Florian Schaub, an assistant professor at U-M and a privacy expert, notes in a recent article that the patchwork of U. S. laws and regulations that govern data collection and privacy leave loopholes for companies to exploit. For example, Federal laws strictly protect medical, financial, and education-related records. However, online services, apps, and data collection by emerging technologies… Read More »
Undocumented immigrants tend to be careful about public life: They limit contact with authorities, keep close-knit circles, and avoid loitering too long in parks, supermarkets, shows and other public gatherings. Some even avoid driving altogether. But when it comes to their smartphones, they struggle to apply this instinctive caution, according to a study by the U-M School of… Read More »
On January 30, the university held its first Privacy@Michigan symposium. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of International Data Privacy Day, the event featured an interdisciplinary group of U-M faculty and researchers who addressed top privacy-related—and threatening—issues in an era when the very notion has gotten complicated. The event was sponsored jointly by the U-M School of Information (UMSI), and… Read More »
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect May 25, 2018, will affect organizations worldwide, including universities. The regulation expands personal privacy rights for European Union residents. It will take some time for organizations around the world to sort through, understand, and determine the implications of the GDPR requirements, as well as figure out how best to… Read More »
Protect your privacy and stay secure when using social media sites and apps. Before you post, tweet, or share, pay attention to privacy by following some simple guidelines. For example, strive to “undershare” (rather than overshare), avoid sharing your location, and be aware that anonymous doesn’t mean untraceable. These tips and more are on the Social Media Privacy page… Read More »
Celebrate International Data Privacy Day with a host of faculty, staff, and student experts as they present Privacy@Michigan on Tuesday, January 30, 2–6:30 p.m., in Space 2435 of North Quad. Privacy@Michigan brings together faculty, researchers, students, and staff from different colleges, schools, and units across campus and aims to spark ongoing, multidisciplinary conversations about privacy’s role in society—here… Read More »
The Office of Academic Innovation is hosting three events in January: AIM Analytics: Making Online Learning Work for Everyone Join us on Monday, January 22 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at North Quad Space 2435 (105 South State Street.) for AIM Analytics. Digital Tools & Youth Outreach Community: Privacy, Ethical Considerations and Pre-College Data Join us on… Read More »
A case pending before the Supreme Court could affect all Americans’ digital privacy for decades to come, according to H.V. Jagadish, professor of electrical engineering and computer science. The case involves the appeal of man whose conviction for armed robbery was based, in part, on location data provided without a warrant to the F.B.I. by his cellphone provider. Jagadish, whose… Read More »
The 13th annual Security at University of Michigan IT (SUMIT) was held on Thursday, October 19. More than 550 people attended SUMIT 2017 either in person at Rackham Auditorium or virtually via the live stream throughout the day. This number represents more than 170 universities, corporations, small businesses, and nonprofits from around the country. This year, the university’s… Read More »
Teach-Outs are open to the world and are designed to bring together individuals with wide-ranging perspectives in respectful and deep conversation. These events are an opportunity for diverse learners and a multitude of experts to come together to ask questions of one another and explore new solutions to the pressing concerns of our global community. Check out these… Read More »
A 2008 study estimated that it would take 244 hours a year for the typical American internet user to read the privacy policies of all websites he or she visits—and that was before smartphones with dozens of apps, cloud services, and smart home technologies. If you’re like most people, you don’t read them. Florian Schaub, assistant professor of information at… Read More »
A group of security and networking experts across ITS met recently to ensure U-M is prepared for potential distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
You put U-M systems and data at risk if you use your UMICH (Level-1) password for non-university services. If you use your UMICH email address and password to establish a personal account, and that information is exposed in a data breach, your UMICH account is at risk. If you have used your UMICH (Level-1) password for non-university services,… Read More »
John Cheney-Lippold, assistant professor of American culture at U-M and author of the book We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves, helps explain the difference between data that is trying to sell you a product, and data that truly knows who you are as a person. “I think we should take the idea of U.S. privacy… Read More »
Private groups in the MCommunity Directory now hide not only the members, but also the owners and moderators. Aside from enhancing overall MCommunity privacy, this feature, which was implemented May 13, will help make the kind of email spoofing that occurred earlier this year more difficult. It stops would-be email spoofers from discovering and impersonating the moderator of… Read More »
A new U-M study suggests that when it comes to digital privacy, children often do not see the negative consequences of someone tracking items belonging to someone else. Lead author Susan Gelman, professor of psychology and linguistics, says digital privacy is of growing concern, given the increasing use of technological devices that track object locations, revealing personal information regarding… Read More »
Do you have personal, non-work files on your university-owned computer or in online storage space provided by U-M? That’s okay, but please store them in an appropriately labeled location to help the university protect your privacy. U-M suggests that you place personal files in a folder named Personal and Private for any service provided by U-M. With some… Read More »
As cyberspace becomes more and more central to the international security discussion, states are increasingly searching for common “rules of the road.” Attend the next Dissonance event and join Tim Maurer, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as he moderates a panel discussion on the development of international cyberspace norms. The event is free and light… Read More »
On March 22, 2017, Knight-Wallace journalists, Bastian Obermayer & Laurent Richard shared stories behind the biggest data leaks in history, and how privacy and security present challenges in investigative journalism in the digital age.
Waze, the crowdsourced traffic and navigation app owned by Google is joining the SmartDeviceLink Consortium and working with automakers and developers on open source protocols for connecting smart phones to car dashboard screens. This gives Waze—and therefore Google—a lot more data about you, your habits, and your car. This kind of info collection might worry some users. But Erik Gordon, who studies… Read More »