Security

It’s Data Security and Privacy Month!

Data Privacy Month (DPM) is an annual effort to empower people to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint, as well as escalate the protection of privacy and data as everyone’s priority.

Data Privacy Month is currently being celebrated in 2015 starting January 28th and running through February 28th.

Several research studies have been conducted on digital rights and privacy. According to studies conducted by Pew Research Center, 91 percent of Americans believe they’ve lost control over how their personal information is collected and used by companies; 64 percent think the government needs to do more to regulate the way advertisers use personal information.

University employees need to ensure they maintain trust with students regarding handling of student data, whether it is the Registrar’s office, IT department, Admissions, Student Activities, or even the various student groups like the Outdoors Club or athletic teams.

As stated in the blog Hey Students are Consumers Too, no one wants student data leaked through the internet or to suffer the cost of a significant data breach. One University of Maryland cyber-attack in February 2014 compromised sensitive information of 300,000 staff, faculty, and students. The cyber-attacker targeted a university website meant for uploading photos and instead uploaded a Trojan horse containing malware that found the passwords for some IT managers. Armed with those credentials, the hacker was able to elevate their own privileges and accessed social security numbers and other personal information.

In a recent article in Computer World, “How-three-small-credit-card-transactions-could-reveal-your-identity”, just three small clues (receipts for pizza, coffee, and pair of jeans) are enough to identify a person’s credit card transactions from amongst those of a million people.

We leave our digital footprints everywhere. The more you think about it, the more you can virtually see it piling up: the email we send, the credit transactions we make, Facebook or Twitter, the apps we download from various sources, the websites we surf, and even how we dispose of our sensitive information (shred it or throw it in the garbage). One never knows how this information can and/or will be used or misused.

 

You can take charge by following some of these tips listed by Stewart Wolpin in the article International Privacy Day Protect Your Digital Footprint:

  • “Fracture” your digital identity.Strategically use different email addresses, browsers, credit cards and even devices for different web activities (like personal, work and online shopping) to make it more difficult for entities to assemble one cohesive data set about you.
  • Check privacy settings.Browsers, devices and apps often are set to share your personal data out of the box. Find and review default settings to see if you’re comfortable with data that is automatically shared.
  • Regularly review your browser’s cookies.You may be shocked by how many cookies have been set on your browser by sites you weren’t even aware you visited.
  • Read the fine print.Know the privacy policies of the devices, websites, social sharing services and applications you use. Find out what permissions apply to the content you upload and how it can be used.

Data privacy is something you should care about every day – from what you say, to what you type, and what you share. Since this is the Data Privacy Month, let’s make a start by watching and sharing this year’s recorded Educause webinar, “The Power of Privacy and the Passion to Build Something Better.”