PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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OPM Data Breach Fallout, Fingerprints, and Other Privacy + Security Updates

By Daniel J. Solove Co-authored by Professor Paul Schwartz This post is part of a post series where we round up some of the interesting news and resources we’re finding. For a PDF version of this post, and for archived issues of previous posts, click here. We cover health issues in a separate post. News […]

Security Experts Critique Government Backdoor Access to Encrypted Data

by Daniel J. Solove In a recent report (link no longer available), MIT security experts critiqued calls by government law enforcement for backdoor access to encrypted information.  As the experts aptly stated: “Political and law enforcement leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom have called for Internet systems to be redesigned to ensure […]

Mr. Robot: My Review of the New TV Series

by Daniel J. Solove I’ve really been enjoying the new TV series Mr. Robot on USA. Network.  It presents highly-engaging depictions of hacking and social engineering, and it is great entertainment for privacy and security  geeks. The protagonist is Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek), a tech who works at a cybersecurity firm in New York City.  […]

Going Bankrupt with Your Personal Data

By Daniel J. Solove   A recent New York Times article discusses the issue of what happens to your personal data when companies go bankrupt or are sold to other companies: When sites and apps get acquired or go bankrupt, the consumer data they have amassed may be among the companies’ most valuable assets. And […]

Security Professionals in High Demand

by Daniel J. Solove According to a study, the number of cybersecurity job listings increased 74% from 2007 to 2013.  This was more than double the growth rate of IT jobs. In a survey earlier this year of ISACA members, 86% stated that there is a “global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals.” According to a […]

Baseball’s “Hacking” Case: Are You a Hacker Too?

By Daniel J. Solove   I’m a St. Louis Cardinals fan, so I guess it is fitting that my favorite team becomes embroiled in a big privacy and data security incident.  At the outset, apologies for the feature photo above.  It pulled up under a search for “baseball hacker,” and as a collector of ridiculous […]

Cybersecurity: Leviathan vs. Low-Hanging Fruit

Data Security Training Low-Hanging Fruit

by Daniel J. Solove There are certainly many hackers with sophisticated technical skills and potent malicious technologies.  These threats can seem akin to Leviathan — all powerful and insurmountable. It can be easy to get caught up focusing on the Leviathan and miss the low-hanging fruit of cybersecurity.  This low-hanging fruit consists of rather simple […]

The OPM Data Breach: Harm Without End?

By Daniel J. Solove The recent breach of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) network involved personal data on millions of federal employees, including data related to background checks. OPM is now offering 18 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft insurance to victims. But as experts note in a recent Washington Post article, […]

Use of Encryption Is Increasing — Albeit Slowly

by Daniel J. Solove According to a survey commissioned by Thales e-Security, the use of encryption by organizations is increasing.  Ten years ago, only 15% had an enterprise-wide encryption strategy. Now, 36% have such a strategy. Some other interesting findings from the survey also found, according to a ZDNet article:

Cybersecurity in the Boardroom

by Daniel J. Solove A few days ago, I posted about how boards of directors must grapple with privacy and cybersecurity.   Today, I came across a survey by NYSE Governance Services and Vericode of 200 directors in various industries. According to the survey, about two-thirds of directors are less than confident about their company’s cybersecurity.  […]