PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Education Privacy in Peril

Education Privacy

I have been spending a lot of time examining education privacy lately, and there are some very troubling things going on in this field.   At a general level, schools lack much sophistication in how they handle privacy issues.  Other industry sectors that handle sensitive personal data have Chief Privacy Officers and a comprehensive privacy program.  […]

More Fun with the Airline Screening Playset: Body Imaging X-Ray Edition!

Airline Screening Playset Playmobil Set 01

I’ve been following the recent controversy over the TSA’s body imaging X-ray machines, otherwise known as the “backscatter” or “exhibit-yourself-in-the-nude” devices.  It made me reminisce about an old post I wrote about the Playmobil airline screening playset. I had not used the playset for a while.  Five long years have elapsed since my post, and […]

Are People Really Harmed By a Data Breach?

Data Breach

“It’s just a flesh wound.” — Monty Python and the Holy Grail Over at Privacy & Security Source, Andrew Serwin, a leading privacy lawyer and author of an excellent treatise on privacy law, has a very thoughtful and informative post [link no longer available] about cases where courts found no harm to individuals by data […]

Cell Phone Stalking

Cell Phone Location Tracking

According to the Wall St. Journal, “more than 25,000 adults in the U.S. are victims of GPS stalking annually, including by cellphone.”  The article notes that a cell phone account holder can track everyone on the account.  Users are notified by text message but can’t stop it. This tracking policy might work well with a […]

Naked Lies and the Airport Body Scan

Airport Screening Privacy TSA

Despite many objections, the TSA has been moving forward on using new airport body scan machines that show people’s naked bodies.   I blogged about these machines here [link no longer available].  “Never fear,” they told us.  “We care about privacy.  We really care!  And so we promise we won’t store the images.” So much for […]