

What is Privacy?

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (Australian Federal Government) considers privacy of personal information, which may “include privacy issues associated with information about your location, your health and body and your communications with others.”

5

6

What is Privacy?A piece of information that one person considers

private may not be private for another personDepends on the person and the informationEg A might consider their age to be private information,

while B may not.

Privacy is multi-faceted:Some information I may not want anyone to knowSome information I’m happy to tell immediate familySome information I don’t mind telling friendsContext is important

Trust is a key factorIf I release information to another individual and they

make it public my privacy has been breached

7

What is Privacy?

As well as individuals, information can be private toGroupsOrganisationsCompaniesGovernments

In some cases information is private to prevent competitors getting an advantage (eg companies, governments)

Privacy is controlled disclosure: the subject chooses what personal data to give out and to whom

Privacy is controlled disclosure: the subject chooses what personal data to give out and to whom

Computers and Privacy

9

• Privacy was an issue long before we had computers• But, computers change the way we collect and use

information about people and entities.• Single data centres can now hold petabytes of

information (1015 or 1,000,000,000,000,000)• If we collect 1000 bytes of data about a person every

second, and do this for 100 years, it is ~3.1TBytes. This storage can be attached to an average PC today. In 100 years……

• We are rapidly approaching a time when we never delete data.

Life Logging

We are close to a time when ALL our interaction with the world can be captured

This can have many good uses but is a major privacy riskHealth tracking

Alzheimer's treatment

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/martinkallstrom/memoto-lifelogging-camera

10

11

PermissionSome information is given knowingly and with

permission to use it elsewhere.However, a lot of data is now acquired about people

without their (informed) consent.People leave digital footprints wherever they go:

Phone callsSmart phone trackingPurchases with a credit cardATM useTransport card useInternet use (cookies etc)Sensors in buildings, on streetsSensors people carry (phones, Sensecam-like devices)

12

Data OwnershipInformation collected about people by one

organisation is sometimes sold to another organisationEg your browsing habits might be sold

Information about you can now easily be passed from one organisation to another

Information about you now persists, potentially forever!

Facebook comments or photos you posted when you were a teenager may be found by a potential employer when you are 21

Video capture that is made publicOnce you release information into the “wild” it is

almost impossible to retract it.Weiser’s vision of Sal’s house and all the personal

data stored there

13

Privacy PrinciplesData should be obtained lawfully and fairlyData should be relevant to the purpose, accurate, complete

and up-to-dateThe purpose for data collection should be identified

Data should be destroyed after useData should not be used for other purposes without permission

(eg medical uses: Henrietta Lacks)Security of data against loss, corruption, theft

Confidentiality, Integrity, AnonymityOpenness: users are able to access information about the

collection, storage and use of the data, as well as the data itself.

The data acquirer is accountable.Only necessary data is acquired

14

Privacy LawsIn general, privacy laws have covered the privacy principles In some countries (eg USA) the privacy laws do not have complete

coverage: they only apply to some types of data or some user groups (eg children) or some industries

Europe has the most comprehensive privacy lawsExtra requirements for “sensitive” data (eg health)Controls on data transferIndependent oversightThe right to be “forgotten”

Laws in different countries overlap and may clashWhich law applies to an internet transaction?Example: Europe vs USA for airline passenger data

Laws are evolving as understanding of pervasive and ubiquitous computing and its implications develop

Identity and Anonymity

15

Anonymity: without a name or namelessNot the same as false or multiple identitiesPseudonymity: how do we establish a long-term

relationship with another entity, without disclosing identity?

What is identity?information that uniquely designates a single personEg drivers licence, tax file number, social security

number in USA, ….A name may designate more than one person

Identification and Authentication

Authentication = Verification of identityI claim I am John Smith and I can prove it since I know the

username and password linked to John Smith in the database

Pseudonymity: multiple identitiesEg multiple email addressesAuthenticate each identity with different credentials

Ubicomp identification and authenticationHow to do at tabletop?

16

Identity Theft

17

If you know enough information about a person, including account numbers/names and passwords, then you can pretend to be them

Authenticating as someone else is identity theft

Assuming another person’s identity allows an attacker access to private information about the person

Privacy Issues Background to surveillance in Australia

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/be-careful-she-might-hear-you-20120924-26h6r.html

Proposal to store two years of internet log data for all users and allow access by many authoritieshttp://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/turnbulls-doubts-on-storing-digital-data-20121008-279q4.html

Biometric scanners in pubs:http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/id-scans-raise-privacy-fears-20120930-26tv3.html

Public transport cards:http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/government-it/police-handed-data-on-myki-users-20120917-262v8.html

18

19

Coming soon?The ultimate biometric is DNA

The easy capture and analysis of this has worrying implications for privacy:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/11/us-usa-geneticprivacy-idUSBRE89A06H20121011

http://youtu.be/dGCA7FWF1pk

20

Overview

Overview of privacy conceptsSummary of principles and lawsexamples

21

Overview

Overview of privacy conceptsSummary of principles and lawsexamples

22

Overview

Overview of privacy conceptsSummary of principles and lawsexamples