Microphones are perhaps the most common electronic sensor in the world, with an estimated 320 million listening for our commands in the world’s smart speakers. The trouble, of course, is that they’re capable of hearing everything else, too. A team of University of Michigan researchers has developed a system that can inform a smart home—or listen for the… Read More »
A panel of U-M experts discussed the film “Coded Bias” at a Dissonance Event on April 15. “Coded Bias” follows the journey of Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist and digital activist based at the MIT Media Lab, as she worked with others to push for the first legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The Dissonance organizing committee brought the panelists together for an online discussion of bias in AI, transformative opportunities for its use, and more.
Many people are so excited when they get their COVID-19 vaccination that they want to share the good news with everyone. But, just as you shouldn’t share other highly personal information on social media, please don’t share a photo of your vaccination card.
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend office hours with ITS Information Assurance experts. Come ask your IT security and privacy questions!
Do you have personal, non-work files on your university-owned computer or in an online storage space provided by U-M? Help the university protect your privacy by storing them in a folder labeled Personal and Private.
Stay up to date on IT security and privacy stories with Safe Computing’s In the Media section.
The public perception of the SSN has gone from a symbol of security to be seen as a symbol of privacy insecurity.
Student panelists shared their perspectives on privacy and introduced the new student guide to personal data—ViziBLUE—at the February 2 “Student Data, Privacy, and ViziBLUE webinar.
What are privacy officers talking about when they talk about privacy? And why is it important?
Do your part to support online civility and practice and promote good digital citizenship.
Visit the new Safe Computing History of Privacy Timeline to learn more about privacy milestones.
Learning management systems like Canvas allow faculty to see some student activity. But UM-Dearborn’s Coordinator of Digital Education Chris Casey says it’s far from being a surveillance system. The rumor he hears most often is that faculty can see if students open other browser tabs or websites outside of Canvas. “This one is definitely false,” Casey says, noting… Read More »
Privacy is important year round, but in January it comes into extra sharp focus as we celebrate Data Privacy Day on January 28. Mark your calendar now and plan to partake in a variety of U-M-wide events.
Internet of things (IoT) devices can be great gifts, but those smart home speakers, thermostats, and cool wearables like watches and fitness trackers come with some security and privacy risks. To protect yourself and your personal data, follow these tips: Privacy Mute your smart speaker when not using it. Disable features you don’t use. Choose privacy settings for… Read More »
Roya Ensafi, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has been named an inaugural Digital Lab Fellow by Consumer Reports, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The 2020-21 cohort consists of five public interest technology researchers from around the world, working on a 10 month collaboration with support and a stipend. As a fellow, Ensafi will… Read More »
U-M classes are overwhelming being taught remotely this semester. This means that some instructors may, for a variety of reasons, wish to record their classes. The Safe Computing website has guidelines for instructors who plan to record class activities. Recordings where students can be identified—from in-person sessions or remote instruction via Zoom, BlueJeans, or any other videoconferencing application—are:… Read More »
Although federal privacy laws prohibit digital platforms from storing and sharing children’s personal information without verifiable parental consent, a study led by U-M researchers finds that those rules aren’t always enforced, and privacy violations are most likely to affect children from lower-education households. Children raised by parents without college degrees showed two to three times higher rates of… Read More »
To find out why people adopt and then sometimes abandon online safety measures, researchers from the School of Information surveyed more than 900 people about their use of 30 commonly recommended practices to guard against security, privacy, and identity theft risks. The team found that security practices like avoiding clicking on unknown links or emails were much more… Read More »
ITS Information Assurance has rapidly developed a number of new Safe Computing resources to help you practice and promote good IT security and privacy practices in this new normal: New on Safe Computing and in IT Security at U-M. New resources covering videoconferencing security and privacy, coronavirus scams, how to prevent Zoombombing, new videos, new entries in the… Read More »
This month, I am sharing a few internet search services that focus on privacy. Yes, Google is a great way to find information on the internet. However, there are quite a few alternatives available that may produce similar/better results, do not store user data, provide identical results for all users (not personalized), and do not track you as… Read More »