Digital Privacy
Question: What is digital privacy? Where do I learn about online privacy policies and terms of use?
Students will be able to ...
- explore the concept of privacy in both a real-world setting and online.
- understand how and why companies collect information about visitors to their websites.
- learn and use online privacy terms.
- learn that websites are required to post privacy policies.
Key Vocabulary –
anonymous: someone who can’t be identified based on the information at hand
cookies: small computer text files placed in your computer by the sites you visit that collect information about your computer system and the webpages you view
third party: a person or company other than you and the owner of the website you visit
privacy options: choices a website might give you about what it does with your information
Hypothetical Scenario
Our principal has hired a research company to collect information that will help us make the school better for you. Several observors will watch students and record where each of you goes, how many times you go there, and how long you will stay there, including going to the water fountain, the bathroom, cafeteria, and to visit another student. You will be identified only by a number. At the end of the day, the research company will put all the data together and write a report for the principal.
Break Out Discussion:
What questions or concerns do you have or do you think other students might have with this research?
Who else might see the information?
Do you think any of the information should remain private?
Do you think you will be allowed to review the data collected about you?
Are you satisfied with the explanation that the information is needed "to make the school better" or do you want to know more about how the information will be used?
Summary:
Obviously we will not have this type of research conducted at our school. However, this is the ind of information that many websites collect whenever you visit them. Companies can learn all sorts of things about you without your knowledge. Most people think no one knows who they are or what they do when online. However, it's nearly impossible to be completely anonymous online and you leave "cookies" wherever you go.
How does he do it?
What are your thoughts after watching this video?
Are you aware of how much data is collected by the sites you visit and devices that you use?
What surprised you?
What steps can you take to protect your online privacy?
What Does Google Know About You? How About Instagram? Waze?
How Are You Sharing Your Data Every Day?
Many of us are aware that we're being tracked when we go online. It's one of the ways our favorite websites and apps know how to recommend content just for us. But how much information are companies actually collecting? And what are they doing with it? Digging into the details can help us make smart decisions about our online privacy and how to protect it.
Watch this video below
Discussion:
Were you surprised to learn how your data is being tracked?
Consider this: You get an invitation to join Verizon Up-- a rewards program for Verizon users.
Wow: You get reward points and discounts on data every time you pay your monthly bill!!
When I looked at the app in May 2019, it showed these rewards:
- $3 Starbucks gift card
- 1 GB of bonus data
- $3 Barnes & Noble gift card
- $10 off select accessories
Sounds great, right? Read the fine print ....
Verizon Up Collects Your Data
Nothing in life is free and for these rewards, you're giving them your usage data.
When you enroll in Verizon Up, you also enroll in Verizon Selects. When Verizon acquired Yahoo and combined it with AOL, they renamed it Oath. It's 50 brands (includes some names you know like HuffPost, Tumblr, etc.) and Oath is part of Verizon Selects.
And what does Verizon Selects do?
Drum roll please…
Verizon Selects collects data to better serve you advertising.
Here is what Verizon Selects collects:
- Information about your wireless device and how you use it – including web addresses of sites you visit, similar information about apps and features you use, as well as device and advertising identifiers.
- Information about your device location, including network data and location information transmitted by apps you permit to use your device location.
- Your postal and email addresses.
- Information about the quantity, type, destination, location, and amount of use of your Verizon telecommunications and interconnected voice over internet services and related billing information (also known as Customer Proprietary Network Information or CPNI).
- Information about your Verizon products and services and how you use them (such as data and calling features and use, Fios service options, equipment and device types).
- Information we get from other companies (such as gender, age range, interests, shopping preferences, and ad responses) or that you provide.
- Information advertisers share with us to better target their own advertising.
The information they collect may be kept for up to three years.
Discuss:
Are you okay with this?
What are the implications for your digital privacy?
Would you take the offer anyway?
Discuss:
Has anyone ever thought of a career in cybersecurity?
What do you know about this field?
The Cybersecurity Career Field: It's a Fact, Jack
People often joke about "hacking into accounts" or being a stealth "hacker." But did you know that the Cybersecurity Jobs Report for 2018-21 predicted there will be 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings by 20-21.
Cybersecurity Jobs Report 2018-2021
The Cybersecurity Jobs Report is sponsored by Herjavec Group, a leading global information security advisory firm and Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) with offices across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Download a PDF version of the report.
Menlo Park, Calif. – May 31, 2017
The cybersecurity jobs forecasts have been unable to keep pace with the dramatic rise in cybercrime, which is predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015.
Did you know that at WHS we review the Privacy Policies and Terms of Use Policies for every app that we approve for use? There are strict laws in education to protect student privacy.
- Visit the WHS Technology and Privacy Site here. Read the Student Data Privacy Practice. Does anything surprise you?
- If you would like more information about the isse from the US Department of Education, click here.
Activity:
Work in pairs or groups. Each group will visit one of the following sites or a site that your class uses. Every website has a Privacy Policy and a Terms of Use Policy. You can usually find this by looking at the small print at the bottom of the home page. Go to your assigned site and find the Privacy Policy.
Use this handout to check off the words that you find on the site and answer the questions about personal information and privacy options. Teachers: You will need to share this document and students will be forced to make a copy.
How Stuff Works: www.howstuffworks.com
The New York Times: www.nytimes.com
The Dos and Don'ts of Creating Strong Passwords
- Do make your passwords eight or more characters, using combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols. (These are harder to crack than regular words because there are more combinations to try.)
- Don't include any private-identity information in your password. (People may easily guess passwords that include your name, address, birth date, and so on.)
- Do change your password at least every six months. (This way, even if someone does guess your password, they won't be able to get into your account for long.)
- Don't share your password with your friends. (Even if you trust them, they might unintentionally do something that puts you or your information at risk.)
Good or Bad Password?
samjones
S@mjonE$
p@$$word2019
password123
S@mjonE$
mydoghasfleas
Try This:
Try This on Your ChromeBooks:
Visit this site to see if your email has been compromised: https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Cybersecurity Knowledge Quiz: Take this quiz to see how much YOU know about cybersecurity in comparison to a nationally representative group of 1,055 random internet users.
Think of standards as a way to live, not just a way to behave.
How to Manage Your Privacy!
(https://thesocialinstitute.com/blog/social-standards/ March 2017)
Protect your privacy like you’re famous
- Keep your location, email address, and phone number private. Do you know where Emma Watson lives? How about Lebron’s Skype handle? No? There’s a reason.
- Change your passwords every three months. That’s quarterly or, for those of you who don’t like counting, once a season.
- Never share your passwords with friends, even your BFF. And yeah, the code you set to unlock your phone is a password. Unlock it first before handing it over.
- Consider a family password sharing solution like the one offered by LastPass, because it’s tough to keep track of everyone’s super-secret codes.
- Avoid sharing photos or videos with your location or identity info evident, such as a street sign, mailbox, front door, car’s license plate, and — especially — your driver’s license.