John Zorabedian writes: There’s a revolution happening right now in biometrics. But the technology for identifying people based on biology is outpacing our ability to understand the consequences for privacy. Passwords – which have proven time and again to be inadequate for security purposes – are steadily being replaced by fingerprints, irises, voices and faces. The patterns of our veins, heartbeats, and even our thoughts and the way we smell, have…
Category: Misc
Are datasets truly anonymized? Two well-suited researchers are going to find out
Erika Morphy reports: With little fanfare or formality, Adam Smith, associate professor of computer science and engineering in Penn State’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Vitaly Shmatikov, a professor at Cornell University, are going to try to tackle a looming issue that will, if it is not addressed, have consequences for just about anyone who has every used…
Article: MoLe: Motion Leaks through Smartwatch Sensors
A new article by He Wang, Ted Tsung-Te Lai, and Romit Roy Choudhury has been published by the Systems Networking Research Group at U. of Illinois. ABSTRACT Imagine a user typing on a laptop keyboard while wearing a smart watch. This paper asks whether motion sensors from the watch can leak information about what the…
Edward Snowden among speakers at Bard College conference on privacy
The Daily Freeman reports: Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee accused of espionage for leaking classified information on government surveillance programs, will be among featured speakers at a two-day conference, “Why Privacy Matters,” at Bard College next month. Snowden, who currently resides in Russia, where he had been granted a three-year asylum, will be speaking…